Jju language

Jju^[2]
Jju
People	Ba̠jju
Language	Jju
Country	Ka̠jju

Jju
Jju
Jhyuo, Kaje
Du̱ryem Jju
Native to	Nigeria
Region	Kaduna State
Ethnicity	Bajju people
Native speakers	600,000 (2020)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Plateau Central ? Tyapic Jju; ; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kaj
Glottolog	jjuu1238

Last updated July 29, 2025

Jju (Tyap : Jhyuo; Hausa : Kaje, Kache) is the native language of the Bajju people of Kaduna State in central Nigeria. As of 1988, there were approximately 300,000 speakers.^[1] Jju is one of the Southern Kaduna languages.^[1]^[3] Although usually 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.^[4]

Distribution

Jju is spoken as a first language by the Bajju people in Zangon Kataf, Jema'a, Kachia, Kaura and Kaduna South Local Government Areas of Kaduna state. It is also spoken in neighbouring Atyap, Fantswam, Agworok, Ham, Adara, and other kin communities as a second or third language.^{[ citation needed ]}

Phonology

Vowels

Vowels^[5]
	Front	Central	Back
Close	i	ɨ	u
Mid	e	ə	o
Open		a

A few words also include the long vowels /aː/ and /oː/.^[5]

Consonants

Consonants^[6]
		Labial		Alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Labial–velar
Nasal	plain	m		n				ŋ
Nasal	tense	mː		nː				ŋː
Stop	plain	p	b	t	d			k	ɡ	k͡p	ɡ͡b
Stop	tense	pː	bː	tː	dː			kː	ɡː
Affricate	plain	p͡f	b͡v	t͡s	d͡z	t͡ʃ	d͡ʒ
Affricate	tense	p͡fː	b͡vː	t͡sː	d͡zː	t͡ʃː	d͡ʒː
Fricative	plain	f		s		ʃ
Fricative	tense	fː		sː		ʃː
Rhotic	tap			ɾ
	tense			ɾː
	trill			r
Approximant	labial	ʍ	w			ɥ̊	ɥ
	lab. tense	ʍː	wː			ɥ̊ː	ɥː
	central					j̊	j
	tense						jː

There is a tenseness distinction, which McKinney (1990) calls a fortis-lenis distinction. McKinney analyzes the fortis consonants as longer than lenis consonants.^[5]
There is allophonic palatalization before front vowels and allophonic labialization before rounded vowels.^[6]
Most consonants have a three-way contrast between plain, labialized [ʷ], and palatalized [ʲ].^[7]

Aspiration [ʰ] may phonetically occur among stops.^[8]
Tense stops /kːɡː/ may also be heard as affricates [k͡x,ɡ͡ɣ].^[9]

Numerals

Numeral	Jju word
1	A̠yring
2	A̠hwa
3	A̠tat
4	A̠naai
5	A̠pfwon
6	A̠kitat
7	A̠tiyring
8	A̠ninai
9	A̠kumbvuyring
10	Swak
11	Swak bu a̠yring
12	Swak bu a̠hwa
13	Swak bu a̠tat
14	Swak bu a̠naai
15	Swak bu a̠pfwon
16	Swak bu a̠kitat
17	Swak bu a̠tiyring
18	Swak bu a̠ninai
19	Swak bu a̠kumbvuyring
20	Nswak nh\|c
30	Nswak ntat
40	Nswak nnaai
50	Nswak npfwon
60	Nswak a̠kitat
70	Nswak a̠tiyring
80	Nswak a̠ninai
90	Nswak a̠kumbvuyring
100	Cyi
1000	Cyikwop

Vocabulary

List of vocabulary relating to body parts.

zwuoi - nose
shog - cheek
a̠kpukpa ka̠nu - lip
zwuak - throat
du̱ryem - tongue
pffwa - neck
ka̠dyet - chin
ka̠hog - chest
trang - beard
kawiyang - armpit
du̱ccu - head
a̠nyyi teeth
tsuo mbvak - elbow
ka̠ma - back
du̱kkwat - back of head
tak - leg
ka̠hwa - stomach
du̱kkwut - knee
hun-tak ankle
gruang - shoulder
kanu - mouth
kop - navel
pffwo - ear
du̱ssi - eye
a̠cat - hair
du̱byiang - breast
ka̠ta̠ssi - forehead
a̠ta̠ngbak - wrist
ka̠ta̠ng-hurung bak - finger
bva̠k - hand

Notes

1 2 3 Jju at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
↑ Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
↑ "Bajju". Glottolog. 3.0. Retrieved 5 May 2017.^{[ permanent dead link ]}^{[ failed verification ]}
↑ Blench, Roger M. (2018). "Nominal affixes and number marking in the Plateau languages". In Watters, John R. (ed.). East Benue-Congo: Nouns, pronouns, and verbs. Niger-Congo Comparative Studies. Vol. 1. Berlin: Language Science Press. pp. 128–129. ISBN 9783961101009 . Retrieved 14 December 2023.
1 2 3 McKinney 1990, p. 256.
1 2 McKinney 1990, p. 257.
↑ McKinney 1990 , p. 257, citing Hyuwa, D. (1986). "Kaje orthography". Orthographies of Nigerian Languages. Vol. 3/4. Lagos, Nigeria: National Language Centre. pp. 72–99.
↑ McKinney 1990, p. 262.
↑ McKinney 1990, p. 260.

References

McKinney, Norris P. (April 1990). "Temporal characteristics of fortis stops and affricates in Tyap and Jju" . Journal of Phonetics. 18 (2): 255–266. doi:10.1016/S0095-4470(19)30392-4. ISSN 0095-4470.

External links

Diwan Jju (Voice of Jju)

This article about Plateau languages is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[e25-1] 1 2 3 Jju at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)

[BlenchAtlas4-2] Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.

[3] "Bajju". Glottolog. 3.0. Retrieved 5 May 2017.^{[ permanent dead link ]}^{[ failed verification ]}

[EBCongo-4] Blench, Roger M. (2018). "Nominal affixes and number marking in the Plateau languages". In Watters, John R. (ed.). East Benue-Congo: Nouns, pronouns, and verbs. Niger-Congo Comparative Studies. Vol. 1. Berlin: Language Science Press. pp. 128–129. ISBN 9783961101009 . Retrieved 14 December 2023.

[FOOTNOTEMcKinney1990256-5] 1 2 3 McKinney 1990, p. 256.

[FOOTNOTEMcKinney1990257-6] 1 2 McKinney 1990, p. 257.

[7] McKinney 1990 , p. 257, citing Hyuwa, D. (1986). "Kaje orthography". Orthographies of Nigerian Languages. Vol. 3/4. Lagos, Nigeria: National Language Centre. pp. 72–99.

[FOOTNOTEMcKinney1990262-8] McKinney 1990, p. 262.

[FOOTNOTEMcKinney1990260-9] McKinney 1990, p. 260.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

Jju
Jhyuo, Kaje
Du̱ryem Jju
Native to	Nigeria
Region	Kaduna State
Ethnicity	Bajju people
Native speakers	600,000 (2020)^[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Plateau Central ? Tyapic Jju
Language codes
ISO 639-3	`kaj`
Glottolog	`jjuu1238`