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Gwara Language
Gwara (''iGwara'') is a newly discovered Plateau language of Nigeria. It was first reported by Roger Blench Roger Marsh Blench (born August 1, 1953) 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 ... in 2009. There are marked similarities with the related language Idun, but some of these may be due to borrowing.Roger Blench (2009),Gwara, an unknown language of Central Nigeria References Central Plateau languages Languages of Nigeria {{plateau-lang-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwari Language
Gwari is a kwa language spoken by the Gbagyi people, which make up over a million people in Nigeria. There are two principal varieties, Gbari (West Gwari) and Gbagyi (East Gwari), which have some difficulty in communication; sociolinguistically they are distinct languages. Varieties Gbagye is also known as Gwari-Matai or Gwarin Ngenge, which are recently adopted cover terms.Blench, Roger. 2013. The Nupoid languages of west-central Nigeria: overview and comparative word list'. There are two separate Gbagyi groups living in: *Minna and Kuta (more prominent group) *around Diko The Democratic Party ( el, Δημοκρατικό Κόμμα (ΔΗΚΟ), ''Dimokratikó Kómma'' (DIKO)) is a Greek-Cypriot nationalist, centrist political party in Cyprus founded in 1976 by Spyros Kyprianou. DIKO is variously described as cent ..., northeast of Suleja Gbagye is the only Nupoid language that has the bilabial implosive /ɓ/. Gbagyi (also known as Gwari) is a cover term for all the Gb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gurara Language
Gurara (Gourara) is a Zenati Berber language spoken in the Gourara (''Tigurarin'') region, an archipelago of oases surrounding the town of Timimoun in southwestern Algeria. '' Ethnologue'' gives it the generic name ''Taznatit'' ("Zenati"), along with Tuwat spoken to its south; however, Blench (2006) classifies Gurara as a dialect of Mzab–Wargla and Tuwat as a dialect of the Riff languages. Characteristics Gurara and Tuwat are the only Berber languages to change ''r'' in certain coda positions to a laryngeal ''ħ''; in other contexts it drops ''r'', turning a preceding schwa into ''a'', and this latter phenomenon exists also in Zenata Rif-Berber in the far northern Morocco. There is inconclusive evidence for Songhay influence on Gurara. ''Ahellil'' The local tradition of ''ahellil'' poetry and music in Gurara, described in Mouloud Mammeri's ''L'Ahellil du Gourara'',Mouloud Mammeri, ''L ‘Ahellil du Gourara'', M.S.H.:Paris 1984. has been listed as part of the Intangib ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaduna State
Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in the country as at 2006. Created in 1967 as North-Central State, which also encompassed the modern Katsina State, Kaduna State achieved its current borders in 1987. The fourth largest and third most populous state in the country, Kaduna State is nicknamed the ''Centre of Learning'', owing to the presence of numerous educational institutions of importance within the state such as Ahmadu Bello University. Modern Kaduna State is home to the sites of some of Africa's oldest civilizations, including the Nok civilization that prospered from to .Breunig, Peter. 2014. Nok: African Sculpture in Archaeological Context: p. 21.Fagg, Bernard. 1969. Recent work in west Africa: New light on the Nok culture. World Archaeology 1(1): 41–50. In the 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nassarawa State
Nasarawa State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by the states of Taraba and Plateau, to the north by Kaduna State, to the south by the states of Kogi and Benue, and to the west by the Federal Capital Territory. Named for the historic Nasarawa Emirate, the state was formed from the west of Plateau State on 1 October 1996. The state has thirteen local government areas and its capital is Lafia, located in the east of the state, while a key economic centre of the state is the Karu Urban Area—suburbs of Abuja—along the western border with the FCT. Of the 36 states of Nigeria, Nasarawa is the fifteenth largest in area and second least populous with an estimated population of about 2.5 million as of 2016. Geographically, the state is mostly within the tropical Guinean forest–savanna mosaic ecoregion. Important geographic features include the River Benue forming much of Nasarawa State's southern borders and the state's far northeast conta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea to the south in the Atlantic Ocean. It covers an area of , and with a population of over 225 million, it is the most populous country in Africa, and the world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Nigeria is a federal republic comprising of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Abuja, is located. The largest city in Nigeria is Lagos, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the second-largest in Africa. Nigeria has been home to several indigenous pre-colonial states and kingdoms since the second millennium BC, with the Nok civilization in the 15th century BC, marking the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic–Congo Languages
The Atlantic–Congo languages are the largest demonstrated family of languages in Africa. They have characteristic noun class systems and form the core of the Niger–Congo family hypothesis. They comprise all of Niger–Congo apart from Mande, Dogon, Ijoid, Siamou, Kru, the Katla and Rashad languages (previously classified as Kordofanian), and perhaps some or all of the Ubangian languages. Mukarovsky's West-Nigritic corresponded roughly to modern Atlantic–Congo. In the infobox, the languages which appear to be the most divergent are placed at the top.Roger BlenchNiger-Congo: an alternative view/ref> The Atlantic branch is defined in the narrow sense, while the former Atlantic branches Mel and the isolates Sua, Gola and Limba, are split out as primary branches; they are mentioned next to each other because there is no published evidence to move them; Volta–Congo is intact apart from Senufo and Kru. In addition, Güldemann (2018) lists Nalu and Rio Nunez as unclassi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benue–Congo Languages
