Bila language

Not to be confused with Bira language, Sua language, Kango language (Bas-Uélé District), or Bila' language.

Bila
Forest Bira Kango, Sua
Native to	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Region	Ituri forest
Ethnicity	Kango (Wochua?)
Native speakers	40,000  (1998)
Language family	Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Bantoid Bantu (Zone D.20–30) Boan Bomokandian Biran Bila
Dialects	Kango (1,000) Sua (1,000) Bombi-Ngbanja Nyaku Ibutu
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either: bip – Bila kzy – Kango–Sua
Guthrie code	D.211,311,313

Bila, or Forest Bira, is a Bantu language spoken by the Mbuti Pygmies called Kango and Sua (Batchua). The other Mbuti speak Central Sudanic languages. The Kango and Sua speak distinct dialects (southern and northern), but not enough to impair mutual intelligibility with their farming Bila patrons.

Maho (2009) lists Ibutu (Mbuttu, D.313) as a distinct language.

References

• Serge BAHUCHET, 2006. "Languages of the African Rainforest « Pygmy » Hunter-Gatherers: Language Shifts without Cultural Admixture."[1] In Historical linguistics and hunter-gatherers populations in global perspective. Leipzig.