Esimbi New Testament — Aage (Esimbi) New Testament (Cameroon)
Overview
Kɔŋu kə Uhumbɔkənə (approximately "The Good News / New Covenant") is the complete New Testament in the Esimbi language of southwestern Cameroon, published by the Cameroon Association for Bible Translation and Literacy (CABTAL) and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 3232; abbreviation: ESHIMBI). The community's autonym Aage is distinct from the external name Esimbi — the pattern of exonyms versus autonyms common in Cameroon's linguistically complex highland-forest border zones. Esimbi (ISO 639-3: ags) is a Tivoid language of the Bantoid branch — one of the smaller language families within the Niger-Congo phylum concentrated in the Cameroon-Nigeria borderlands.
Language and People
Esimbi (ISO 639-3: ags; autonym: Aage) is a Niger-Congo language: Niger-Congo → Atlantic-Congo → Volta-Congo → Benue-Congo → Southern Bantoid → Tivoid branch. The Tivoid languages are a cluster of related languages spoken primarily in the Cross River basin region of northwestern Cameroon and adjacent Nigeria, named for their typological similarities to Tiv (a much larger language of the Nigerian Middle Belt). Tivoid languages of southwestern Cameroon include Esimbi, Befang, Bebe, and several smaller varieties.
The Esimbi community inhabits:
- Menchum Division, Northwest Region, Cameroon — southwestern Cameroon, near the border with Nigeria
- Elevations in the Cameroon Highland fringe
Estimated speakers: approximately 20,000–30,000; Ethnologue figures for Esimbi/Aage.
Cultural Context
Southwestern Cameroon's Northwest Region (formerly part of British Southern Cameroons) represents the border zone between Francophone and Anglophone Cameroon — an area with significant political tension in recent decades. CABTAL has worked throughout the Anglophone northwest on scripture projects for many small language communities, of which Esimbi/Aage is one.
Publishing and Organizations
Published by CABTAL (Cameroon Association for Bible Translation and Literacy, cabtal.org), the primary evangelical translation organization for Cameroon's minority languages. CABTAL is a Wycliffe Global Alliance member.