Chamba Leko
Chamba Leko is one of two languages spoken by the Chamba people, the other being Chamba Daka. It is a member of the Leko branch of Savanna languages, and is spoken across the northern Nigerian–Cameroonian border.
Chamba is also spelled 'Samba', Leko also 'Leeko', 'Lego' or 'Lekon'. The language is also known as Suntai.
Dialects
Samba, also called Samba Leeko, is highly distinct from Chamba Daka, also called Daga Mumi, spoken in Nigeria by another subgroup of the Chamba people. These two languages are respectively classified in groups 2 and 3 of the Adamawa branch by Joseph Greenberg.In Cameroon, the two main groups of dialects are:
- Samba languages proper located between the Alantika Mountains in one area, and Faro and Mayo-Déo as well
- Daganjonga, spoken in two enclaves of 25,000 speakers surrounded by Grassfields languages, near the Ndop Plain. It is spoken in the villages of Balikumbat, Baligashu, Baligashu and Baligam