Duru languages

Duru
Geographic distribution	northern Cameroon, eastern Nigeria
Linguistic classification	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Savannas Leko–Nimbari Duru
Subdivisions	Duli Dii Voko–Dowayo
Language codes
Glottolog	samb1323

The Duru languages are a group of Savanna languages spoken in northern Cameroon and eastern Nigeria. They were labeled "G4" in Joseph Greenberg's Adamawa language-family proposal.

Kleinewillinghöfer (2012) also observes many morphological similarities between the Samba-Duru and Central Gur languages. ^[1]

Languages

• Duli (extinct)
• Dii: Duupa, Dugun (Panõ), Dii (Mambe’, Mamna’a, Goom, Boow, Ngbang, Sagzee, Vaazin, Home, Nyok)
• Peere (Kutin)
• Longto (Voko)
• Vere–Dowayo
  • Dowayo
  • Sewe
  • Koma
  • Vere

However, Guldemann (2018) casts doubt on the coherence of Samba–Duru as a unified group. ^[2]

Classification

In the Adamawa Languages Project site, Kleinewillinghöfer (2015) classifies the Samba-Duru group as follows (see also Leko languages). ^[3]

Samba-Duru

• Vere (Verre) ^[4]
  • Jango (Mom Jango) ^[5]
  • Vere cluster (Momi, Vere Kaadam)
  • Wɔmmu (Wongi, Wɔŋgi)
  • Nissim-Eilim
  • Kobom, Karum (Vere Kari), Danum
  • Vɔmnəm (Koma Vomni)
  • Gəunəm cluster: Yarəm, Lim, Gbaŋrɨm, Baidəm, Zanəm, Ləələm, etc.
  • Damtəm (Koma Damti), etc.
• Gəmme (Gimme) (Koma) ^[6]
  • Gəmnəm (Gəmnime, Gimnime): Beiya, Gindoo; Riitime
  • Gəmme (Kompana, Panme): Yəgme, Dehnime; Baanime
• Doyayo (Dooya̰a̰yɔ): ^[7] Markɛ; Tɛ̰ɛ̰rɛ (of Poli); Tɛ̰ɛ̰rɛ (of the mountains)
• Duru
  • Dii cluster
  • Dugun (Paape, Sa)
  • Duupa (Paape)
  • Pɛrɛ (Pere, Kutin): Gaziwaːlɛ, Nɔlti), ˀAːlti; Zɔŋ Pɛrɛ (Potopo)
  • Lɔŋto (Voko, Woko)
• Samba (Samba Leeko, Leko)
  • Samba cluster
  • Mubaako (Məbaako, Mumbaako, Nyong)
  • Kolbila ^[8]
  • Pɛrɛma (Wom)

Names and locations

Below is a list of language names, populations, and locations from Blench (2019). ^[9]

Language	Cluster	Dialects	Alternate spellings	Own name for language	Other names (location-based)	Other names for language	Speakers	Location(s)
Mom Jango				Mom Jango	Vere (see also Momĩ, Were, Verre, Kobo (in Cameroon)		20,000 total (including Momĩ, 4,000 in Cameroon (1982 SIL)	Adamawa State, Fufore LGA
Momi				Ziri	Vere (this also includes Mom Jango, q.v.), Were, Verre, Kobo (in Cameroon)		20,000 total (including Mom Jango), 4,000 in Cameroon (1982 SIL)	Adamawa State, Yola and Fufore LGAs; and in Cameroon
Koma cluster	Koma	The correspondences between the Cameroonian and Nigerian names are uncertain	Kuma, Koma (a Fulfulde cover term for Gomme, Gomnome, Ndera; ALCAM treats them as separate though closely related languages)				3,000 (1982 SIL); majority in Cameroon	Adamawa State, Ganye and Fufore LGAs, in the Alantika Mountains; also in Cameroon
Gomme	Koma		Gәmme			Damti, Koma Kampana, Panbe
Gomnome	Koma		Gọmnọme			Mbeya, Gimbe, Koma Kadam, Laame, Youtubo
Ndera	Koma					Vomni, Doome, Doobe

Footnotes

1. Kleinewillinghöfer, Ulrich (2012). Correlations of the Noun Class Systems of Central Adamawa and Proto Central Gur.
2. Güldemann, Tom (2018). "Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa". In Güldemann, Tom (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of Africa. The World of Linguistics series. Vol. 11. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 58–444. doi:10.1515/9783110421668-002. ISBN   978-3-11-042606-9. S2CID   133888593.
3. Kleinewillinghöfer, Ulrich. 2015. Samba-Duru group. Adamawa Languages Project.
4. "VERE Language Group" (PDF). blogs.uni-mainz.de. 2015. Retrieved 27 Oct 2025.
5. Kleinewillinghöfer, Ulrich (2015). Notes on Jango (Mom Jango).
6. Kleinewillinghöfer, Ulrich (2015). Gimme-Vere and Doyayo: Comparative Wordlists.
7. Kleinewillinghöfer, Ulrich (2015). Doyayo.
8. Littig, Sabine (2017). Kolbila: Geography and history.
9. Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.

References

• Roger Blench, 2004. List of Adamawa languages (ms)

 This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 3.0 license.

External links

• Samba-Duru (Adamawa Languages Project)