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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 Nigerian official language is English, the language of former colonial British Nigeria. As reported in 2003, Nigerian Pidgin was spoken as a second language by 60 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 Idomoid languages are spoken primarily in Benue State of east-central Nigeria and surrounding regions. Idoma itself is an official language spoken by nearly four million people including the subgroups of Igede, Uffia, Otukpo, and Orokam.
Lunguda (Nʋngʋra) is a Niger–Congo language of Nigeria. They settle western part of Gongola mainly in and around the hills of the volcanic Lunguda Plateau, Adamawa state. Joseph Greenberg counted it as a distinct branch, G10, of the Adamawa family. When Blench (2008) broke up Adamawa, Lunguda was made a branch of the Bambukic languages.
Ayere (Uwu) is a divergent Volta–Niger language of Nigeria, closely related only to Ahaan.
Oko (ɔ̀kɔ́), also known as Ogori-Magongo and Oko-Eni-Osayin, is a dialect cluster spoken in Nigeria. It appears to form a branch of the "Nupe–Oko–Idoma" group of Niger–Congo languages. Most Oko speakers also speak Yoruba as a second language. The language is spoken in and around the towns of Ogori and Magongo in southwestern Kogi State, close to the Ondo and Edo state borders.
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.
Barkul (Bo-Rukul) is a Plateau language of Barkul village, Bokkos LGA, Plateau State, Nigeria. The two dialects, Bo and Rukul, each with 500-1,000 speakers, are notably distinct. The classification of Barkul is unclear, but it appears to be closest to Fyam and Horom.
Kwanka, or Kwang (Kwaŋ), is a dialect cluster of Plateau languages in Nigeria.
Zele is an East Kainji language of Bassa LGA in northern Plateau State, Nigeria.
Kuturmi, or Ada, is a Plateau language cluster of Kachia LGA, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
Tunzu (Tunzuii), or Itunzu, also known as Duguza (Dugusa) in Hausa, is a Kainji language of Nigeria.
The Eloyi are an ethnic group of central Nigeria. About 100,000 people identify themselves as Eloyi. They are related to the Idoma ethnic group.
Jibyal is a West Chadic language spoken in Plateau State, Nigeria. It was discovered by Roger Blench in 2017.
Belnəng is a West Chadic language of Shendam LGA, Plateau State, Nigeria closely related to Angas. It is spoken by about 500 people in the single village of Langung, which is surrounded by Tal villages in the east and Miship villages in the west. It is documented in Blench & Bulkaam (2019).
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.
Gusu is an East Kainji language of Nigeria belonging to the Shammo cluster. It is spoken in Toro LGA, Bauchi State and in Bassa LGA, Plateau State.
Moro is an East Kainji language of Nigeria belonging to the Shammo cluster.
Miler is a West Chadic A3 language of Plateau State, Nigeria. It is spoken in two small enclaves that are completely surrounded by Miship-speaking villages. It was first documented by Roger Blench in 2022.
References
- ↑ Eloyi at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ↑ Blench, Roger. 2007. The Eloyi language of Central Nigeria and its affinities.
- Blench (2008) Prospecting proto-Plateau. Manuscript.