Ahwai, also called the Ndunic languages (formerly Nandu-Tari), is a
Plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...
language cluster spoken to the southwest of Fadan Karshi in
Sanga LGA,
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 ...
,
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 o ...
. Most villages are located at the foot of the Ahwai Mountains in Kaduna State.
Dialects
There are three
mutually intelligible
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as an ...
dialects:
*Ndun (Nandu), spoken just to the southwest of the Ahwai Mountains.
*Nyeng (Ningon), spoken just to the northwest of the Ahwai Mountains. First documented in 2003.
*Shakara (Tari), spoken just to the southeast of the Ahwai Mountains.
Blench (2008) classified them as distinct Ndunic languages. However, that same year ''Ethnologue'' merged them as a single language.
''Ahwai'' is a self-designated term used to refer to speakers of all three Ndunic languages.
[Blench, Roger M. 2018. Nominal affixes and number marking in the Plateau languages of Central Nigeria. In John R. Watters (ed.), ''East Benue-Congo: Nouns, pronouns, and verbs'', 107–172. Berlin: Language Science Press. ]
Ndun
Ndun is also known by the Hausa name Nandu. Ndun villages are Ànkpòŋ, Anfufalǐm, Ŋ̀bòk, Ànkàrà, Bányìn, and Ungwar Rimi.
In Nince village, Kaduna State, the
Nisam (Nince) people have all shifted to Ndun. The
Nisam language
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 ...
remains undocumented.
[Blench, Roger M. 2012]
Akpondu, Nigbo, Bəbər and Nisam: moribund or extinct languages of central Nigeria Babur
Nyeng
Nyeng is spoken by about 2,000 speakers in Adu and other villages in Kaduna State, Nigeria. The Nyeng people used to live on the hill of ''ifyal anyeŋ''. Today, their villages are:
A word list of Nyeng was collected 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 ...
and Barau Kato in 2003.
Shakara
The main settlements of the Shakara are Jije Fyal, Nggwakum, Akayi, Apɔhɔt, Telehwe, Kobo, Koba, Nggwa Dauda, Nggwa Mangoro, Nggwa Igyan, Barib, and formerly Nggwa Yiri (now uninhabited).
[Blench, Roger. 2014]
The Shakara (Tari) language of Central Nigeria and its affinities
Names and locations
Below is a list of Ndunic language names, populations, and locations from Blench (2019).
References
*Blench, Roger (2008)
''Prospecting proto-Plateau'' Manuscript.
''Ethnologue'' merger of Ndunic
External links
{{authority control
Plateau languages
Languages of Nigeria