Northwest Kainji languages

Last updated
Northwest Kainji
Lela, Duka
Geographic
distribution
Nigeria
Linguistic classification Niger–Congo?
Glottolog duka1247

The six Northwest Kainji languages, also known as the Lela languages or the Duka languages, are spoken near Kainji Lake on the Niger River in Nigeria. They are distinguishable from other Kainji languages by the reduction of their noun-class prefixes to single consonants. [1]

Contents

Classification

Blench (2018)

Northwest Kainji classification by Blench (2018): [2]

The position of Damakawa is uncertain.

Blench (2010)

In Blench (2010), Lela (C'lela and Ribah) is divergent from the other languages, though poorly attested Damakawa has similarities. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benue–Congo languages</span> Major subdivision of the Niger–Congo language family

Benue–Congo is a major branch of the Volta-Congo languages which covers most of Sub-Saharan Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plateau languages</span> Group of Benue–Congo languages of central Nigeria

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kainji languages</span> Subfamily of Benue–Congo languages of west-central Nigeria

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.

Cipu (Cicipu), or Western Acipa, is a Kainji language spoken by about 20,000 people in northwest Nigeria. The people call themselves Acipu, and are called Acipawa in Hausa.

Damakawa is a moribund Benue–Congo language of northwest Nigeria. The language has become extinct, there are no longer any speakers of the language, although the oldest people can remember a few words. Approximately 80 or so words and phrases were collected, with difficulty, in April 2008.

u̠t-Ma'in or Fakai is a Northwest Kainji dialect continuum spoken by 36,000 people in Nigeria. There are numerous rather divergent dialects:

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.

The Kambari or Kamberi languages) are a cluster of Kainji languages spoken in northwestern Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zele language</span> Kainji language spoken in Nigeria

Zele is an East Kainji language of Bassa LGA in northern Plateau State, Nigeria.

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.

Lela or C'lela is a Kainji language of Nigeria. It is known as Cilela in Hausa, and it is also known as Dakarkari, because it is spoken by the Dakarkari people

Hun-Saare or Duka is a Kainji language of Nigeria. The eastern and western dialects are known as Hun (Ut-Hun) and Saare (Us-Saare), but speakers use Saare for both.

Bauchi is a cluster of Kainji languages spoken in Rafi, Nigeria LGA, Niger State, Nigeria.

Boze, also rendered Buji, is an East Kainji language of Nigeria belonging to the Shammo cluster. Boze is spoken in a contiguous area Bicizà, directly to the north of Jos city in Plateau State, Nigeria.

Panawa (Bujiyel) is an East Kainji language of Nigeria belonging to the Shammo cluster.

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.

Loro is an East Kainji language of Toro LGA, Bauchi State, Nigeria belonging to the Shammo cluster.

The Shammo (Shammɔ) or Jere languages are spoken in north-central Nigeria. They form a subgroup within the East Kainji languages.

Moro is an East Kainji language of Nigeria belonging to the Shammo cluster.

Bunu or Ribina is an East Kainji language of Toro LGA, Bauchi State, Nigeria belonging to the Shammo cluster.

References

  1. 1 2 Roger Blench, 2010, The Northwest Kainji languages
  2. Blench, Roger M. 2018. Nominal affixing in the Kainji languages of northwestern and central Nigeria. In John R. Watters (ed.), East Benue-Congo: Nouns, pronouns, and verbs, 59–106. Berlin: Language Science Press. doi : 10.5281/zenodo.1314323