Alternate Names: Ebe Cluster, Putukwam
Dialects: Afrike (Aferike, Utumane), Irungene (Mbe Afal, Mbe East, Mbube Eastern, Obe, Upper Mbe), Mgbenege (Ngbenege), Okworogung (Ukworogung), Ukwortung (Okorotung), Utugwang (Otukwang, Utukwang). Utugwang intelligible of all dialects. Afrike and Irungene are mutually intelligible. Lexical similarity: Irungene 89% with Afrike, 80%–86% with Utugwang sub-group; Afrike and Irungene 67%–78% with Utugwang subgroup.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 70,000 (2012 L. Otronyi).
Language Use: Home, village. All ages. Positive attitudes. Also use Bekwarra [bkv] and other surrounding languages. Also use English [eng], Nigerian Pidgin [pcm].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L1: 10%.
Nation of Origin: Nigeria
Other Comments: Utugwang, Okwortung, Okworogung, and Mgbenege accept Utugwang as a cover term. Christian, traditional religion.