Lese language

Lese
Efé
Spoken in	Congo (DRC)
Region	Ituri forest
Native speakers	70,000  (1991)
Language family	Nilo-Saharan? Central Sudanic Eastern Mangbutu–Lese Lese
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either: les – Lese efe – Efe

Lese, or occasionally Lissi, also known as Efe, is a Central Sudanic language of northeastern Congo. The Lese people live in association with the Efé Pygmies, and share one language.

Although Efe is given a separate ISO code, Bahuchet (2006) notes that it is not even a distinct dialect, though there is dialectical variation in the language of the Lese (Dese, Karo).

References

• Serge BAHUCHET, 2006. "Languages of the African Rainforest « Pygmy » Hunter-Gatherers: Language Shifts without Cultural Admixture."[1] In Historical linguistics and hunter-gatherers populations in global perspective. Leipzig.