From 6 October to 7 December 2025, Paulin Baraka Bose conducted his second fieldwork mission in the DRC province of Nord Ubangi. Several languages were targeted in this mission.
Gezo [pae]: Paulin collected data from 10 Gezo villages located in the Abuzi Sector, Groupement Mongende Sud, Yakoma Territory. Gezo is a variety of Pagibete (Bantu C41). The primary focus was the noun class system of Gezo, with systematic elicitation of singular and plural forms in different syntactic environments. This work allowed Paulin to complete and verify data previously collected in July 2024 around Gbadolite (Bambo area).
Fulu [fuu]: Linguistic data on Fulu were collected in several locations, covering multiple local varieties, specifically: Zinga (groupement Bolaka), Gbamazonga (groupement Gbanziri), and several villages in groupement Fulu Mbanza and Fulu Ndubulu. This comparative data collection focused on the verbal system (aspect, tense, negation), verbal tonal morphology, and tonal behavior in nominal constructions.
Ngombe of Bosobolo [ngc]: Lexical items and data relevant to the noun class system were collected for the first time on the Ngombe spoken in Bosobolo (also known as North Ngombe), a variety never documented before. Data collection took place in groupement Ngwele and Mosweya.
Additionally, Paulin carried out genetic sampling in Gezo and Ngombe-speaking communities.
From August 23 to Oct 29, 2025, as part of his ongoing typologically informed grammar of Ndungalɛ, Chrisnah Mfouhou conducted his second fieldwork mission in Lisala and its environs. During his eight‑week stay, he addressed outstanding issues from his 2024 fieldwork concerning segmental phonology and the noun phrase. He further documented the nominal and verbal tonal systems of Ndungalɛ and investigated the structure of the verb complex through both elicitation sessions and the analysis of naturalistic texts.
During June 26-28, Paulin Baraka Bose, Koen Bostoen, Sara Pacchiarotti participated in the SocioBaGS Workshop “Macro- and micro-variation in Bantu grammatical gender systems and their sociolinguistic correlates”, funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). The workshop took place at Laboratoire Parole et Language, Aix-Marseille Université, France. The title of the talk was The gender system of Gɛ́zɔ́, a poorly known variety of Pagibete (Bantu C401). This talk was based on data collected by Paulin Baraka Bose in Nord Ubangi in 2024.
During the first half of 2025, Lucien Pierre Nguerede conducted several fieldwork missions to collect data on the (ethno)archaeology of iron-producing communities located to the southwest of the Central African Republic. More specifically, Lucien collected ethnographic and archaeological data in the prefectures of Lobaye (Mbaiki), Sangha Mbaéré (Nola), Nana-Mambéré (Bouar), and Basse-Kotto (Alindao). One of the main outcomes of this fieldwork season was the identification of an active aluminum production site.
Additionally, Lucien collected genetic data on Banda populations never sampled before.
During the first half of 2025, Henri Zana conducted several fieldwork missions to collect data on the (ethno)archaeology of pottery-producing communities located in the southwest of the Central African Republic. More specifically, Henri Zana collected ethnographic and archaeological data in the prefectures of Lobaye (Mbaïki), Sangha Mbaéré (Nola), and Mambéré Kadéi (Bania). Besides collecting data on the chaînes operatoires of potters belonging to different Ubangi subgroups, the mission led to the identification of 12 sites, 7 of which were excavated. The mission also involved genetic data collection on Ubangi and Bantu-speaking populations never sampled before.
Between July 22 and 25, the CongUbangi archaeology team joined over 550 other participants at the 2025 meeting of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists in Faro, Portugal. Our team presented three papers on various aspects of our recent ethnographic and archaeological research across northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and southern Central African Republic (CAR).
Henri Zana presented a talk on his ethnoarchaeological work in the Nola and Bangui regions (CAR), with a talk entitled “The ethnoarchaeology of pottery communities in southwest Central African Republic”. Lucien Nguerede presented a talk entitled “An ethnoarchaeology of metallurgy in the Central African Republic”, that focused on his research on ancient and modern metallurgists in the Bangui, Bouar, and Alindao regions (CAR). Finally, together with Karen Lupo and Dave Schmitt, Peter Coutros presented a comprehensive talk on the archaeological findings of the CongUbangi project, covering the past 2000 years, during his talk “Archaeology along the Forest rim: new research in southwestern CAR”.
Lucien Pierre Nguerede presenting his talk: An ethnoarchaeology of metallurgy in the Central African Republic
Henri Zana presenting his talk: The ethnoarchaeology of pottery communities in southwest Central African Republic
On May 22, 2025, Chrisnah R. Mfouhou and Sara Pacchiarotti presented a talk titled “The noun class system of Ndunga (“Ubangi”, Mbaic) from a Niger-Congo perspective” at the 2025 Comparative Niger-Congo workshop which took place at LLACAN, CNRS (Villejuif, France). The program of the workshop can be found here.
