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Benue–Congo is a major subdivision of the Niger–Congo language family which covers most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It consists of two main branches:
The Dogon languages are a small, close-knit language family spoken by the Dogon people of Mali, which is generally believed to belong to the larger Niger–Congo family. There are about 600,000 speakers of a dozen languages. They are tonal languages – most, like Dogul, having two tones; some, like Donno So, having three. The basic word order is subject–object–verb.
The forty or so Plateau languages are a tentative group of Benue–Congo languages spoken by 3.5 million people on the Jos Plateau and in adjacent areas in central Nigeria. The original formulation included the Jukunoid and Kainji languages, and later the Dakoid languages; Jukunoid and Kainji now form a parent branch of Plateau called Central Nigerian (Platoid).
Chakato is a West Chadic language spoken in Plateau State, Nigeria. It was identified by Roger Blench in 2016. It is spoken by about 500 people in one village, Dokan Tofa, which is located on the Jos-Shendam road in Plateau State. Blench (2017) suggests that Chakato may be related to spurious records of the Jorto language. Chakato speakers claim that their language is closely related to Goemai.
The Kainji languages are a group of about 60 related languages spoken in west-central Nigeria. They form part of the Central Nigerian (Platoid) branch of Benue–Congo.
The five Tarokoid languages are a branch of the Plateau family spoken in central Nigeria, just north of the middle reaches of the Benue River. Tarok itself has 300,000 speakers, with Pe and Sur about 5,000 each. Yangkam is severely endangered, being spoken by around fifty elderly men.
The South Plateau languages, also known as Jilic–Eggonic, are spoken in central Nigeria. Eggon has 150,000 speakers and Jili perhaps 100,000.
The twenty Central Plateau languages are a residual branch of the Plateau family spoken in central Nigeria. Tyap has 130,000 speakers, and the closely related Jju has well over 300,000. Hyam has another 100,000. Cori is famous for being one of very few languages with six tone levels, though only three are needed for writing.
The four Beromic languages are a branch of the Plateau family spoken in central Nigeria. Berom has 1 million speakers.
The dozen or so Ninzic languages are a branch of the Plateau family spoken in central Nigeria.
The Jukunoid languages are a branch of the Central Nigerian languages spoken by the Jukun and related peoples of Nigeria and Cameroon. They are distributed mostly throughout Taraba State, Nigeria and surrounding regions.
The Dakoid languages are a small putative group of languages spoken in Taraba and Adamawa states of eastern Nigeria.
Alumu is a Plateau language spoken by approximately 7,000 people in Nassarawa State, Nigeria. It has lost the nominal affix system characteristic of the Niger–Congo family.
Eloyi, or Afu (Afo), is a poorly attested Plateau language of uncertain classification. It is spoken by the Eloyi people of Agatu LGA, Benue State and Nassarawa State in Nigeria.
East or Southeast Plateau are a "probable" group of three Plateau languages spoken in Nigeria. Fyam and Horom are closely related; connections to Barkul (Bo-Rukul) are more problematic.
Ahwai, also called the Ndunic languages, is a Plateau language cluster spoken to the southwest of Fadan Karshi in Sanga LGA, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Most villages are located at the foot of the Ahwai Mountains in Kaduna State.
Toro, also known as Turkwam, is a Plateau language of Nigeria. It has lost the nominal affix system characteristic of the Niger–Congo family.
The Yukubenic languages are a branch of either the Jukunoid family or the Plateau family spoken in southeastern Nigeria. Glottolog places Yukubenic in the Plateau family. Ethnologue, however, places Yukubenic in the Jukunoid family, based on Shimizu (1980), and Blench also follows this classification.
The Ron languages are a branch of West Chadic languages spoken in Plateau State, north-central Nigeria.
Nigbo is an extinct Plateau language of Nigeria. It was spoken near Agameti on the Fadan Karshi-Wamba road near Sanga LGA, Kaduna State. The language, listed in Blench (2012) and (2019), is not reported in Ethnologue or Glottolog. It is presumably an Alumic language based on its proximity to Akpondu, a language closely related to Alumu and Tesu.
References
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Alumu–Toro". Glottolog 3.0 . Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- 1 2 Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
- Blench (2008) Prospecting proto-Plateau. Manuscript.