Bandi

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A language of Liberia

ISO 639-3
bza
Alternate Names
Bande, Gbande, Gbandi, Gbunde
Population

100,000 in Liberia (Johnstone and Mandryk 2001). 50,000 fled to Guinea (Johnstone 1993). Population total all countries: 107,000.

Location

Northwest, Lofa County. Also in Guinea.

Language Maps
Language Status

4 (Educational).

Classification
Niger-Congo, Mande, Western, Central-Southwestern, Southwestern, Mende-Loma, Mende-Bandi, Bandi
Dialects

Hasala, Hembeh, Lukasa, Tahamba, Wawana, Wulukoha. Tahamba dialect used for literature. Lexical similarity: 96% with the 6 dialects, 83% with the most similar Mende [men] dialect.

Language Development
Grammar. NT: 2000.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Bandi
Writing
Latin script.
Other Comments

Glossonym: Gbandi or Gbande, both erroneous. Traditional religion, Muslim, Christian.