The South Bauchi languages (also called the B.3 West Chadic or Barawa languages) are a branch of

West Chadic languages The West Chadic languages of the Afro-Asiatic family are spoken principally in Niger and Nigeria. They include Hausa, the most populous Chadic language and a major language of West Africa. Languages The branches of West Chadic go either by ...

that are spoken in

Bauchi State Bauchi State (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Kano and Jigawa to the north, Taraba and Plateau to the south, Gombe and Yobe to the ...

and

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya 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 G ...

. An extensive lexical survey of the South Bauchi languages had been carried out by Kiyoshi Shimizu from 1974 to 1975.Shimizu, Kiyoshi. 1978. ''The Southern Bauchi group of Chadic languages: a survey report''. (Africana Marburgensia: Sonderheft, 2.) Marburg/Lahn: Africana Marburgensia. 48pp. Another early survey was that of Gowers (1907), which included 42 languages of Bauchi.

Languages

The South Bauchi languages include: ;South Bauchi languages *Zaar group: Dass; Geji, Polci (Polchi), Saya,

Zari ''Zari'' (or ''jari'') is an even thread traditionally made of fine gold or silver used in traditional Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani garments, especially as brocade in saris etc. This thread is woven into fabrics, primarily silk, to make i ...

, Zeem *Guruntum group: Guruntum-Mbaaru, Ju,

Tala Tala may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Tala (comics), a fictional character in DC comics *''Tala'', a 1938 volume of poetry by Gabriela Mistral *Tala (music), a rhythmic pattern in Indian classical music * "Tala" (song), by Sarah Geronimo ...

, Zangwal *Boghom group:

Jimi Jimi may refer to: * Jimi language (Cameroon) * Jimi language (Nigeria) * Jimi languages * Jimi system, the administration system of ancient China * Jimi River, in Papua New Guinea * Jimi Valley, in Papua New Guinea * Jimi District, in Papua New G ...

, Jum; Boghom, Kir-Balar, Mangas

Roger Blench Roger Marsh Blench (born August 1, 1953) is a British linguist, ethnomusicologist and development anthropologist. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and is based in Cambridge, England. He researches, publishes, and wor ...

(2020) counted around 38 South Bauchi languages.

Internal classification

Shimizu (1978)

Shimizu (1978) classifies the South Bauchi languages as follows. Individual languages are highlighted in ''italics''. *South Bauchi **East branch ***Boghom subgroup ****''Bòghòm (Burrum)'' ****Kir cluster *****''Kiir (Kir)''; ''Laàr (Balàr)'' *****''Mánsi (Mangas)'' ***Guruntum subgroup ****Guruntum cluster *****''Mbaarù'' *****''Gùrùntùm'' ****Tala cluster *****''Sòòr (Zaŋwal); Zaŋwal of Zungur'' *****''Lungu (Tala)'' *****''Shò (Jù); Jimi'' **West branch ***Barawa subgroup ****North Barawa *****Geji cluster ******''Mɨ̀gang (Booluu), Pelu''; ''Gyaanzi (Gèèjì)'' ******''Buu (Zàràndaa)'' *****Polci cluster ******''Zùl''; ''Barang (Baram), Dììr (Baram Dutse)'' ******''Bɨ̀lɨ̀ (Bùlì)''; ''Nyámzàx (Laŋas), Lundur''; ''Posɨ (Polci)'' ****South Barawa *****Zeem cluster ******''Zeem''; ''Tule (Tulai)''; ''Chaari'' ******''Dokshì (Lushi)'' *****Dass cluster ******''Dɨkshi (Bàraza?)''; ''Bàndas (Dur)'' ******''Boòdlɨ (Zumbul)''; ''Wangdày (Wanɗì)''; ''Zòdì (Dwàt)'' *****Saya cluster ******''Zàksɨ̀ (Zàkshì)''; ''Bòòt (Boto)''; ''Zaarɨ (Zari); Sigidi'' ******''Zaar of Kàl''; ''Zaar of Gàmbar Lèère''; ''Zaar of Lùsa''

