Language Information

One of the Ubangi group of Niger - Congo languages, Banda is spoken across mort of the Central and eastern districts of the Central African Republic, by a mainly agricultural Republic. Gbaya and Banda are two major hinterland languages of the Central African Republic, now overshadowed linguistically by their relative, the national language, SANGO. Banda has probably been spoken in roughly its present location for as long as 3 thousand years. In Banda, nouns a prefix marks the plural : zu 'man', azu 'men'. Banda is a three tone language, the tones are essentially in word formation.In Banda country, long distance messages are traditionally transmitted by three-tone drums, using formulaic phrases that match the tones of the spoken language.

Family: Niger-Congo
Subgroup: Adamawa-Eastern
Branch: Eastern