Ethnic territories of the Bata-speaking people (Batta) in Nigeria, in blue
Bata
Person
Gbwata
Language
Magbwata
Bata (Gbwata) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Nigeria in Adamawa State in the Numan, Song, Fufore and Jimeta gire Yola maiha Demsa lamorde LGAs, and in Cameroon in North Province along the border with Nigeria. Dialects are Demsa, Garoua, Jirai, Kobotachi, Malabu, Ndeewe, Ribaw, Wadi, and Zumu (Jimo).[1] It is often considered the same language as Bacama.[2]
Blench (2019) lists Bwatye (endonym: Ɓwaare; exonym: Bachama) as a closely related language variety. They are located in Adamawa State (Numan and Guyuk LGAs) and Kaduna State (northeast of Kaduna town).[3] It is also called Kwā ɓwàryē.[4]
ALCAM (2012) lists Gbwata (Bwaara in Nigeria) as the singular personal form of Bata. The speakers refer to their language as "the language of the Gbwata", called Magbwatá, Magbwati or Magbwatiye in Cameroon.[5]
Dialects
In Cameroon, there are three varieties of Gbwata:[5]
Demsa (Demsa commune in Bénoué department, which is on the Nigerian border, 30km northeast of Garoua)
Ndeewe is the dialect of the Gbwata who live far from the banks of the Faro and Benue rivers, where the "agricultural Bata" live. It is now spoken by only a few dozen people.[5]
Bacama is a Gbwata ethnic group settled in Nigeria.[5]
Mbum Proper is a Adamawa–Ubangi language of Central Africa. It is spoken by about 50,000 people in Cameroon and the Central African Republic.
Gude is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Nigeria in Adamawa State in Mubi South LGA and in Borno State in some parts of Askira-Uba LGA. It is also spoken in neighboring Cameroon. Different dialects are spoken in Nigeria and Cameroon.
Nzanyi is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Nigeria in Adamawa State in Maiha LGA, and along the border in Cameroon. Dialects are Dede, Hoode, Lovi, Magara, Maiha, Mutidi, Nggwoli, Paka, and Rogede.
Daba is a Chadic dialect cluster spoken in Cameroon in Far North Province and in one village in neighboring Nigeria. Blench (2006) considers Mazagway to be a dialect.
The Nimbari language, which is no longer spoken, was a member of the Leko–Nimbari group of Savanna languages. It was spoken in northern Cameroon. Ethnologue lists Badjire, Gorimbari, and Padjara-Djabi villages as Nimbari locations in Bénoué and Mayo-Louti divisions.
Jarawan is a group of languages spoken mostly in Bauchi State, Nigeria, with some also scattered in Plateau State, Taraba State, and Adamawa State in the same country. Two related languages formerly spoken in Cameroon are now extinct but are believed to have belonged to the group. This connection between Nigerian and Cameroonian Jarawan is attributed to Thomas (1925). Whether Jarawan languages are best classified alongside other Bantu languages or among non-Bantu Bantoid languages is a matter of ongoing debate. A number of descriptions and classifications in the early 20th century suggest that they may be historically related to Bantu languages but not necessarily Bantu themselves. Other perspectives based on lexicostatistic modeling and other phylogenetic techniques for language comparison argue instead that Jarawan languages are properly classified alongside Zone A Bantu languages (A31-A40-A60). For classifications based on these more recent studies, see for example Blench (2006), Piron (1997), and Grollemund (2012).
The Gwèri or Vere language Were also known as Kobo or Mom Jango, is a member of the Duru branch of Savanna languages. It is spoken across the northern Nigerian–Cameroonian border.
Chamba Leko is one of two languages spoken by the Chamba people, the other being Chamba Daka. It is a member of the Leko branch of Savanna languages, and is spoken across the northern Nigerian–Cameroonian border.
Daka is one of two languages spoken by the Chamba people in Nigeria, the other being Chamba Leko.
Oblo is a poorly attested, unclassified, and possibly extinct language of northern Cameroon. It is, or was, spoken in a tiny area including Gobtikéré, Ouro Bé, and Ouro Badjouma, in Pitoa, Bénoué Department.
The Koma language is a language cluster belonging to the Duru branch of Savannas languages of Cameroon. Blench (2004) includes three varieties separated in Ethnologue, Koma Ndera, Gɨmne, and Gɨmnɨme; within Koma Ndera, speakers of the marginal dialects, Gomnome and Ndera, can scarcely understand one another, though both understand the central dialect, Gomme.
Mundang is an Mbum language of southern Chad and northern Cameroon.
Pana is an Mbum language of the Central African Republic. A few thousand speak it in southern Chad and northern Cameroon. A dialect in Cameroon, Man, may be a separate language. Blench (2004) leaves Pondo and Gonge in CAR unclassified within the Mbum languages.
Doyayo is a language of the Duru branch of Adamawa languages spoken in Cameroon.
Kutin is a member of the Duru branch of Savanna languages. Most Nigerian speakers moved to Cameroon when the Gashaka-Gumti National Park was established.
The Dii language is a dialect cluster in the Duru branch of Savanna languages. Yag Dii is the ethnonym.
Kolbila is an Adamawa language of Cameroon and Nigeria.
Duli is an extinct Adamawa language of northern Cameroon.
Mono is a moribund Mbum language spoken by older adults in northern Cameroon.
Kali is a presumably moribund Mbum language of northern Cameroon or the Central African Republic.
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