Pe, also spelled Pai or Pye, is a minor Plateau language of southeastern

Plateau State Plateau is a northern states of Nigeria, Nigerian state. It is located in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria and includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and Tourism". Th ...

Nigeria Nigeria, 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 in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. It is classified as a Tarokoid language 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 work ...

(2023). In 2019, Blench observed that Pe was being spoken by all generations, including children.

Names

''Pai'' is the Hausa pronunciation of ''Pe''. ''Dalong'' is a pejorative name for Pe that is used by the Angas.Blench, Roger. 2023.
The Pe language of Central Nigeria and its affinities
'. Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.

Geographical distribution

Pe villages are located southeast of

Pankshin Pankshin is a Local Government Area in Plateau State, Nigeria. Its headquarter is in the town of Pankshin. It has an area of 1,524 km and a population of 191,685 at the 2006 However, some of the native inhabitants are widely found in neigh ...

town. Tal and Tarok are spoken to the east, and Teel (also called Montol) is spoken to the south. As a result, many adults also speak those languages. Ngas is spoken by almost all adults as well. Blench (2004) listed Dok (Dokpai) (main village), Tipap Kwi, Tipap Re, Bwer, Kup (=Tiniŋ), Ban, Kwasam, and Kamcik. Other villages, listed in CAPRO (2004), which Blench considers to be unconfirmed, are Yong, Jak, Bil, Bwai, Wopti, Kanchi, and Yuwan.Blench, Roger. 2004
Tarok and related languages of east-central Nigeria

Phonology

Pe has six vowels: /i, e, a, ə, o, u/. The language also has

diphthong A diphthong ( ), also known as a gliding vowel or a vowel glide, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of ...

Names

Geographical distribution

Phonology

References

Further reading