The Chadic languages form a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken in parts of the Sahel. They include 150 languages spoken across northern Nigeria, southern Niger, southern Chad, the Central African Republic, and northern Cameroon. The most widely spoken Chadic language is Hausa, a lingua franca of much of inland Eastern West Africa.
The total number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated at between 1,250 and 2,100, and by some counts at over 3,000. Nigeria alone has over 500 languages, one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world. The Languages of Africa belong to many distinct language families, among which the largest are:
Laal is an endangered language isolate spoken by 749 people in three villages in the Moyen-Chari prefecture of Chad on opposite banks of the Chari River, called Gori (lá), Damtar (ɓual), and Mailao. It represents an isolated survival of an earlier language group of Central Africa. It is unwritten except in transcription by linguists. According to former Summer Institute of Linguistics-Chad member David Faris, it is in danger of extinction, with most people under 25 shifting to the locally more widespread Bagirmi.
The Biu–Mandara or Central Chadic languages of the Afro-Asiatic family are spoken in Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon.
The Adamawa languages are a putative family of 80–90 languages scattered across the Adamawa Plateau in Central Africa, in northern Cameroon, north-western Central African Republic, southern Chad, and eastern Nigeria, spoken altogether by only one and a half million people. Joseph Greenberg classified them as one branch of the Adamawa–Ubangi family of Niger–Congo languages. They are among the least studied languages in Africa, and include many endangered languages; by far the largest is Mumuye, with 400,000 speakers. A couple of unclassified languages—notably Laal and Jalaa—are found along the fringes of the Adamawa area.
The Kirdi are the many cultures and ethnic groups who inhabit northwestern Cameroon and northeastern Nigeria.
Kapsiki (Ka-Tsepkye) is a people living on both sides of the border between North Cameroon and Northeast Nigeria. They are called Kapsiki in Cameroon, and Kamwe (Higi) in Nigeria. Together they amount to about 120,000 people. Their language, Psekiye or Kamwe, consists of eleven dialects including Nkafa, Sina, Ghye, Humsi, Dakwa and Tilli and belongs to the Chadic language family.
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.
Bura-Pabir is a Chadic language spoken in North-eastern Nigeria by the Babur/Bura people. Dialects include Pela, Bura Pela, Hill Bura, Hyil Hawul, Bura Hyilhawul, and Plain Bura. The language is closely related to Kilba, Chibok, Margi and a few other north-eastern Nigerian Languages.
Bade is a West Chadic language spoken by the Bade people in Yobe State and Jigawa State, Nigeria. Their traditional ruler is the Emir of Bade. Similar to many other Western African languages, Bade is a vulnerable language at great risk of extinction. With 250,000 speakers, the language and the culture of the Bade people have suffered over the last several years. As the language continues to fade, the culture and historic value associated with the language perishes as well. The local dialect is shifting from Bade to Hausa. Across West Africa, the impact on local communities through the loss of the indigenous tongues will be significant. The endangerment of the Bade language represents the worldwide language diversity that is at risk. Many African languages have only received little linguistic attention, impacting these African languages.
Psikye is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in northern Cameroon and eastern Nigeria. Varieties include Psikyɛ and Zləngə. Blench (2006) classifies it as a dialect of Kamwe.
Bata (Gbwata) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Nigeria in Adamawa State in the Numan, Song, Fufore and Mubi 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). It is often considered the same language as Bacama.
Fali, or Fali of Mubi after the local city, is a Chadic dialect cluster spoken in Nigeria, in Adamawa State in the Mubi North and Michika LGAs. It is one of several languages in the area that go by the generic name Fali.
Michika (Mwe-cika) is a town and Local Government Area in Adamawa State, Nigeria, it is the administrative headquarters of the local government. It is in Northern Adamawa State and located directly across the border from the famous tourist site of Mcedigyi in vecemwe Rhumsiki in Cameroon. Mwe-cika (Michika) is the fourth largest town in Adamawa State.
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 be may 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).
Daka is one of two languages spoken by the Chamba people in Nigeria, the other being Chamba Leko.
Tula is one of the Savanna languages of Gombe State, northeastern Nigeria.
Saya is a Chadic dialect cluster of Nigeria.
Higgi is a derogatory word which means grasshopper as acclaimed by the nkaffa people, which according to them was an insult. The Nkaffa man wants to rewrite the history of the Dakwa people by saying this without consultation to gain relevance. According to the nkaffa people, dakwa is originally called Tsekumo, which is a fallacy, while dakwa is of Nkafa dialect from Ndakwe trying to show that the Nkaffa man existed before the Dakwa people. Literally cul-de-sac. Their other name Bazza is of Margi origin pazza named after the mountain of Bwazza, but in documentation was written Bazza by the missionaries. The history of Michika was documented by the first missionaries that brought the Christain religion to the Highi people and they first settled at Bazza. Michika received the CBM lately and Ziragapa came as a missionary 20 years after wards. The issue of having similar people of Bazza as a tribe and language at Mayobani Local Government Area in Adamawa State of Nigeria and that, The language has 2 dialects with two major dialects of Aghummu and Kamo is also a fallacy. However, this assertion is a fallacy as the Ndakwa people has no close association with the people of Mayobani. Although the people of the dialects are mixed, higgi are predominantly in Bazza South and Madzi West State Development Areas, as claimed by the group clamoring for kamwe. In the history of Nigeria the only tribe found and gazetted in Michika local government area are the Highi people. and the latter in Dakota North and Tsekumo Central Development Areas. Minor dialects are in various localities across the Development Areas. A significant number of Bazza Highi people live in other parts of Nigeria and beyond (diaspora). In cosmopolitan cities and towns in Michika Local Government Area, Highi people live with members of other tribes, Such as the Marghi’s, Gra and Fulani.
The Kamwe Kamwe also spelt Kamue) is a Chadic language autochthonous to Adamawa State, Borno State of Nigeria and North Western Cameroon. In Nigeria about 80 percent of the Kamwe people are found in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. They are also found in Mubi North, Hong, Gombi, Song and Madagali local governments in Adamawa State. The Kamwe people are also found in Borno State, especially in Askira/Uba and Gwoza local government areas Blench (2019) lists Mukta of Mukta village, Adamawa State as part of the Kamwe cluster.
