Bata (Gbwata) is an
Afro-Asiatic language spoken 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 ...
in
Adamawa State
Adamawa state () is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno to the northwest, Gombe to the west, and Taraba to the southwest, while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon. It tak ...
in the Numan, Song, Fufore and Mubi
LGAs, and in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
in
North Province along the border with Nigeria. Dialects are Demsa, Garoua, Jirai, Kobotachi, Malabu, Ndeewe, Ribaw, Wadi, and Zumu (Jimo).
[ It is often considered the same language as Bacama.
]
Names
Blench (2019) lists Bwatye (endonym: Ɓwaare; exonym: Bachama) as a closely related language variety. They are located in Adamawa State
Adamawa state () is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno to the northwest, Gombe to the west, and Taraba to the southwest, while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon. It tak ...
(Numan and Guyuk Guyuk may refer to:
*Guyuk, Nigeria, a town
* Uğurtaş, a town in Turkey, formerly called Güyük
*Güyük Khan
Güyük (also Güyug;; ''c''. March 19, 1206 – April 20, 1248) was the third Khagan-Emperor of the Mongol Empire, the eldest son ...
LGAs) and 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 ...
(northeast of Kaduna
Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nige ...
town).
/ref>
ALCAM (2012) lists Gbwata (''Bwaara'' in Nigeria) as the singular personal form of ''Bata''. The speakers refer to their language as "the language of the Gbwata", called ''Magbwatá'', ''Magbwati'' or ''Magbwatiye'' in Cameroon.
Dialects
In Cameroon, there are three varieties of Gbwata:Demsa
Demsa is a Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria with headquarters located in Demsa. Demsa lies on the Benue River.
History
Demsa Local Government Area is one of the twenty one LGAs in Adamawa State and has the postal code of 642.
...
commune in Bénoué department, which is on the Nigerian border, 30 km northeast of Garoua
Garoua or Garua (Fula: Garwa 𞤺𞤢𞤪𞤱𞤢) is a port city and the capital of the North Region of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. A thriving centre of the textiles and cotton industries, the city has approximately 1,285,000 inhabita ...
)
*Kokoumi (Garoua
Garoua or Garua (Fula: Garwa 𞤺𞤢𞤪𞤱𞤢) is a port city and the capital of the North Region of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. A thriving centre of the textiles and cotton industries, the city has approximately 1,285,000 inhabita ...
commune, Bénoué department, which is along the Benue River)
*Faro (Jelepo in Beka commune, Faro department)
Ndeewe is the dialect of the Gbwata who live far from the banks of the Faro and Benue rivers, where the "agricultural Bata" live. It is now spoken by only a few dozen people.
Notes
External links
Bata materials from Raymond Boyd
Biu-Mandara languages
Languages of Cameroon
Languages of Nigeria
{{BiuMandara-lang-stub