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Roger Marsh Blench is a British linguist, ethnomusicologist and development anthropologist. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and is based in Cambridge, England. He researches, publishes, and works as a consultant.
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.
Pongu (Pangu), or Rin, is a Kainji language spoken in Nigeria. There are about 20,000 speakers. Their main centre is in Pangu Gari town of Niger State, about 20 kilometres southeast of Tegina.
Bura is a Chadic language spoken in North-eastern Nigeria by the Bura-Pabir 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.
Chakato is a West Chadic language spoken in Plateau State, Nigeria. It was identified by Roger Blench in 2016. It is spoken by about 500 people in one village, Dokan Tofa, which is located on the Jos-Shendam road in Plateau State. Blench (2017) suggests that Chakato may be related to spurious records of the Jorto language. Chakato speakers claim that their language is closely related to Goemai.
Ajawa is an extinct Afro-Asiatic language formerly spoken in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Ajawa became extinct between 1920 and 1940 as speakers switched to Hausa.
The twelve Mambiloid languages are languages spoken by the Mambila and related peoples mostly in eastern Nigeria and in Cameroon. In Nigeria the largest group is Mambila. In Cameroon the largest group is Vute.
The four scattered and poorly attested Alumic languages form a branch of the Plateau languages of central Nigeria.
Zeem, or Chaari, is an endangered Chadic dialect cluster of Nigeria, whose speakers are shifting to Hausa. Dyarim is closely related.
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 may be 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).
Basa-Gumna is an extinct Kainji language of Nigeria. It was spoken in Chanchaga, Niger state, and Nasarawa, near the Basa homeland. Speakers have shifted to Hausa.
Alumu is a Plateau language spoken by approximately 7,000 people in Nassarawa State, Nigeria. It has lost the nominal affix system characteristic of the Niger–Congo family.
Buru and Angwe constitute a potentially rather divergent Southern Bantoid language spoken in Sardauna LGA, Taraba State of Nigeria.
The East Kainji languages are spoken in a compact area of the Jos Plateau in Nigeria, near Jos. There are more than 20 of them, most of which are poorly studied.
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.
Sambe is a presumably extinct Plateau language of Nigeria once spoken in the village of the same name. The Sambe people have shifted to Ninzo.
The Kamuku languages are a branch of the Kainji languages spoken by the Kamuku people of Niger State, western Nigeria, mostly in Mariga and Rafi LGAs.
Kakanda is a Nupoid language of Nigeria. Kakanda is spoken in and around Kupa and Eggan. There are scattered villages stretching from the Niger-Benue confluence to as far as Muregi. There are at least 10,000 people. It is most closely related to Gupa and Kupa, although there are also some similarities with Ebira.
Akpondu is a Plateau language of Nigeria once spoken in Akpondu village, Kaduna State. The Akpondu people have shifted to Ninzo. Only the numerals have been recorded. The extinct undocumented languages Nigbo and Babur (Bəbər) were also spoken in nearby villages of Nigbo and Babur, respectively.
Jibyal is a West Chadic language spoken in Plateau State, Nigeria. It was discovered by Roger Blench in 2017.
References
- ↑ Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
- 1 2 Blench, Roger M. 2012. Akpondu, Nigbo, Bəbər and Nisam: moribund or extinct languages of central Nigeria Babur.