Blench (2021)

(2021) classifies the South Bauchi languages as follows. *South Bauchi **Jimi **Boghom cluster: Mantsi, Boghom, Kir-Balar **Gurdung cluster: Gurdung, Mbaaru, Ju, Tala, Zangwal **Zaar branch ***Das cluster: Diksyhi, Dur, Zumbul, Dot, Wangdi ***Polci cluster: Zul, Mbaram, Diir, Buli, Nyamzax, Polci, Luri (†) ***Zeem cluster: Zeem (†), Tuli (†), Caari, Dyarim, Dokshi ***Geji cluster: Megang, Pelu, Geji, Buu

Names and locations

Below is a comprehensive list of South Bauchi language names, populations, and locations from Blench (2019).

Phonology

;Consonants Like the other

, South Bauchi languages have a rich consonant inventory. They also generally have the

lateral fricative A lateral is a consonant in which the airstream proceeds along one or both of the sides of the tongue, but it is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth. An example of a lateral consonant is the English ''L'', as in ''Larr ...

s /ɬ, ɮ/, whereas the West Chadic A languages have not preserved such consonants. *Stops: p t k b d g ʔ *Nasals: m n ɲ ŋ *Implosives: ɓ ɗ *Fricatives: f v s z (ʃ) (ʒ) ɣ (h) *Tap: r *Approximants: l j w *Lateral fricatives: ɬ ɮ ;Vowels Blench (2020) proposes that Proto-South Bauchi had a 6-vowel system consisting of /i, ɨ, u, ɛ, ɔ, a/, with length contrast. ;Tones South Bauchi languages have 2-3 tone levels, with Proto-South Bauchi likely having three tones like the nearby

A3 West Chadic languages The Angas, Angas–Sura, or Central West Chadic languages (also known as A.3 West Chadic) are a branch of West Chadic languages spoken in Plateau State, north-central Nigeria. Languages The Angas languages are:Blench, Roger. 2017Current research ...

. Some languages also have contour tones (falling or rising).Blench, Roger. 2020.
The South Bauchi languages of Central Nigeria: a fresh view based on recent fieldwork
'. CALL 50. Leiden University, August 31, 2020.

Morphology

Like the neighbouring

but unlike

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

, South Bauchi languages do not usually have plural nouns, although certain words for persons such as ‘woman’, ‘child’, and sometimes ‘man/person’ have suppletive nominal forms. Blench (2021) hypothesises that this may be due to contact with

Adamawa languages The Adamawa languages are a putative family of 80–90 languages scattered across the Adamawa Plateau in central Africa, in Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Chad, spoken altogether by only one and a half million people (as of 19 ...

.Blench, Roger. 2021.
The erosion of number marking in West Chadic Roger Blench
'. WOCAL, Leiden. Stop consonants at the ends of morphemes are underlyingly voiceless.

References

Bibliography

*Caron, Bernard 2002. Review of Ɓarawa lexicon: a wordlist of eight South Bauchi (West Chadic) languages: Boghom, Buli, Dott, Geji, Sayanci and Zul by Ronald Cosper, Munich: LINCOM EUROPA, 1999. ''Chadic Newsletter'', 23: 46–80. *Cosper, Ronald 1999. ''Barawa lexicon: a wordlist of eight South Bauchi (West Chadic) languages''; Boghom, Buli, Dott, Geji, Jimi, Polci, Sayanci and Zul. (LINCOM Studies in African Linguistics, 39.) München: Lincom. *Kraft, Charles H. 1981. ''Chadic Wordlists: Volume I (Plateau-Sahel)''. Marburger Studien zur Afrika- und Asienkunde: Serie A: Afrika, 23. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer.

External links

Map of South Bauchi languages
by

{{Authority control West Chadic languages Languages of Nigeria