The Bangime /ˌbæŋɡiˈmeɪ/ (bàŋɡí–mɛ̀) language, or in full Bàŋgɛ́rí-mɛ̀, is spoken by some 1,500 ethnic Dogon in seven villages in southern Mali, who call themselves the bàŋɡá–ndɛ̀ ('hidden people'). Long known to be highly divergent from (other) Dogon languages, it was first proposed as a possible isolate by Blench (2005). Research since then has confirmed that it appears to be unrelated to neighboring languages. Roger Blench, who discovered the language was not Dogon, notes, which he dates to 3,000–4,000 years ago.