Jarawan languages


Jarawan is a dialect cluster that is closely related to, or perhaps a branch of, the Bantu languages. Blench says that it almost certainly belongs with Guthrie's A.60 languages, which are part of Mbam. They are spoken mostly in Bauchi State, with some also scattered in Taraba State and Adamawa State.

Languages

The classification of Jarawan according to Blench is:
Below is a list of language names, populations, and locations from Blench.
LanguageClusterDialectsAlternate spellingsOwn name for languageEndonymOther names Other names for languageExonymSpeakersLocation
DamlanciDamlawaDamlanci500-1000 ethnic population, but language now spoken by those over 50, although not moribundBauchi State, Alkaleri LGA, Maccido village
GwaFewer than 1,000 Bauchi State, Toro LGA
Jar clusterJarDṣ’arawa, JarawaJar, Jarawan Kogi, Jarawan Kasa, Jaracin Kogi/KasaPlateau, Bauchi and Adamawa States
ZharJarDumbulawa may speak a Ɓankal dialectZharƁankal, Bankal, BankalaBankalanci, BaranciBankalawa20,000 Dass town and northward to Bauchi town, west of the Gongola River, in Dass, Bauchi, and Toro LGAs, Bauchi State
LigriJar800 speakers.Taraba State, Karim Lamido LGA
KantanaJarPlateau State, Kanam LGA
Bobar JarBauchi State, precise Location unknown. May not exist as survey in 2007 failed to find such a language
GwakJarGingwakJaranciJarawan Bununu, Jaracin Kasa19,000 Dass town and southward to Tafawa Balewa, west of the Gongola River, in Dass and Tafawa Balewa LGAs, Bauchi State
DooriJarPrevious sources divided Duguri into a number of regional dialects, but this may not be valid since all Doori essentially speak mutually intelligible lectsDõõriDuguranciDugurawaBauchi State, Alkaleri, Tafawa Balewa LGAs; Plateau State, Kanam LGA
MbatJarMbada, Bat, Bada, BaɗaKannaJar, Jarawan Kogi, GarakaBadawa, Mbadawa10,000 North-central part of Kanam LGA, Plateau State, centered at Gagdi-Gum
Mbat-GalamkyaJarMbada, Bat, Bada, BaɗaKannaJar, Jarawan Kogi, GarakaBadawa, Mbadawa10,000 North-western Kanam LGA, southwest of Mbat, including Gyangyang 2 and Gidgid
LabɨrLábɨ́rJaku, JaakuJakanciSpoken in about 10 villages, perhaps 5000 speakers Bauchi State, south of the Bauchi-Gombe Road, from the Gongola River at Kanyallo, in Bauchi LGA, to Gar in Alkaleri LGA
Lame clusterLame2,000 Bauchi State, Toro LGA, Lame district
RuhuLameRufu, RùhûRufawaThere were said to be no speakers remaining in 1987
MbaruLameMbárù, Bambaro, Bamburo, Bambara, Bombaro, Bomboro, BamboroBomborawa, Bunborawa3500-4500. Tulu town, Toro LGA, Bauchi State
GuraLameTu–Gurasg. Ba–Gura, pl. Mo–GuraAgari, Agbiri
MamaKwarra, Kantana7,891 ; 6,155 ; 20,000 Nasarawa State, Akwanga LGA
Mbula clusterMbula7,900 ; 25,000 ; 23,447 Adamawa State, Numan, Shelleng and Song LGAs
MbulaMbula
TamboMbula
BwazzaMbulaNo dialectsƁwà Ɓwàzà pl. àɓwàzàƁwázàBare, Bere Adamawa State, Demsa, Numan, Shelleng and Song LGAs. 26 villages.
ShɨkɨGubi, GubaGubawa300 Bauchi State, Bauchi LGA
KulungKúkùlúŋBákùlúngBambur, Wurkum15,000 Taraba State, Karim Lamido LGA, at Balasa, Bambur and Kirim; Wukari LGA, at Gada Mayo
ƁileKun–Ɓíilé is said to be mutually intelligible with MbulaBille, Bili, BilanciKun–Ɓíiléɓa Ɓíilé30,000 ; there are 36 villages reported to be entirely Ɓile-speaking, and another 16 where some Ɓile is spokenAdamawa State, Numan LGA, 25 km south of Numan, east of the Wukari road.
Dulbu80 Bauchi State, Bauchi LGA

Characteristics

Due to contact with Chadic languages, Jarawan languages have "frozen" prefixes. However, lexically, the Jarawan languages are more closely related to the Bantu languages; typological convergence with Chadic is due to contact.
Although Jarawan had undergone Chadic influence during its earlier days, the reverse situation of a Chadic language being influenced by Jarawan is found in the curious case of Chadic Kulung being extensively influenced by the surrounding Jarawan Kulung language.

Previous studies

Blench presents the early research as follows: "The Jarawan Bantu languages have always been something of a poor relation to Bantu proper. Scattered across northern Cameroun and east-central Nigeria, they remain poorly documented and poorly characterised. The first record of Jarawan Bantu is Koelle, whose Dṣạ̄rāwa probably corresponds to modern-day Bankal. Gowers has six wordlists of Jarawan Bantu include in his survey of the largely Chadic languages of the Bauchi area. Strümpell has a wordlist of the Jarawan Bantu language Mboa, formerly spoken on the Cameroun/CAR border near Meiganga. Strümpell and Baudelaire are the only records of Nagumi, based around Natsari, SE of Garoua in northern Cameroun. Johnston assigned the language recorded by Koelle to a "Central-Bauci" one of his "Semi-Bantu" language groups. Thomas recognised the Bantu affinities of the Nigerian Jarawan Bantu languages, but Doke and Guthrie make no reference to Jarawan Bantu, and the latest reference book on Bantu also exclude it. Some Jarawan Bantu languages are listed in the Benue–Congo Comparative wordlist and a student questionnaire at the University of Ibadan in the early 1970s provided additional sketchy data on others."
According to Blench : "Maddieson & Williamson represents the first attempt to synthesise this data on the position of these languages. Since that period, publications have been limited.... Lukas and Gerhardt analyse some rather hastily collected data on Mbula, while Gerhardt published an analysis of some of this new data and memorably named the Jarawan Bantu "the Bantu who turned back". Gerhardt provides data on verbal extensions in Mama and Kantana. Blench likewise classified them as Bantu languages. Ulrich Kleinwillinghöfer has made available a comparative wordlist of six Jarawan Bantu lects; Zaambo, Bwazza, Mbula, Bile, Duguri and Kulung, collected in the early 1990s as part of the SFB 268."
Wycliffe Nigeria has conducted two surveys of Jarawan Bantu groups in Nigeria, the Mbula-Bwazza and the Jar cluster providing much new and more accurate data in the status of Jarawan Bantu in Nigeria.