The Bikwin–Jen or simply the Jen languages form a branch of the
Adamawa family. They are spoken in and around
Karim Lamido LGA (to the north of
Jalingo
Jalingo is the capital city of Taraba State in north-eastern Nigeria, named in Fula language, fulfulde (the word Jalingo means "superior place") and has been estimated with population of 418,000 as of 2018, The city has received the highest num ...
LGA) in
Taraba State
Taraba is a States of Nigeria, state in north-eastern Nigeria, named after the Taraba River, which traverses the southern part of the state. It is known as "Nature's Gift to the Nation". Its capital is Jalingo. The state's main Demographics ...
, and in other nearby states of 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, ...
.
Bikwin-Jen may not necessarily be a coherent group. Due to the internal diversity of Bikwin-Jen, Guldemann (2018) suggests that Bikwin and Jen could form separate groups.
Classification
Norton & Othaniel (2020) and Norton (2019) refer to Bikwin–Jen simply as Jen. Kleinewillinghöfer (2015) uses the name Bikwin–Jen.
Kleinewillinghöfer (2015)
Kleinewillinghöfer (2015) classifies the Bikwin-Jen group as follows in the Adamawa Languages Project website.
[Kleinewillinghöfer, Ulrich. 2015]
Bikwin-Jen group
Adamawa Languages Project.
;Bikwin-Jen
*Bikwin
**Burak-Loo
***
Burak �ʋʋrak***
Loo hʋŋɔ**Mak-Tal
***
Mak (LeeMak)
****Panya
****Zoo
***
Maɣdi (Tala)
**Bikwin (proper)
***
Leelau (Munga Leelau)
***
Mɔɔ (Gomu)
***
Kya̰k (Bambuka)
*
Jen (Janjo)
**Dza
***
Dza (local variants)
***
Joole, Jaule
**
Munga Doso
**
Tha �á
Norton & Othaniel (2020)
Classification of the Jen languages by Norton & Othaniel (2020):
Language names, ISO codes, and autonyms of the Jen languages (Norton & Othaniel 2020):
Norton & Othaniel (2020) also reconstruct more than 250 words for Proto-Jen.
Norton (2019)
Jen cluster classification according to Norton (2019):
*Jen
*Burak, Loo
*Maghdi, LeeMak
*Kyak-Moo-LeeLau (Munga LeeLau)
*Tha (Joole Manga)
*Doso-Dza (Munga Doso; Dza-Joole)
Language varieties that are part of the Jen cluster according to Norton (2019):
;Jen cluster
*Burak
*Loo of Galdemaru and Waamura
*Maghdi (Tala)
*Mak (LeeMak) of Panya and Zoo
*Kyãk (Bambuka)
*Moo (Gomu)
*LeeLau (Munga LeeLau)
*Munga Doso
*Dza (Jenjo) and Joole
*Tha (Joole Manga)
Names and locations
Below is a list of language names, populations, and locations from Blench (2019).
See also
*
Proto-Jen reconstructions (Wiktionary)
References
External links
Bikwin-Jen(Adamawa Languages Project)
Ɓəna-Mboi (Yungur) group(Adamawa Languages Project)
(AdaGram)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bikwin-Jen languages
Languages of Nigeria