Kaalong language

{{Short description|Endangered Bantu language of Cameroon}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Kaalong

| nativename = Dimbong

| states = Cameroon

| region =

| ethnicity = 50,000 (no date)

| speakers = 140

| date = 1992

| ref = e25

| familycolor = Niger-Congo

| fam2 = Atlantic–Congo

| fam3 = Benue–Congo

| fam4 = Bantoid

| fam5 = Bantu (Zone A)

| fam6 = Bafia (A.50)

| iso3 = dii

| glotto = dimb1238

| glottorefname = Dimbong

| guthrie = A.52

}}

Kaalong (Kàlòng) also known as Dimbong (Mbong), is an almost extinct Bantu language from the Center Province of Southern Cameroon.{{Cite journal|last=Larry|first=Hyman|date=February 2002|title="Abstract" Vowel Harmony in Kàlòng: A System-Driven Account|url=http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~hyman/Hyman_Kalong_VH_Paper.pdf|journal=Théories Linguistiques et Langues Sub-Sahariennes}}

The language is commonly defined as some combination of seven sub-varieties: Maja, Zakan, Tingong, Mbong, Ripe (or Bapé), Kpa (or Bafia), and Ti'bea (or Djanti), however linguists have not reached a single consensus on what languages are and not distinct from Kaalong.{{Cite journal|last=Boone|first=Douglas|date=1992|title=Dimbong survey report|url=https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/23/61/54/23615428133645523882546605796841068838/dimbong_boone1992_1667_p.pdf|journal=Société Internationale de Linguistique}}

Many Kaalong speakers have shifted to the similar yet arguably distinct Bafia language.{{Cite news|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/dii|title=Dimbong|work=Ethnologue|access-date=2018-11-22|language=en}}