The Bambukic Trans-Benue or Yungur–Jen languages form a proposed branch of the provisional
Savanna languages
The Savannas languages, also known as Gur–Adamawa or Adamawa–Gur, is a branch of the Niger–Congo languages that includes Greenberg's Gur and Adamawa–Ubangui families.
History of classification
The Gur–Adamawa link was demonstrated in ...
, a reduced form of the Waja–Jen branch of the old
Adamawa languages
The Adamawa languages are a putative family of 80–90 languages scattered across the Adamawa Plateau in Central Africa, in northern Cameroon, north-western Central African Republic, southern Chad, and eastern Nigeria, spoken altogether by on ...
family (G7, G9, G10). They are spoken in north eastern
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, ...
. Their unity is not accepted by Güldemann (2018).
Bennett (1983) had also proposed a ''Trans-Benue'' group consisting of the Burak-Jen (i.e.,
Bikwin-Jen), Yungur (i.e.,
Bena-Mboi), and
Tula-
Longuda
The Longuda or Lunguda are a West African ethnic group living in Adamawa and Gombe States in northeastern Nigeria. They are the only known matriarchal tribe in Nigeria. The Lunguda consider matrilineal descent in many aspects of their social organ ...
subgroups.
Languages
Blench (2006) groups the
Yungur (G7),
Bikwin–Jen (G9), and
Longuda
The Longuda or Lunguda are a West African ethnic group living in Adamawa and Gombe States in northeastern Nigeria. They are the only known matriarchal tribe in Nigeria. The Lunguda consider matrilineal descent in many aspects of their social organ ...
(G10) languages together within part of a larger
Gur–
Adamawa language continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated variet ...
.
*
Bikwin–Jen
**Jen:
Dza (Jen),
Mingang Doso,
Tha,
Joole
**Bikwin:
Burak–
Loo,
Mághdì,
Mak,
Moo
A MOO ("Multi-user dungeon, MUD, object-oriented") is a text-based online virtual reality system to which multiple users (players) are connected at the same time.
The term MOO is used in two distinct, but related, senses. One is to refer to th ...
(Gomu) –
Leelau (Bikwin) –
Kyak (Bambuka)
*''
Longuda
The Longuda or Lunguda are a West African ethnic group living in Adamawa and Gombe States in northeastern Nigeria. They are the only known matriarchal tribe in Nigeria. The Lunguda consider matrilineal descent in many aspects of their social organ ...
''
*
Yungur (Bəna–Mboi)
**
Kaan (Libo)
**
Mboi (Gəna, Banga, Handa)
**''Yungur–Roba'':
Lala-Roba,
Voro,
Bəna
Kleinewillinghöfer (1996) notes the affinities of the Bikwin languages, which were unknown to Greenberg, with the Jen languages. Subclassification follows Blench (2004).
[ - Roger Blench]
The
Waja languages
Waja (also known as Waja Temuga) is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, south of the city of Alamata, Waja has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1471 meters above sea level. It is one ...
were once thought to belong to this group, but are now placed with the
Kam language
The Kam or Gam language (), also known as Dong (), is a Kam–Sui language spoken by the Dong people. ''Ethnologue'' distinguishes three Kam varieties as separate but closely related languages. Demographics Southern Dong
Almost 1.5 million sp ...
. (See
Adamawa languages
The Adamawa languages are a putative family of 80–90 languages scattered across the Adamawa Plateau in Central Africa, in northern Cameroon, north-western Central African Republic, southern Chad, and eastern Nigeria, spoken altogether by on ...
.)
References
External links
Bikwin-Jen(Adamawa Languages Project)
Ɓəna-Mboi (Yungur) group(Adamawa Languages Project)
(AdaGram)
{{authority control
Languages of Nigeria