Ngas, or Angas, is an
Afro-Asiatic
The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic), also known as Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic, and sometimes also as Afrasian, Erythraean or Lisramic, are a language family of about 300 languages that are spoken predominantly in the geographic su ...
language spoken in
Plateau State
Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself.
Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...
,
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 ...
. The language has two
dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
s: Hill Angas and Plain Angas.
[ Retired General ]Yakubu Gowon
Yakubu Dan-Yumma 'Jack' Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a retired Nigerian Army general and military leader. As Head of State of Nigeria, Gowon presided over a controversial Nigerian Civil War and delivered the famous "no victor, no vanquish ...
is a prominent Nigerian who is of Ngas extraction.
Neighbouring languages
Bəlnəŋ, an A3 West Chadic language closely related to Angas. It is spoken by about 500 people in the single village of Langung, which is surrounded by Tal villages in the east and Miship villages in the west.
Speakers of Sur, a Plateau 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. ...
, are surrounded by Ngas speakers, but Sur nevertheless continues to be a well-maintained language.[Blench, Roger. 2004]
Tarok and related languages of east-central Nigeria
The Ngas language has also undergone extensive influence from Tarok.
Writing system
Notes
Further reading
* Donald A. Burquest. 1971. ''A Preliminary Study of Angas Phonology''. Zaria: Institute of Linguistics.
* Donald A. Burquest. 1973. ''A Grammar of Angas''. University of California at Los Angeles, PhD dissertation.
External links
Litafin Addua: The Book of Common Prayer in the Angas Language
(1921) digitized by Richard Mammana
Languages of Nigeria
West Chadic languages
{{Nigeria-stub