| Nimbari | |
| Nativename: | Niam-Niam |
| Region: | northern Cameroon |
| Ethnicity: | 130 (2002) |
| Extinct: | 1930s |
| Ref: | e25 |
| Familycolor: | Niger-Congo |
| Fam2: | Atlantic–Congo |
| Fam3: | Leko–Nimbari |
| Iso3: | nmr |
| Glotto: | nimb1256 |
| Glottorefname: | Nimbari |
The Nimbari language (also Niam-Niam), which is no longer spoken, was a member of the Leko–Nimbari group of Savanna languages. It was spoken in northern Cameroon. Ethnologue (22nd ed.) lists Badjire, Gorimbari, and Padjara-Djabi villages as Nimbari locations in Bénoué and Mayo-Louti divisions.
Nimbari was labeled "G12" in Joseph Greenberg's Adamawa language-family proposal.
Nimbari is located near Pitoa (Pitoa commune, Bénoué department) and Mayo-Louti (Figuil commune), Northern Region. The so-called Nyam-Nyam of Mayo-Kébi should not be confused with the so-called Nyam-Nyam of Tignère and Galim (Adamawa Region), whose real name is Nizaa (or Suga), of Mambiloid affiliation.[1]
Kastenholz and Kleinewillinghöfer (2012) note that Nimbari cannot be classified with certainty due to limited data.[2] It is a Fali name meaning 'people of Mbari'. People who identify as Nimbari currently speak Kangou (or Kaangu, Kaang), a variety of Southern Fali, and identify the ethnic name Nimbari with their village, Gorimbari.[3] Kastenholz and Kleinewillinghöfer (2012) report from a 2008 field trip that the name Mbaari refers to an inselberg (Fali language: ɡɔ́rì) central to the village of Gorimbari (Gorimbaara [ɡóːrímbáːrà]). Nimbari is derived from the Fali term níí mbáárì 'people/person (niru) of Mbaari'.
Strümpell (1922/23) reported Nimbari to be the autonym of Niam-Niam language speakers.[4] Originally, Strümpell (1910) called the language Niam-Niam, and had documented some limited data of questionable quality from elderly rememberers; the language was already no longer in everyday use at the time of data collection.[5] Kastenholz and Kleinewillinghöfer (2012) note that some items in Strümpell's word list share similarities with Duru languages (Dii, Duupa, Dugun), and also with Samba Leko and Kolbila to a lesser extent. However, many words have no clear parallels with other Adamawa languages.