The Nupoid languages are a branch of
Volta–Niger spoken in west-central
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 ...
, particularly in southeastern
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 ...
and northern
Kogi State
Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to t ...
. They include the
Nupe Nupe may refer to:
*Nupe people, of Nigeria
*Nupe language, their language
*The Bida Emirate, also known as the Nupe Kingdom, their former state
*A member of the Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African Amer ...
and
Ebira
The Ebira also known as Egbira people are an ethno-linguistic group of central Nigeria. Most Ebira people are from Kogi State, Nasarawa State. Until the separation of Kogi State from Kwara State, Okene was seen as the administrative centre of the ...
languages, each with about 4 million speakers. Most Nupoid languages have 3 level tones.
[Blench, Roger. 2013]
The Nupoid languages of west-central Nigeria: overview and comparative word list
Languages
Roger Blench (2013: 4) classifies the Nupoid languages as follows.
*Ebira–Gade:
Ebira
The Ebira also known as Egbira people are an ethno-linguistic group of central Nigeria. Most Ebira people are from Kogi State, Nasarawa State. Until the separation of Kogi State from Kwara State, Okene was seen as the administrative centre of the ...
,
Gade
*Nupe–Ganagana
**
Ganagana language (Ganagana)
**Nupe
***
Asu
***core Nupe
****Nupe cluster:
Nupe Nupe may refer to:
*Nupe people, of Nigeria
*Nupe language, their language
*The Bida Emirate, also known as the Nupe Kingdom, their former state
*A member of the Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African Amer ...
(Nupe–Nupe-Tako),
Dibo
****Gupa cluster:
Gupa-Abawa,
Kakanda,
Kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
,
Kupa
The Kupa () or Kolpa ( or ; from la, Colapis in Roman times; hu, Kulpa) river, a right tributary of the Sava, forms a natural border between north-west Croatia and southeast Slovenia. It is long, with its border part having a length of and t ...
In addition,
Koro Zuba is close to Dibo.
ISO 639-3 Registration Authority
ISO. Retrieved 16 December 2022
Names and locations
Below is a list of language names, populations, and locations from Blench (2019).
Reconstructions
The following Proto-Nupoid reconstructions are from Blench (2013).
Some Proto-Nupe-Gbari crop name reconstructions are (Blench 2013):
References
External links
(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 ...
)
{{Niger-Congo branches
Volta–Niger languages