| Region | northern Nigeria, near Bauchi |
|---|---|
| Speakers | 250,000 (dialects with ISO codes) |
| Date | 2006–2011 |
| Ref | e18 |
| Familycolor | Niger-Congo |
| Fam 2 | Atlantic–Congo |
| Fam 3 | Volta-Congo |
| Fam 4 | Benue–Congo |
| Fam 5 | Bantoid |
| Fam 6 | Southern Bantoid |
| Fam 7 | Jarawan |
| Fam 8 | Nigerian Jarawan |
| Dia 1 | Zhár (Bankal) |
| Dia 2 | Zugur (Duguri) |
| Dia 3 | Gwak (Gingwak) |
| Dia 4 | Ndaŋshi |
| Dia 5 | Dòòrì |
| Dia 6 | Mbat (Bada) |
| Dia 7 | Mùùn |
| Dia 8 | Kantana |
| Dia 9 | Dàmùl |
| Lc 1 | jjr |
| Ld 1 | Zhár (Bankal) |
| Lc 4 | jgk |
| Ld 4 | Gwak (Gingwak) |
| Lc 2 | dbm |
| Ld 2 | Zugur (Duguri) |
| Lc 3 | bau |
| Ld 3 | Mbat (Bada) |
| Glotto | jara1263 |
| Glottorefname | Jarawa (Nigeria) |
Jarawa (also known as 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.
Phonology
| 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 | (x) | |
| voiced | (β) | z | (ɣ) | |||
| 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.
| 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).[2]
References
- ^ Green, Christopher R. (2020). "Harmony and disharmony in Mbat (Jarawan Bantu) verbs". Linguistique et Langues Africaines. 6: 43–72. doi:10.4000/lla.289
- ^ Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages. 4th ed. Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.