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Benue–Congo is a major branch of the Volta-Congo languages which covers most of Sub-Saharan Africa.
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.
Eggon, erroneously referred to as Mada - formerly a Plateau language spoken in central Nigeria. It is one of the major language in Nasarawa State.
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.
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.
The Jukunoid languages are a branch of the Benue-Congo languages spoken by the Jukun and related peoples of Nigeria and Cameroon. They are distributed mostly throughout Taraba State, Nigeria and surrounding regions.
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.
Berom or Birom is the most widely spoken Plateau language in Nigeria. The language is locally numerically important and is consistently spoken by Berom of all ages in rural areas. However, the Berom are shifting to Hausa in cities. The small Cen and Nincut dialects may be separate languages. Approximately 1 million (2010) people speak in this language.
The Kulu language, Ikulu, also known as Ankulu or Ikolu, is a Plateau language of Nigeria. It is spoken by the Bakulu, found in the Zangon Kataf, Kachia and Kauru Local Government Areas of Kaduna State.
The Rigwe language, Nkarigwe, is a Plateau language of Nigeria spoken by the Irigwe people mainly found in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Jju is the native language of the Bajju people of Kaduna State in central Nigeria. As of 1988, there were approximately 300,000 speakers. Jju is one of the Southern Kaduna languages. 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.
Jukun (Njikun), or more precisely Jukun Takum, is a Jukunoid language of Cameroon used as a trade language in Nigeria. Though there are only a few thousand native speakers, and only a dozen in Nigeria, it is spoken as a second language in Nigeria by tens of thousands.
Ju is a language from the West Chadian branch of the Chadic language family. The language is spoken solely in Nigeria, and had approximately 900 native speakers in 1993. The language is unwritten.
Tala is a language from the West Chadian branch of the Chadic language family. The language is spoken in the central regions of Nigeria, and had approximately 1000 native speakers in 1993. The language is unwritten.
Yumu is a minor Kainji language of Nigeria. It is listed as a potential Kambari language by Roger Blench, however it does not have an Ethnologue nor Glottolog entry.
Laka or Lau is a Central Sudanic language spoken in Nigeria. It is most closely related to Kabba Laka of Chad. The Hausa refer to the Laka people of Lau as Lakawa. The language was only recently documented in the mid-2010s, and had been previously misclassified as a Mbum language along with Lau.
Nincut (Aboro) is a Plateau language of Kaduna State, Nigeria belonging to the Beromic branch. Blench estimates 5,000 speakers in 2003. It is spoken 7 km north of Fadan Karshe in Kaduna State. Nincut is not recorded in Ethnologue or Glottolog.
Nigbo is an extinct Plateau language of Nigeria. It was spoken near Agameti on the Fadan Karshi-Wamba road near Sanga LGA, Kaduna State. The language, listed in Blench (2012) and (2019), is not reported in Ethnologue or Glottolog. It is presumably an Alumic language based on its proximity to Akpondu, a language closely related to Alumu and Tesu.
Nyifon (Iordaa) is a poorly known Jukunoid language of Buruku LGA, Benue State, Nigeria. There may have been about 1,000 speakers in the 1990s. The language is not reported in Ethnologue. Glottolog lists it as a dialect of Wapan language.
Ajuwa (Ajegha) is a Plateau language of Kaduna State, Nigeria. It is spoken in Kalla, Afogo, Iburu, Idon, and Makyali towns. Ajuwa was reported by Roger Blench (2019), but is not reported in Ethnologue or Glottolog. Blench classifies it as Northwestern.
References
- 1 2 Roger Blench (15 November 2005). "Is there a boundary between Plateau and Jukunoid? (PDF Download Available)". ResearchGate. pp. 3, 5. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ↑ "Glottolog 3.0 - Yukubenic". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
- ↑ "Jukunoid". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ↑ Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
- ↑ Westermann, Diedrich & M.A. Bryan, 1952. Languages of West Africa. London: International African Institute.
- ↑ Welmers, William Everrett 1971. Checklist of African Language and Dialect Names. In: Current Trends in Linguistics, Vol. 7, T.A. Sebeok 759-900, The Hague, Mouton.