The secret ones

Bangime is the most recently discovered language isolate--a tongue not related to any other language. One evidence for Bangime's uniqueness resides in the fact that its grammar is radically different from that of the other languages spoken by Dogen groups. On the other hand, prefixes are found in Bangime, while being notable by their absence in the Dogon languages. These differences are somewhat surprising, because in other ways, the Bangande and Dogon cultures are very similar. The Bangande wear the same clothing and jewellery as the Dogon people, and both use Tellem architecture--mud brick, coiled clay and stone masonry structures set into the cliff face--for granaries and burial grounds. Here, Bradley examines what leads the Bangime language to be isolate.