Jju language
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
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.
Phonology
Consonants
| 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 | ||||||||||
- There is a tenseness distinction, which McKinney (1990) calls a fortis-lenis distinction. McKinney analyzes the fortis consonants as longer than lenis consonants.[5]
- There is allophonic palatalization before front vowels and allophonic labialization before rounded vowels.[6]
- Most consonants have a three-way contrast between plain, labialized [ʷ], and palatalized [ʲ].[7]
- Aspiration [ʰ] may phonetically occur among stops.[8]
- Tense stops /kː ɡː/ may also be heard as affricates [k͡x, ɡ͡ɣ].[9]
Numerals
| Numeral | Jju word |
|---|---|
| 1 | A̠yring |
| 2 | A̠hwa |
| 3 | A̠tat |
| 4 | A̠naai |
| 5 | A̠pfwon |
| 6 | A̠kitat |
| 7 | A̠tiyring |
| 8 | A̠ninai |
| 9 | A̠kumbvuyring |
| 10 | Swak |
| 11 | Swak bu a̠yring |
| 12 | Swak bu a̠hwa |
| 13 | Swak bu a̠tat |
| 14 | Swak bu a̠naai |
| 15 | Swak bu a̠pfwon |
| 16 | Swak bu a̠kitat |
| 17 | Swak bu a̠tiyring |
| 18 | Swak bu a̠ninai |
| 19 | Swak bu a̠kumbvuyring |
| 20 | Nswak nh |
| 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
list of vocabulary relating to body parts.[10]
- 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
Notes
- Jju at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
- "Bajju". Glottolog. 3.0. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
- Blench, Roger M. (2018). "Nominal affixes and number marking in the Plateau languages". In Watters, John R. (ed.). East Benue-Congo: Nouns, pronouns, and verbs. Niger-Congo Comparative Studies. Vol. 1. Berlin: Language Science Press. pp. 128–129. ISBN 9783961101009. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- McKinney 1990, p. 256.
- McKinney 1990, p. 257.
- McKinney 1990, p. 257, citing Hyuwa, D. (1986). "Kaje orthography". Orthographies of Nigerian Languages. Vol. 3/4. Lagos, Nigeria: National Language Centre. pp. 72–99.
- McKinney 1990, p. 262.
- McKinney 1990, p. 260.
- @_Lifeofses (18 November 2023). "Went to my Aunts house and I saw this. Parts of the body in Jju language,a language that is being spoken by Bajju people from southern part of kaduna.A proper Bajju man should learn from this😁" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
References
- 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.
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