Cipu (''Cicipu''), or Western Acipa, is a

Kainji language The Kainji languages are a group of about 60 related languages spoken in west-central Nigeria. They form part of the Central Nigerian (Platoid) branch of Benue–Congo. Demographics Four of the most widely spoken Kainji languages are Tsuvadi ( ...

spoken by about 20,000 people in northwest

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 people call themselves ''Acipu'', and are called ''Acipawa'' in

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 ...

. Like most Benue–Congo languages, Cipu has a complex

noun class In linguistics, a noun class is a particular category of nouns. A noun may belong to a given class because of the characteristic features of its referent, such as gender, animacy, shape, but such designations are often clearly conventional. Some a ...

system. It has a fairly complex phonology with lexical and grammatical tone,

vowel harmony In phonology, vowel harmony is an assimilatory process in which the vowels of a given domain – typically a phonological word – have to be members of the same natural class (thus "in harmony"). Vowel harmony is typically long distance, mea ...

and

nasalisation In phonetics, nasalization (or nasalisation) is the production of a sound while the velum is lowered, so that some air escapes through the nose during the production of the sound by the mouth. An archetypal nasal sound is . In the Internatio ...

. Virtually all Cipu speakers speak the lingua franca

. Many also speak other nearby languages.

Classification

Cipu is part of the

Kambari The Kambari or Kamberi languages) are a cluster of Kainji languages spoken in northwestern Nigeria (Kebbi State and Niger State). Geographic distribution The Kambarri languages are spoken in Kebbi and Niger States, Nigeria. There are also some sp ...

branch of the Niger–Congo languages. The most recent published classification has Cipu as part of the Kamuku group of West Kainji along with Eastern Acipa. However more detailed studies have shown this to be unlikely.

Alternative names

The '' Ethnologue'' currently lists Cipu as 'Western Acipa'. However the name 'Western Acipa' is no longer used outside the ''Ethnologue'', and a request has been made to change the entry. In

, the language is referred to as ''Acipanci'' and the people as ''Acipawa''.

Geographic distribution

Cicipu is spoken in Nigeria by approximately 20,000 people, split between

Sakaba Sakaba is a Local Government Area in Kebbi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Dirindaji. It has an area of 1,260 km and a population of 89,937 at the 2006 census. The postal code A postal code (also known locally in va ...

Local Government Area,

Kebbi State Kebbi state ( ha, Jihar Kebbi; Fulfulde: Leydi Kebbi 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤫𞤦𞥆𞤭) is a state in the northwestern Nigeria, Kebbi state is bordered east and north of Sokoto and Zamfara states, and to the south by Niger state while ...

and

Kontagora Kontagora is a major town on the south bank of the Kontagora River in north-west Niger State, Nigeria. It is the capital city of the Kontagora Emirate. The current Niger state governor, Alh. Abubakar Sani Bello hails from Kontagora. On December 1 ...

Local Government Area,

Niger State Niger is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. Niger state has three political zones, zone A,B and C. The state's capital is at Minna. Other major cities are Bida, Kontagora and Suleja. It was ...

Dialects/Varieties

The Acipu themselves recognise seven distinct varieties of Cicipu. The dialect names are as follows (with the corresponding Hausa names in parentheses): *Tirisino (Karishen) *Tidipo (Kadonho) *Tizoriyo (Mazarko) *Tidodimo (Kadedan) *Tikula (Maburya) *Ticuhun (Kakihum) *Tikumbasi (Kumbashi)

Phonology

The most common syllable type in Cicipu is CV, although there are fairly strong arguments for N and CVN. A small number of noun and verb roots begin with a V syllable. Lexical tone contrasts are found in nouns e.g. ''káayá'' ‘house’ and ''káayà'' ‘bean’, but not in verbs (although grammatical tone is important for verbs).

Vowels

Cicipu has an asymmetric six-

vowel A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (leng ...

system. All vowels can be long or short, and all have nasalised counterparts. There are four

diphthongs A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, 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 the speech ...

: /ei/, /eu/, /ai/ and /au/.

Consonants

Consonant length is contrastive in Cicipu, e.g. ''yuwo'' 'fall' vs. ''yuwwo'' 'turn around'. Any consonant may be lengthened.

Vocabulary

A large number of Cicipu words are borrowings from the lingua franca Hausa. The pronunciation of many of these loanwords has changed to fit in with Cicipu phonology, in particular with respect to vowel harmony.

Writing system

Cicipu is not currently written, although a preliminary orthography proposal has been made, and a small number of trial books has been circulated.McGill, Stuart (ined). Some orthographic challenges for Cicipu. West Kainji Language Workshop, Safara Motel, Kontagora, 10 -12 March 2008, pp. 2-3.

References

External links

Cicipu language website
{{Languages of Nigeria Languages of Nigeria Kambari languages