 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2017) |
| Eggon | |
|---|---|
| Onumu Egon | |
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Nasarawa, Kaduna, Benue states |
Native speakers | 270,000 (2020) [1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ego |
| Glottolog | eggo1239 |
| Egon [2] | |
|---|---|
| People | Mo Egon |
| Language | Onumu Egon |
Eggon (also Egon, Ero, or Mo Egon), erroneously referred to as Mada - formerly a Plateau language spoken in central Nigeria. It is one of the major language in Nasarawa State.
The exact classification of the Eggon language has been in dispute and it can be said that this issue remains unresolved.[ citation needed ] Eggon was first classified by Greenberg (1963) as a Plateau language in his group 5, together with Nungu and Yeskwa. In the revision prepared by Carl Hoffman published in Hansford et al. (1976) a Benue group was set up that combined Greenberg's Plateau 5 and 7 with Jukunoid. The new subgrouping classified Eggon together with Nungu, Ake and Jidda-Abu. This concept of a Benue grouping came from the lexicostatistical studies of Shimizu (1975) who argued against the unity of Greenberg's Plateau and proposed the Benue group. However, in 1983, Gerhardt published a convincing rebuttal of Shimizu's arguments. The latest version of classification of Plateau languages in Gerhardt (1989) adds Yashi to the Eggon subgroup but removes the links with 'Benue' i.e. Tarok and the Jukunoid languages. Blench (2008) classifies Eggon and Ake as the Eggonic group of the Southern branch of Plateau.
The main towns of the Eggon people are Eggon, Kagbu, Washo and Wana. They stretch as far south as Lafia and west of Akwanga as far as the railway line. They are bordered on the north by the Mada and to the south by the Migili and the Idoma.
In much of the colonial literature, the Eggon were known as the "Hill Mada" in contrast to the "Plains Mada", the people known as Mada today. The Eggon lived in the Mada hills south of Akwanga in the pre-colonial period, but there is no connection between the groups that would justify these terms, and they have now been discarded.
The exact number of speakers is unknown, but it is unlikely to be less than the estimate of 200,000 given by Sibomana (1985). Ames (1934) gave a figure of 41,276 for the 1920s, but this is likely to have been substantially underestimated. Welmers (1971) estimated 52,000 although this may have been only a projection from Ames.
Very little has been written about Eggon society and Temple (1922) and Ames (1934) are the only sources that contain any descriptions of Eggon social organisation.[ relevant? ]
Eggon is conventionally divided into twenty-five mutually comprehensible dialects, some of which are; Eggon Wangibi, Ikka, Wana, Washo, Wakama, Ogne, Angbashu, Alushi, Alogani, Eva, Nabe, Lizzi, Ezzen, Arikpa, etc. The only author to discuss dialects is Sibomana (1985) whose discussion focuses on Kagbu, which he states is the main dialect. He also cites data from the Eggon dialect. The Benue–Congo Comparative Wordlist (1969, 1972) also gives data from two dialects.
A twenty-sixth variety is Madan-tara, spoken by a group of Eggon east of Eggon. It is said to be impossible to understand without special learning and is sufficiently different from other lects to be effectively a new language. Its precise relationship to the other varieties of Eggon is unknown.
Unlike the surrounding languages, Eggon has many consonant clusters that had historically developed via vowel deletion.
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Eggon has no literary standard language. The earliest written material in Eggon appears to be scripture portions from 1937, probably prepared by I.D. Hepburn. The dialect chosen for bible translation is based on the Wana dialect, although it is supplemented by forms from other dialects and so is a sort of synthetic Eggon not based on the speech of a particular group. A hymnbook and 2 readers were prepared, and the translation of the New Testament was completed in 1974. The orthography of the New Testament is somewhat different from the earlier publications. There are however, literature works written in eggon language which provides confidence for one to surely say there is improvement in the written language of eggon. There are also summer lessons to teach and train eggon sons and daughters their language and culture.
Eggon is apparently in use in churches only in remoter regions and it has been displaced by Hausa in all establishments along the main road. However, there is apparently a move to revive the use of Eggon. Some evidence of this is the recent publication of new material in Eggon, a book of history and customs and a women's magazine which is intended to make a regular appearance.
The following are the main things that have been written about Eggon. Some have not been published and are only available in mimeo.
Benue–Congo is a major branch of the Volta-Congo languages which covers most of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Nasarawa State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by the states of Taraba and Plateau, to the north by Kaduna State, to the south by the states of Benue and Kogi, and to the west by the Federal Capital Territory. Named for the historic Nasarawa Emirate, the state was formed from the west of Plateau State on 1 October 1996. The state has thirteen local government areas and its capital is Lafia, located in the east of the state, while a key economic centre of the state is the Karu Urban Area—suburbs of Abuja—along the western border with the FCT.
The forty or so Plateau languages are a tentative group of Benue–Congo languages spoken by 15 million people on the Jos Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Nasarawa State and in adjacent areas in central Nigeria.
There are over 525 native languages spoken in Nigeria. The official language and most widely spoken lingua franca is English, which was the language of Colonial Nigeria. Nigerian Pidgin – an English-based creole – is spoken by 30 million people in Nigeria.
The Volta–Niger family of languages, also known as West Benue–Congo or East Kwa, is one of the branches of the Niger–Congo language family, with perhaps 70 million speakers. Among these are the most important languages of southern Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and southeast Ghana: Yoruba, Igbo, Bini, and Gbe.
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.
Ebira is a Niger-Congo language. It is spoken by around 2 million people in North central Nigeria. It is the most divergent Nupoid language.
The twenty Central Plateau languages are a residual branch of the Plateau family spoken in central Nigeria. Tyap has over 200,000 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 dozen or so Ninzic languages are a branch of the Plateau family spoken in central Nigeria.
The Jukunoid languages are a branch of the Benue-Congo 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 branch of the Northern Bantoid languages spoken in Taraba and Adamawa states of eastern Nigeria.
Akwanga is a Local Government Area in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Akwanga.
Not to be confused with Jarawa, a language spoken primarily in India.
Daka is one of two languages spoken by the Chamba people in Nigeria, the other being Chamba Leko.
Mada is a regionally important language spoken in Nasarawa and southern Kaduna States of Middle Belt, Nigeria, with many dialects. It is a highly tonal language. A translation of the New Testament into the language was finished in 1999. The Nunku language has been identified to be a dialect of Mada rather than of the Gbantu language.
Tyap is a regionally important dialect cluster of Plateau languages in Nigeria's Middle Belt, named after its prestige dialect. It is also known by its Hausa exonym as Katab or Kataf. It is also known by the names of its dialectical varieties including Sholyio, Fantswam, Gworok, Takad, "Mabatado", Tyeca̱rak and Tyuku (Tuku). In spite of being listed separately from the Tyap cluster, Jju's separation, according to Blench R.M. (2018), seems to be increasingly ethnic rather than a linguistic reality.
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.
Nyifon (Iordaa) is a poorly known Jukunoid language of Buruku LGA, Benue State, Nigeria. There may have been about 1,000 speakers in the 1990s. The language is not reported in Ethnologue. Glottolog lists it as a dialect of Wapan language.
The Shammo (Shammɔ) or Jere languages are spoken in north-central Nigeria. They form a subgroup within the East Kainji languages.
The Eggon are an Ethnic Group mostly based in North Central Nigeria.
