Yiwom language

Yiwom
Gerka
Pronunciation	[jʷom]
Native to	Nigeria
Region	Plateau State
Native speakers	(14,000 cited 2000) [1]
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Chadic West Chadic Bole–Angas Yiwom
Language codes
ISO 639-3	gek
Glottolog	yiwo1237

Yiwom (Ywom), also known as Gerka or Gerkawa by the Hausa, ^[2] is a Chadic (Afro-Asiatic) language spoken in Plateau State, Nigeria.

Sociolinguistic background

Ywom was formerly much more widespread, with Ywom toponyms found in southern Tarok-speaking areas. ^[2] Roger Blench (2013) ^[3] reports that Ywom is spoken in Hyel Ywom town and nearby hamlets. Many Ywom speak Jukun and Tarok as additional languages. ^[3] Due to influence from Plateau languages, Ywom has various phonological features that are considered unusual for a West Chadic language, such as labiovelar consonants. ^[2]

Phonology

Tones are at least high and low. Mid tone may be allophonic. Rising and falling tones are probably restricted to sequences.

Vowels are /ieaɨəuo/. There may also be an ?/ɯ/. Three vowels are long, /aaeeɨɨ/.

Consonants are:

ɓ			ɗ
p b			t d		c ɟ	k ɡ	kp ɡb	ɢ	ʔ
	f v	θ	s z	ʃ ʒ	ʃʲ	ɣ			h
m			n		ɲ	ŋ
	ʙ̪		l r
				j			w

Syllable-initial consonant clusters are Cw, Cj, Cr and Cl. NC also occurs; the N takes its own tone.

References

1. Yiwom at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Blench, Roger. 2017. Current research on the A3 West Chadic languages.
3. Blench, Roger. 2013. However did Ywom become so strange?.

External links

• Blench, Roger. 2013. However did Ywom become so strange?.
• Paradisec has an open access collection of Roger Blench’s materials that includes Yiwom language materials