Jarawa language (Nigeria)

Jarawa (also known as Jar, Jara, or in Hausa: Jaranci) is the most populous of the Bantu languages of northern Nigeria. It is a dialect cluster consisting of many varieties.

Not to be confused with Jarawa language (Andaman Islands).
Jarawa
Regionnorthern Nigeria, near Bauchi
Native speakers
250,000 (dialects with ISO codes) (2006–2011)[1]
Dialects
  • Zhár (Bankal)
  • Zugur (Duguri)
  • Gwak (Gingwak)
  • Ndaŋshi
  • Dòòrì
  • Mbat (Bada)
  • Mùùn
  • Kantana
  • Dàmùl
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
jjr – Zhár (Bankal)
dbm – Zugur (Duguri)
bau – Mbat (Bada)
jgk – Gwak (Gingwak)
Glottologjara1263

Phonology
Consonants in the Mbat dialect[2]
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t k (ʔ)
voiced b d ɡ
implosive ɓ ɗ
Affricate voiceless k͡x
voiced d͡ʒ ɡ͡ɣ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ
voiced (β) z
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Rhotic r
Approximant w l j
  • /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.
Vowels in the Mbat dialect[2]
Front Central Back
Close i u
Near-close ɪ ʊ
Mid (ɛ) ə (ɔ)
Open a
  • 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

References
  1. Zhár (Bankal) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Zugur (Duguri) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Mbat (Bada) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Gwak (Gingwak) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Green, Christopher R. (2020). Harmony and disharmony in Mbat (Jarawan Bantu) verbs. In Linguistique et Langues Africaines 6: Syracuse University. pp. 43–72.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.


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