The South Bauchi languages (also called the B.3 West Chadic or Barawa languages) are a branch of
West Chadic languages
The West Chadic languages of the Afro-Asiatic family are spoken principally in Niger and Nigeria. They include Hausa, the most populous Chadic language and a major language of West Africa.
Languages
The branches of West Chadic go either by ...
that are spoken in
Bauchi State
Bauchi State (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Kano and Jigawa to the north, Taraba and Plateau to the south, Gombe and Yobe to the e ...
and
Plateau State,
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 ...
.
An extensive lexical survey of the South Bauchi languages had been carried out by Kiyoshi Shimizu from 1974 to 1975.
[Shimizu, Kiyoshi. 1978. ''The Southern Bauchi group of Chadic languages: a survey report''. (Africana Marburgensia: Sonderheft, 2.) Marburg/Lahn: Africana Marburgensia. 48pp.] Another early survey was that of Gowers (1907), which included 42 languages of Bauchi.
Languages
The South Bauchi languages include:
;South Bauchi languages
*Zaar group:
Dass;
Geji,
Polci (Polchi),
Saya,
Zari
''Zari'' (or ''jari'') is an even thread traditionally made of fine gold or silver used in traditional Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani garments, especially as brocade in saris etc. This thread is woven into fabrics, primarily silk, to make i ...
,
Zeem
*Guruntum group:
Guruntum-Mbaaru,
Ju,
Tala,
Zangwal
*Boghom group:
Jimi,
Jum;
Boghom,
Kir-Balar,
Mangas
Manges (; Greek language, Greek: μάγκες ; Grammatical number, sing.: mangas , μάγκας ) is the name of a social group in the Belle Époque era's counterculture of Greece (especially of the great urban centers: History of Athens#Modern At ...
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 work ...
(2020) counted around 38 South Bauchi languages.
Internal classification
Shimizu (1978)
Shimizu (1978) classifies the South Bauchi languages as follows.
Individual languages are highlighted in ''italics''.
*South Bauchi
**East branch
***Boghom subgroup
****''Bòghòm (Burrum)''
****Kir cluster
*****''Kiir (Kir)''; ''Laàr (Balàr)''
*****''Mánsi (Mangas)''
***Guruntum subgroup
****Guruntum cluster
*****''Mbaarù''
*****''Gùrùntùm''
****Tala cluster
*****''Sòòr (Zaŋwal); Zaŋwal of Zungur''
*****''Lungu (Tala)''
*****''Shò (Jù); Jimi''
**West branch
***Barawa subgroup
****North Barawa
*****Geji cluster
******''Mɨ̀gang (Booluu), Pelu''; ''Gyaanzi (Gèèjì)''
******''Buu (Zàràndaa)''
*****Polci cluster
******''Zùl''; ''Barang (Baram), Dììr (Baram Dutse)''
******''Bɨ̀lɨ̀ (Bùlì)''; ''Nyámzàx (Laŋas), Lundur''; ''Posɨ (Polci)''
****South Barawa
*****Zeem cluster
******''Zeem''; ''Tule (Tulai)''; ''Chaari''
******''Dokshì (Lushi)''
*****Dass cluster
******''Dɨkshi (Bàraza?)''; ''Bàndas (Dur)''
******''Boòdlɨ (Zumbul)''; ''Wangdày (Wanɗì)''; ''Zòdì (Dwàt)''
*****Saya cluster
******''Zàksɨ̀ (Zàkshì)''; ''Bòòt (Boto)''; ''Zaarɨ (Zari); Sigidi''
******''Zaar of Kàl''; ''Zaar of Gàmbar Lèère''; ''Zaar of Lùsa''
Blench (2021)
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 work ...
(2021) classifies the South Bauchi languages as follows.
*South Bauchi
**Jimi
**Boghom cluster: Mantsi, Boghom, Kir-Balar
**Gurdung cluster: Gurdung, Mbaaru, Ju, Tala, Zangwal
**Zaar branch
***Das cluster: Diksyhi, Dur, Zumbul, Dot, Wangdi
***Polci cluster: Zul, Mbaram, Diir, Buli, Nyamzax, Polci, Luri (†)
***Zeem cluster: Zeem (†), Tuli (†), Caari, Dyarim, Dokshi
***Geji cluster: Megang, Pelu, Geji, Buu
Names and locations
Below is a comprehensive list of South Bauchi language names, populations, and locations from Blench (2019).
Phonology
;Consonants
Like the other
West Chadic languages
The West Chadic languages of the Afro-Asiatic family are spoken principally in Niger and Nigeria. They include Hausa, the most populous Chadic language and a major language of West Africa.
Languages
The branches of West Chadic go either by ...
, South Bauchi languages have a rich consonant inventory. They also generally have the
lateral fricatives /ɬ, ɮ/, whereas the West Chadic A languages have not preserved such consonants.
*Stops: p t k b d g ʔ
*Nasals: m n ɲ ŋ
*Implosives: ɓ ɗ
*Fricatives: f v s z (ʃ) (ʒ) ɣ (h)
*Tap: r
*Approximants: l j w
*Lateral fricatives: ɬ ɮ
;Vowels
Blench (2020) proposes that Proto-South Bauchi had a 6-vowel system consisting of /i, ɨ, u, ɛ, ɔ, a/, with length contrast.
;Tones
South Bauchi languages have 2-3 tone levels, with Proto-South Bauchi likely having three tones like the nearby
A3 West Chadic languages. Some languages also have contour tones (falling or rising).
[Blench, Roger. 2020. ]
The South Bauchi languages of Central Nigeria: a fresh view based on recent fieldwork
'. CALL 50. Leiden University, August 31, 2020.
Morphology
Like the neighbouring
A3 West Chadic languages but unlike
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
...
, South Bauchi languages do not usually have plural nouns, although certain words for persons such as ‘woman’, ‘child’, and sometimes ‘man/person’ have suppletive nominal forms.
Blench (2021) hypothesises that this may be due to contact with
Adamawa languages
The Adamawa languages are a putative family of 80–90 languages scattered across the Adamawa Plateau in central Africa, in Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Chad, spoken altogether by only one and a half million people (as of 19 ...
.
[Blench, Roger. 2021. ]
The erosion of number marking in West Chadic Roger Blench
'. WOCAL, Leiden.
Stop consonants at the ends of morphemes are underlyingly voiceless.
See also
*
South Bauchi word lists (Wiktionary)
*
Proto-South Bauchi reconstructions (Wiktionary)
References
Bibliography
*Caron, Bernard 2002. Review of Ɓarawa lexicon: a wordlist of eight South Bauchi (West Chadic) languages: Boghom, Buli, Dott, Geji, Sayanci and Zul by Ronald Cosper, Munich: LINCOM EUROPA, 1999. ''Chadic Newsletter'', 23: 46–80.
*Cosper, Ronald 1999. ''Barawa lexicon: a wordlist of eight South Bauchi (West Chadic) languages''; Boghom, Buli, Dott, Geji, Jimi, Polci, Sayanci and Zul. (LINCOM Studies in African Linguistics, 39.) München: Lincom.
*Kraft, Charles H. 1981. ''Chadic Wordlists: Volume I (Plateau-Sahel)''. Marburger Studien zur Afrika- und Asienkunde: Serie A: Afrika, 23. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer.
External links
Map of South Bauchi languagesby
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 work ...
{{Authority control
West Chadic languages
Languages of Nigeria