Alternate Names: Baza, Mongwandi, Ngwandi
Dialects: 2 dialects, about equal in size. Sango , is derived from Ngbandi.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 250,000 in Democratic Republic of the Congo (2000 SIL). Population total all countries: 250,290. 75,000 monolinguals.
Language Use: Vigorous. Some speakers of other languages use it for trade in border areas. All domains. Oral use in some churches. Oral literature. Positive attitudes. 70% also use Lingala [lin]. Used as L2 by Bolondo [bzm], Pagibete [pae], Yango [yng].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L1: 8%. 20,000 read; 5,000 can write. NT: 1988.
Writing System: Latin
Nation of Origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Other Comments: Ethnic groups: Abasango, Bwato, Mbaati, and Nzomboy (Monjomboli). Christian.