Jju (Tyap: Jhyuo; Hausa: Kaje, Kache) is the native language of the Bajju people of Kaduna State in central Nigeria. As of 1988, there were approximately 300,000 speakers.[1] Jju is one of the Southern Kaduna languages.[1][3] Although usually listed separately from the Tyap cluster, Jju's separation, according to Blench R.M. (2018), seems to be increasingly ethnic rather than a linguistic reality.[4]
Jju | |
---|---|
Kaje | |
Diryem Jju | |
Native to | Nigeria |
Region | Kaduna State |
Native speakers | 600,000 (2020)[1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | kaj |
Glottolog | jjuu1238 |
Jju[2] | |
---|---|
People | Ba̠jju |
Language | Jju |
Country | Ka̠jju |
Distribution edit
Jju is spoken as a first language by the Bajju people in Zangon Kataf, Jema'a, Kachia, Kaura and Kaduna South Local Government Areas of Kaduna state. It is also spoken in neighbouring Atyap, Fantswam, Agworok, Ham, Adara, and other kin communities as a second or third language.[citation needed]
Phonology edit
Vowels edit
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i | ɨ | u |
Mid | e | ə | o |
Open | a |
Consonants edit
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labial–velar | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | plain | m | n | ŋ | ||
tense | mː | nː | ŋː | |||
Stop | plain | p b | t d | k ɡ | k͡p ɡ͡b | |
tense | pː bː | tː dː | kː ɡː | |||
Affricate | plain | p͡f b͡v | t͡s d͡z | t͡ʃ d͡ʒ | ||
tense | p͡fː b͡vː | t͡sː d͡zː | t͡ʃː d͡ʒː | |||
Fricative | plain | f | s | ʃ | ||
tense | fː | sː | ʃː | |||
Rhotic | tap | ɾ | ||||
tense | ɾː | |||||
trill | r | |||||
Approximant | labial | ʍ w | ɥ̊ ɥ | |||
lab. tense | ʍː wː | ɥ̊ː ɥː | ||||
central | j̊ j | |||||
tense | jː |
- Consonants also occur as labialized [ʷ] as palatalized [ʲ].
- Aspiration [ʰ] may phonetically occur among stops.
- Tense stops /kː ɡː/ may also be heard as affricates [k͡x, ɡ͡ɣ].[5]
Numerals edit
- A̠yring
- A̠hwa
- A̠tat
- A̠naai
- A̠pfwon
- A̠kitat
- A̠tiyring
- A̠ninai
- A̠kumbvuyring
- Swak
- Swak bu a̠yring
- Swak bu a̠hwa
- Swak bu a̠tat
- Swak bu a̠naai
- Swak bu a̠pfwon
- Swak bu a̠kitat
- Swak bu a̠tiyring
- Swak bu a̠ninai
- Swak bu a̠kumbvuyring)P″
- Nswak nh|c
- 30. Nswak ntat
- 40. Nswak nnaai
- 50. Nswak npfwon
- 60. Nswak a̠kitat
- 70. Nswak a̠tiyring
- 80. Nswak a̠ninai
- 90. Nswak a̠kumbvuyring
- 100. Cyi
- 1000. Cyikwop
Vocabulary edit
list of vocabulary relating to body parts.[6]
- zwuoi - nose
- shog - cheek
- a̠kpukpa ka̠nu - lip
- zwuak - throat
- dhiryem - tongue
- pfuwa - neck
- ka̠dyet - chin
- ka̠hog - chest
- trang - beard
- kawiyang - armpit
- dhicuu - head
- a̠n-yyi teeth
- tsuo m'bva̠k - elbow
- ka̠ma - back
- dhikwat - back of head
- tag - leg
- ka̠wha - stomach
- dhikwuut - knee
- hun-tag ankle
- gruang - shoulder
- kanu - mouth
- kop - navel
- pfuo - ear
- dhissi - eye
- a̠chat - hair
- dhibyiang - breast
- ka̠ta̠ssi - forehead
- a̠ta̠ngbak - wrist
- ka̠ta̠ng-hurung bak - finger
- bva̠k - hand
References edit
- ^ a b c Jju at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
- ^ "Glottolog 3.0 - Bajju". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2017-05-05.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Blench, Roger M. (2018). Watters, John R. (ed.). East Benue-Congo: Nouns, pronouns, and verbs (Niger-Congo Comparative Studies 1) [Nominal affixes and number marking in the Plateau languages]. Berlin: Language Science Press. pp. 128–129. ISBN 9783961101009. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ McKinney, Norris P. (April 1990). "Temporal characteristics of fortis stops and affricates in Tyap and Jju". Journal of Phonetics. 18 (2): 255–266. doi:10.1016/S0095-4470(19)30392-4. ISSN 0095-4470.
- ^ "Sani Chat Sylvanus: Went to my Aunts house and I saw this. Parts..."
External links edit
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Jju language.