Jarawa language (Nigeria)
Bantu language spoken in Nigeria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jarawa (also known as Jar or Jhar, or in Hausa: Jaranci) is the most populous of the Jarawan languages of northern Nigeria. It is a dialect cluster consisting of many varieties.
-
Atlantic–Congo
- Volta-Congo
- Benue–Congo
- Bantoid
- Southern Bantoid
- Jarawan
- Nigerian Jarawan
- Jarawa
- Nigerian Jarawan
- Jarawan
- Southern Bantoid
- Bantoid
- Benue–Congo
- Volta-Congo
- Zhár (Bankal)
- Zugur (Duguri)
- Gwak (Gingwak)
- Ndaŋshi
- Dòòrì
- Mbat (Bada)
- Mùùn
- Kantana
- Dàmùl
| Jarawa | |
|---|---|
| Region | northern Nigeria, near Bauchi |
Native speakers | 250,000 (dialects with ISO codes) (2006–2011)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:jjr – Zhár (Bankal)dbm – Zugur (Duguri)bau – Mbat (Bada)jgk – Gwak (Gingwak) |
| Glottolog | jara1263 |
Phonology
- /β/ only appears as a marginal phoneme.
- [ʔ] only appears in non-word-initial syllables.
- Sounds /n, t, l, r/ can be heard as palatal or retroflex [ɲ, ʈ, ɭ, ɽ] in word-final position. /k/ can also be heard as uvular [q] in the same position, and may also alternate with [ʁ] or [ɢ].
- Sounds /k͡x, ɡ͡ɣ/ can be heard as fricatives [x, ɣ] or [χ, ʁ] in intervocalic position.
- Sounds /ɛ, ɔ/ only appear after glides.
Dialects
Jarawa dialects are:
- Zhár (Bankal)
- Zugur (Duguri)
- Gwak (Gingwak)
- Ndaŋshi
- Dòòrì
- Mbat (Bada)
- Mùùn
- Kantana
- Dàmùl
Kantana may be a distinct language.
Blench (2019) lists these varieties as dialects of Jar (Jarawa).[3]
- Zhar
- Ligri
- Kantana
- Bobar (?)
- Gwak (Gingwak)
- Dõõri
- Mbat
- Mbat-Galamkya
Danglong (also known as Damlawa in Hausa), which is likely most closely related to Zhar, was discovered by Roger Blench in 2019, who collected a short word list at the time. It is spoken by a few elderly individuals in Danglong village, which is located just north of Yankari Game Reserve in Bauchi State.[4][5]
Maccido, a stone-walled settlement west of Yankari Game Reserve that is now deserted, was built on the western edge of Yankari Game Reserve, likely by Zhar or related peoples around the 18th century to protect themselves from slave raids.[4]
