The Tivoid languages are a branch of the
Southern Bantoid languages spoken in parts of
Nigeria and
Cameroon. The subfamily takes its name after
Tiv, the most spoken language in the group.
The majority are threatened with extinction. The largest of these languages by far is the
Tiv language for which the group is named; it had 2 million speakers in 1991. The second largest is the
Bitare language
Bitare (Njwande, Yukutare) is a Tivoid language of Nigeria and Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. ...
; it had 110,000 speakers in 2000. Most apart from Tiv are extremely poorly known, and the next best, Esimbi, has not even been demonstrated to be Tivoid.
Languages
Following Blench (2010), Tivoid languages fall into three branches, though North Tivoid languages are almost unattested. The names in parentheses are dialects per ''Ethnologue'', separate languages per Blench:
;Central Tivoid: A:
Tiv–
Iyive–
Otank,
Evant
Evant ( ) is a town in Coryell and Hamilton counties in central Texas, United States. The population was 426 at the 2010 census. The Coryell County portion of Evant is part of the Killeen–Temple– Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Are ...
;
Ceve (Oliti)
: B:
Caka (Batanga, Asaka),
Ipulo (Olulu),
Eman
Iman, Imann, Imaan, Eman, Emaan, or Imman may refer to:
Places
* Iman, Iran, a village in Kalashi District, Kermanshah Province
* The Iman River, the former name of the Bolshaya Ussurka River, a tributary of the Ussuri River in Russia's Primors ...
(Amanavil)
;
Mesaka (Ugarə)
;North Tivoid:
Batu (Afi, Kamino),
Abon
''Rousong'' or ''yuk sung or bak hu'' ( ; ), also known as meat floss, is a dried meat product with a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton, originating from China. ''Rousong'' is used as a topping for many foods, such as congee, to ...
,
Bitare, ?
Ambo
Ambo may refer to:
Places
* Ambo, Kiribati
* Ambo Province, Huanuco Region, Peru
** Ambo District
** Ambo, Peru, capital of Ambo District
* Ambo Town, a town in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia
** Ambo, Ethiopia, a capital of West Shewa Zone ...
Esimbi
Esimbi is a Tivoid language of southwestern Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nig ...
is well attested, but there is not much reason to consider it Tivoid; it has just about as much in common with
Grassfields languages.
The status of
Buru within Tivoid is also uncertain.
lists three additional languages,
Manta,
Balo and
Osatu, based on an old, provisional assignment of Blench; Blench (2010) states they are instead in the
Southwest Grassfields (Western Momo) family.
The
Momo languages, traditionally classified as
Grassfields, may be closer to Tivoid, though that may be an effect of contact.
, traditionally classified as Grassfields, may also be a Grassfields language or closer to Tivoid.
Names and locations (Nigeria)
Below is a list of Tivoid language names, populations, and locations (in
Nigeria only) from Blench (2019).
See also
*
Tivoid word lists (Wiktionary)
Notes
References
*Blench, Roger. 2010
The Tivoid Languages*Blench, Roger. 2016
The Tivoid Languages: overview and comparative word list
{{Niger-Congo branches
Southern Bantoid languages