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Bade is a West Chadic language spoken by the Bade people in Yobe State and Jigawa State, Nigeria. Their traditional ruler is the Emir of Bade. Similar to many other Western African languages, Bade is a vulnerable language at great risk of extinction. With 356,000 speakers, the language and the culture of the Bade people have suffered over the last several years. As the language continues to fade, the culture and historic value associated with the language perishes as well. The local dialect is shifting from Bade to Hausa. Across West Africa, the impact on local communities through the loss of the indigenous tongues will be significant. The endangerment of the Bade language represents the worldwide language diversity that is at risk. Many African languages have only received little linguistic attention, impacting these African languages.
The Hausa are a native ethnic group in West Africa. They speak the Hausa language, which is the second most spoken language after Arabic in the Afro-Asiatic language family. The Hausa are a culturally homogeneous people based primarily in the Sahelian and the sparse savanna areas of southern Niger and northern Nigeria respectively, numbering around 45 million people, with significant populations in Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, Togo, Ghana, as well as smaller populations in Sudan, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Senegal, Gambia. Predominantly Hausa-speaking communities are scattered throughout West Africa and on the traditional Hajj route north and east traversing the Sahara, with an especially large population in and around the town of Agadez. Other Hausa have also moved to large coastal cities in the region such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Accra, Abidjan, Banjul and Cotonou as well as to parts of North Africa such as Libya over the course of the last 500 years. The Hausa traditionally live in small villages as well as in precolonial towns and cities where they grow crops, raise livestock including cattle as well as engage in trade, both local and long distance across Africa. They speak the Hausa language, an Afro-Asiatic language of the Chadic group. The Hausa aristocracy had historically developed an equestrian based culture. Still a status symbol of the traditional nobility in Hausa society, the horse still features in the Eid day celebrations, known as Ranar Sallah. Daura is the cultural center of the Hausa people. The town predates all the other major Hausa towns in tradition and culture.
Busa, or Bisã, is the Mande language of the former Borgu Emirate in northwestern Nigeria and northern Benin. It is called Busanci in Hausa, and has also been called Zugweya.
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.
Cicipu is a Kainji language spoken by about 20,000 people in northwest Nigeria. The people call themselves Acipu, and are called Acipawa in Hausa.
Damakawa is a moribund Benue–Congo language of northwest Nigeria. The language has become extinct, there are no longer any speakers of the language, although the oldest people can remember a few words. Approximately 80 or so words and phrases were collected, with difficulty, in April 2008.
Mariga is a Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Bangi in the north of the area. Other towns in the LGA are Igwama and Inkwai. Various endangered Kamuku languages are spoken in Mariga LGA.
The Basa language, disambiguated as Basa-Benue, and also called Abacha, Abatsa, ru-Basa, Rubassa, is a Kainji language spoken in central Nigeria, in the vicinity of Bassa, Ankpa, Nasarawa, Gurara, Kwali and Makurdi. Blench (2008) notes that Basa-Makurdi, Basa-Gurara and Basa-Kwali are separate varieties from Basa-Kwomu or Basa-Komo of Bassa, Ankpa and Nasarawa Local Government Areas and other Bassa speakers are Bassa Nge (also known as Bassa Nupe.
The East Kainji languages are spoken in a compact area of the Jos Plateau in Nigeria, near Jos. There are more than 20 of them, most of which are poorly studied.
Gbiri-Niragu, also known as Gure-Kahugu, is a Kainji language of Nigeria. Speakers are shifting to Hausa.
The Kamuku languages are a branch of the Kainji languages spoken by the Kamuku people of Niger State, western Nigeria, mostly in Mariga and Rafi LGAs.
Lela or C'lela is a Kainji language of Nigeria. It is known as Cilela in Hausa, and it is also known as Dakarkari, because it is spoken by the Dakarkari people
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Lopa consists of a pair of minor Kainji languages of Nigeria. The Lopa people neighbouring the Busa language have shifted to that language.
Fungwa, or Ura is a Kainji language in Pandogari, Niger State, Nigeria. The same word is also used for the people; Roger Blench estimated their numbers at no more than 1,000. Farming is the main occupation of the Fungwa while pottery is also an occupation practised by the women. The Fungwa live in the five villages of Gulbe, Gabi Tukurbe, Urenciki, Renga (Ringa) and Utana along the Pandogari–Allawa road in Rafi, Nigeria.
Tunzu (Tunzuii), or Itunzu, also known as Duguza (Dugusa) in Hausa, is a Kainji language of Nigeria.
Ziriya (Jiriya) and Sheni (Shaini) constitute a Kainji language of Nigeria. They are geographically but perhaps not linguistically distinct.
Zora (Izora), or Cokoba (Cokobanci) in Hausa, is a Kainji language of Nigeria.
Basa is a cluster of Kainji languages scattered across Nigeria. They are spoken in distinct communities from Niger State in the northwest to Benue State in the south-centre. This means that the Basa may be the next most widespread people in Nigeria after the Hausa and Fula. Distant groups are not aware of each other, and those near their apparent homeland near the Kambari have lost their language.
Basa-Kontagora is an extinct Kainji language of Nigeria. It is spoken in Mariga, Niger State, near Kontagora and the Basa homeland. It is estimated that Basa-Kontagora has less than 10 native speakers as of 2010.
References
- 1 2 "Bassa-Kuta". LINGUIST List. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
- ↑ "Basa-Gumna". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2024-11-29.
The last fluent speaker shifted to Hausa [hau] by 1987.
- ↑ Blench, Roger (2012). "The Kainji languages of northwestern and central Nigeria" (PDF). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.