Introduction

The Mmala people group, with a population of about 8,000, is located in southern Cameroon, in and south of the town of Bokito, in the Canton of Mmala, in the Mbam and Inoubou region.

Numala is the term for their language. There are two dialects of numala: Nuenie (Benyi) and Nukitia (Kedia). Alternate names for the language are Numaala, Yambassa, and Central Yambassa.  The plural form of the people is Bemala.

Their language is taught in schools in the region while the rest of the instruction is in French.  Numala is also used in the churches, although it competes with other languages in church and community activities. These languages include French, Elip, Yangben, Bulu and Ewondo.