The theme of PɸF 2025 was Sound Patterns and Human History. The workshop brought together scholars whose research examines the connection between human history, events, and migration (as evidenced from oral history, archeology, genetics, etc.) and large-scale areal zones of sound system convergence.
From January 29 to March 30, Dr. Lorenzo Maselli, a doctor-assistant in the African Studies department and a BOF-funded postdoctoral fellow associated with the CongUbangi project, will conduct aerodynamic and articulatory research on labial-velar and implosive consonants in Bantu, Ubangi, other Niger-Congo, and Central Sudanic languages in Bangui, Central African Republic. During the first two weeks, Dr. Maselli was accompanied by Prof. Dr. Veronique Delvaux from the Université de Mons (UMONS). Together, they established a temporary phonetics lab at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bangui, equipped with a state-of-the-art pneumotachograph, kindly loaned by UMONS Institut Langage, and a brand-new electroglottograph purchased by Dr. Maselli specifically for this mission.
The pneumotachograph enables the collection of airflow and pressure data, while the electroglottograph monitors vocal fold vibrations. These measurements can be seamlessly paired with acoustic (spectral and waveform) traces to provide direct evidence of speech articulation. This approach allows for a comprehensive investigation of egressive and ingressive consonantal sounds, which is particularly crucial for studying implosives, as no purely acoustic cue can be considered entirely reliable for these sounds.
To date, Dr. Maselli has collected aerodynamic data from over 15 languages, with an average of five speakers per language. This project represents the most extensive phonetic documentation effort in Central Africa since the early 1960s. In addition to this research, Dr. Maselli has been teaching phonetics modules at Bangui’s Institut de Linguistique Appliquée and has established valuable collaborations with local SIL and UNESCO offices. All parties involved have expressed significant interest in the research.
North of Bangui, the route to Boali follows a network of lakes and rivers that extend into Chad
SIL works tirelessly to document CAR languages and provide reliable Bible translations to the communities
Prof. Dr. Delvaux teaching a module on speech therapy at the Institut de Linguistique Appliquée
Prof. Dr. Delvaux and Dr. Maselli set up a lab at Université de Bangui on day one of their research
Pneumotachographic traces couple airflow and oral pressure
They are essential for the study of glottalized sounds
A lonely praying mantis looks in
You can see the Ubangi river flowing by the city and, past it, the DRC
Electroglottographic evidence allows for high-resolution tracking of vocal fold vibrations
Data collection on Fulbhe (Adamawa Fulfulde)
Dr. Maselli with the Fulani Women's Circle
The Fulani Women's Circle promotes literacy and combats child marriage in all provinces of CAR, Dr. Maselli collected data on their variety of Fulbhe and had the privilege to interview their leaders
Between January 10th and February 1st, the CongUbangi team conducted its first archaeological mission to the Central African Republic.
The archaeology team, made up of Peter R. Coutros, Lucien Nguerede, and Henri Zana joined Professor Karen Lupo and Dave Schmitt from Southern Methodist University, and Emmanuelle Namkomana and Lira Bangué – two Master’s students from the University of Bangui – on a joint survey and excavation campaign along the Mpoko River north of Bangui. The joint teams identified numerous previously undocumented sites, including pottery and lithics scatters, and excavating four new trenches.
From there, the CongUbangi team traveled southwest to Mbaiki in order to expand the scope of the survey and excavation campaign. Peter, Lucien, and Henri documented more than a dozen archaeological sites, including ancient settlement and iron production locations. In addition to the archaeological work, the team conducted preliminary ethnographical interviews with metallurgists in the Mbaiki region. These artisans combined traditional and modern techniques in their work, which will provide much needed data on comparative forms of smelting and forging.
Lucien Nguerede, Prof. Karen Lupo, and Henri Zana conducting survey in the forest near Mbaiki.
Dave Schmitt conducting excavations at an iron smelting site near Bangui.
The ConguBangi team conducting excavations along the Mpoko River.
As this was the first CongUbangi mission to the Central African Republic, our team also met with Professor Gérard Gresenguet, Rector of the University of Bangui, to discuss current and future collaborations with Ghent University. Peter also gave a lecture to interested students and staff of the university about the research that the team was currently conducting, as well as the future plans for the project. In order to further incorporate the local communities into our research, Henri Zana conducted a radio interview with the local Mbaiki radio station, explaining the goals and methods of the archaeology portion of the project. In addition, Ambassador Patricia Mahoney chaired a roundtable with our team, Professor Rock Emmanual Youili-Mognaman (University of Bangui), Professor Bernard Simiti (University of Bangui), and representatives of the Ministry of Culture and the Boganda National Museum. These meetings have laid the foundations for a long-term partnership between the CongUbangi project, Ghent University, and the political and academic institutions across the Central African Republic invested in cultural patrimony.
The Centre Universitaire de Recherche et de Documentation en Histoire et Archeologie Centrafricaines (CURDHACA).
Peter Coutros Giving a lecture at the University of Bangui.
Peter Coutros Giving a lecture at the University of Bangui.
Henri Zana giving an interview for the local Mbaiki radio station.
