Yebu (language name: Yiin Yebu;
also known as Awak or Awok) is one of the
Savanna languages of
Kaltungo LGA in
Gombe State
Gombe State ( ff, Leyddi Gommbe 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤠𞤺𞤮𞤥𞥆𞤦𞤫) is a state in northeastern Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by the state of Borno and Yobe, to the south by Taraba State, to the southeast by Adamawa State ...
, northeastern
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, NaìjÃrÃyà , yo, Nà ìjÃrÃà , 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 ...
.
There are five distinct dialects corresponding to each of the original five settlements that had been spoken on the Awak Hill. Yebu is currently spoken in the plains rather than in the speakers' ancestral territory of Awak Hill.
[Kleinewillinghöfer, Ulrich. 2014]
The languages of the Tula – Waja Group
Adamawa Languages Project.
Villages
Yebu villages according to Blench (2019):
[Blench, Roger. 2019. ]
Aspects of the phonology and grammar of the Yebu (Awak) language in Nigeria
'.
Fulani villages that have Yebu chiefs are Tɔrɛ, Langgarɛ, and Lugayidi.
Hausa villages that have Yebu chiefs are Daura, Dundaye, Salifawa, Dogon Ruwa (mixed Hausa and Yebu village), Garin Bako, Garin Korau, and Garin Barau.
Other languages spoken in the area are Waja, Kamo, Tangale, and Tula.
Phonology
Yebu exhibits vowel length contrast, although it is uncommon in the language. It also has consonant
gemination
In phonetics and phonology, gemination (), or consonant lengthening (from Latin 'doubling', itself from ''gemini'' 'twins'), is an articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time than that of a singleton consonant. It is distinct from s ...
. There are six phonetic tones derived from three phonetic tone heights:
*High ʹ
*Mid ˉ
*Low Ë‹
*Rising Low-High ˇ
*Rising Mid-High á·„
*Falling High-Low ˆ
Grammar
Future/irrealis is marked using reduplication. In the region, morphological reduplication used for such purposes is typologically rare.
References
{{Adamawa languages
Waja languages
Languages of Nigeria