Classification of Pygmy languages

Distribution of Pygmies according to Cavalli-Sforza

There are at least a dozen Pygmy groups, sometimes unrelated to each other, the best known being the Mbenga (Aka and Baka) of the western Congo basin, which speak Bantu and Ubangian languages; the Mbuti (Efe etc.) of the Ituri Rainforest, which speak Bantu and Central Sudanic languages, and the Twa of the Great Lakes, which speak Rwanda-Rundi.

• Mbenga people or Ba-Mbenga (AKA Ba-Binga [derogatory]) (west Congo basin)
  • Aka or Mò-Áka (AKA (Ba-)Yaka, Ba-Yaga, Gba-Yaka, Bi-Aka, Beká, Yakwa, Yakpa, Yakpwa) (Central African Republic, Republic of Congo) speak a Bantu language (Aka or Yaka) close to Lingala
    • M-Benzélé or Ba-Benzélé (Western Aka, Central African Republic)
    • Ba-Sese (Eastern Aka)
    • The Mikaya and Luma speak the same or related languages
  • Baka (AKA Bi-Baya, Be-Bayaka) (Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of Congo) speak closely related Ubangian languages of the Ngbaka branch: Baka proper, Ganzi, and Gundi AKA Ngondi.
  • At the northeastern extent of the Bantu Aka range is Bofi, an Ubangian language of the Gbaya branch, which in its southern extent is spoken by pygmies, presumably Bambenga.
  • Gyele or Ba/Bo-Gieli (AKA Bonjiel(i), Ba-Ko, Be-Koe, Ba-Kola, Ba-Kuele, Li-Koya) (Cameroon, near the coast) speak a Bantu language (Gyele) of the Makaa-Njem branch
  • Kola (AKA Koya, both terms also used for the Gyele), of Congo and NE Gabon, speak the Bantu [related to?] Ngom language
• Medzan/Bedzan 'pygmoids' (Cameroon)
• Bongo (Babongo) of southern Gabon speak the languages of their several Bantu neighbors
• The Mbati and Bolimba of CAR have not been described
• Mbuti or Bambuti (Ituri rainforest, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo)
  • Efé speak a Central Sudanic language (Efe) related to Mangbutu
  • Asua or Asoa (AKA Aka) speak a Central Sudanic language (Asoa) related to Mangbetu
  • Kango or Ba-Kango (AKA Ba-Tchua) speak a Bantu language (Kango) related to Komo
• Twa or Ba-Twa (AKA Ge-Sera) (Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda) speak the Kirundi and Kinyarwanda languages
• The Twa and Cwa hunter-gatherers in the savannas and swamps south of the forest, in Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, and Angola, living among groups such as the Himba. Physically, these people do not differ from their Bantu neighbors, but have a similar subservient position to their agricultural neighbors as the forest Pygmies. The may be remnant Khoisan populations (the Ila, Tonga, and Lenje of Zambia, and the Chewa of Malawi, for example, believe them to be aboriginal peoples, and trace sacred places to them), but Blench suggests that they may (also) have migrated from the forest with the Bantu.