Benue–Congo (sometimes called East Benue–Congo) is a major branch of the Volta-Congo languages which covers most of Sub-Saharan Africa. Subdivisions Central Nigerian (or Platoid) contains the Plateau, Jukunoid and Kainji families, and Bantoid–Cross combines the Bantoid and Cross River groups. Bantoid is only a collective term for every subfamily of Bantoid–Cross except Cross River, and this is no longer seen as forming a valid branch, however one of the subfamilies, Southern Bantoid, is still considered valid. It is Southern Bantoid which contains the Bantu languages, which are spoken across most of Sub-Saharan Africa. This makes Benue–Congo one of the largest subdivisions of the Niger–Congo language family, both in number of languages, of which '' Ethnologue'' counts 976 (2017), and in speakers, numbering perhaps 350 million. Benue–Congo also includes a few minor isolates in the Nigeria–Cameroon region, but their exact relationship is uncertain. The neighbouri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plateau Languages
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. Berom and Eggon have the most speakers. Most Plateau languages are threatened and have around 2,000-10,000 speakers.Blench, Roger. 2007. Language families of the Nigerian Middle Belt and the historical implications of their distribution'. Presented to the Jos Linguistic Circle in Jos, Nigeria, July 25, 2007. Defining features of the Plateau family have only been published in manuscript form (Blench 2008). Many of the languages have highly elaborate phonology systems that make comparison with poor data difficult. Branches and locations Below is a list of major Plateau branches and their primary locations (centres of diversity) based on Blench (2019). The Plateau languages are highly typologically and lexically diverse. For instance, Roger Blench (2022) notes that Beromic is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Plateau Languages
The twenty Central Plateau languages are a residual branch of the Plateau family spoken in central Nigeria. Tyap (or Katab) has 130,000 speakers, and the closely related Jju (or Kaje) has well over 300,000. Hyam (or Jabba) has another 100,000. Cori is famous for being one of very few languages with six tone levels, though only three are needed for writing. Classification The Central Plateau languages are a close geographical group with numerous connections; however, they are to some extent a residual group and may be a sprachbund. The following classification is taken from Blench (2008). A distinction between North Plateau and the rest of Central Plateau is possible but appears to be geographic; Gerhardt (1994) argues they belong together. Each of the second-level bullets is a single language or dialect cluster and is obviously valid. However, most of the first-level groups (Hyamic, North Plateau, Gyongic, Koro) are not self-evident and may continue to be revised. * Rigwe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koroic Languages
The twenty Central Plateau languages are a residual branch of the Plateau family spoken in central Nigeria. Tyap (or Katab) has 130,000 speakers, and the closely related Jju (or Kaje) has well over 300,000. Hyam (or Jabba) has another 100,000. Cori is famous for being one of very few languages with six tone levels, though only three are needed for writing. Classification The Central Plateau languages are a close geographical group with numerous connections; however, they are to some extent a residual group and may be a sprachbund. The following classification is taken from Blench (2008). A distinction between North Plateau and the rest of Central Plateau is possible but appears to be geographic; Gerhardt (1994) argues they belong together. Each of the second-level bullets is a single language or dialect cluster and is obviously valid. However, most of the first-level groups (Hyamic, North Plateau, Gyongic, Koro) are not self-evident and may continue to be revised. * Rigwe (I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Blench
Roger Marsh Blench (born August 1, 1953) 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. Career Blench is known for his wide-ranging interests and has made important contributions to African linguistics, Southeast Asian linguistics, anthropology, ethnomusicology, ethnobotany, and various other related fields. He has done significant research on the Niger–Congo, Nilo-Saharan, and Afroasiatic families, as well as the Arunachal languages. Additionally, Blench has published extensively on the relationship between linguistics and archaeology. Blench is currently engaged in a long-term project to document the languages of central Nigeria. He has also carried out extensive research on the herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria. Blench collaborated with the late Professor Kay Williamson, who died in January 2005, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Idun Language
Idun (''Idũ''), or Dũya (Dunya, Adong, Lungu, Ungu), is a poorly attested Plateau language of Nigeria. Its classification is uncertain, but it may be closest to Ashe. Villages Speakers live in Ramindop B, Ùndofã̀, Udou, Táymɛ̀̃, Adar, Igbà, Mɛ̀mdɔr, Hùrtɔ̀̃, Àgbàŋànɔr, Ùmbùmbàŋ, Jàja, Ǹdam, Kùkaŋ, Ùkare, Ùnwĩĩ, Igbayinɔr, Ìdɛ̀zìnì, and Ugɛrɛ villages of Kaduna State. Hausa village names are Shinkafa, Yèlwa, Jabe Panda, and Gunduma. Phonology Consonants 1. Only in recent loanwords, mostly from Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also * ... Vowels All vowels except the near-close vowels /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ can appear long, nasalised or both; the vowels /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ are being lost for young speakers.Roger Blench (2010:1) T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
