Jibu language
Jibu is a Jukunoid language spoken in the Taraba State of Nigeria by 30,000 people.
Phonology
In Jibu, there are 18 consonant phonemes, 9 vowels, and three tones. In Jibu, nasalization, labialization, and palatalization are considered to be part of the syllable, and are written along with it after the vowel. Nasalization is represented with n, except when it is at the end of a syllable it becomes doubled. Labialization is represented with w, and palatalization with y respectively.Vowels
In Jibu, there are 9 phonemically different vowels, which are represented by three different symbols. A tenth sound resembling /u/, is only used in loanwords from other languages, such as the neighboring Hausa, and is represented by u.| Front | Central | Back | |
| Close | i | i | u |
| Open Mid | a | ||
| Close Mid | a | o | |
| Open Mid | a | ||
| Near Open | a | ||
| Open | a |
Consonants
Jibu has 18 different consonant phonemes. Some different phonemes are represented by the same symbol, such as /ʃ/ and /s/ being both represented as s in their older modified Americanist Phonetic Notation orthographic forms. If all of the consonant phonemes are represented using their older Americanist Phonetic Notation counterparts, there is no orthographic overlap. The sound /ɗ/, which is used in some Hausa loanwords, is commonly represented usingTones
Jibu has three tones. These tones are high, lowered-mid and low. The base tone is not written on words and in more recent publications, neither is the lowered-mid tone.| Jibu | English | IPA | |
| Rising Tone | káb | all, finish | /kɛ́b/ |
| Mid-Tone | kab | to dip out, to dig, to snap off, surpass | /kɛb/ |
| Falling Tone | kàb | provisional hut | /kɛ̀b/ |
Orthography
The system used today in Jibu includes some symbols for transcribing sounds in Hausa loanwords, the older system, which is a slightly modified version of Americanist Phonetic Notation, does not include a symbol for the transcription of h, and includes the fact that multiple phonemes are transcribed as a single symbol in multiple cases.| Modern System | Previous System | IPA |
| m | m | /m/ |
| n | n, l | /n/ |
| ng, ŋ | ng, ŋ | /ŋ/ |
| b | b | /b/ |
| d | d | /d/ |
| g | g, ꞡ | /g/ |
| p | p | /p/ |
| t | t | /t/ |
| k | k | /k/ |
| v | v | /v/ |
| f | f | /f/ |
| y | y | /j/ |
| w | w | /w/ |
| r | r, ř | /ɾ/ |
| z | z, đ | /z/ |
| j | j, z | /ʒ/ |
| s | s | /s/ |
| sh | s, š | /ʃ/ |
| /ɗ/ | ||
| h | - | /h/ |
Verbs
In Jibu, verbs are not conjugated, which is a common aspect among Junkanoid languages. Instead, the pronoun is placed before the verb, and all aspect markers are placed before the pronoun.Intransitive: á
Continuative action: ri
Completed action: hiŋ
Completive action: rìg, rìghiŋ
Pronouns
Jibu pronouns do not reflect gender, the word wá meaning he, she, or it, unlike English, does not have multiple forms based on gender.| 1st Person | 2nd Person | 3rd Person | |
| Singular | mí | wú | wá |
| Plural | yá | ná | bá |
Phrases
- Good afternoon - aku àyúnn-à
- Good morning - bib kyàr
- Sorry! - àtau!
- Hurry! - á àzwab!
- Hello, thank you - ísoko, soko
Literature