Berom language
Berom or Birom (Éwn malábó:Lang) is the most widely spoken Plateau language in Nigeria. The language is locally numerically important and is consistently spoken by Berom of all ages in rural areas. However, the Berom are shifting to Hausa in cities.[1] The small Cen and Nincut dialects may be separate languages. Approximately 1 million (2010) people speak in this language.[1]
Berom is spoken in a large area extending from some precolonial settlements embedded within the Jos metropolitan Metropolitan Area to the south of Jos city to Barkin Ladi and Riyom in Plateau State, Nigeria.[2] The Berom population distribution culminates at the edge of the Jos plateau in Sopp chiefdom of Riyom Local Government Area.
History
[nwọ́che | nwó étéwn che]The Berom have a link to the Nok culture, a civilization that existed between 200 BCE to 1,000 CE.[3] Generally, the Berom speakers are identified to live in the core Jos Plateau and down the low plains of Kaduna State.Éwn malábó:Sfn
Dialects
[nwọ́che | nwó étéwn che]The Berom dialect clusters are:[2]
- Gyel–Kuru–Vwang
- Du–Foron
- Fan–Ropp–Rim–Riyom–Heikpang
- Bachit
- Gashish
- Rahoss-Tahoss
Phonology
[nwọ́che | nwó étéwn che]Consonants
[nwọ́che | nwó étéwn che]Eastern Berom consists of twenty-four consonant phonemes:[4]
- Éwn malábó:IPAslink occurs in the Foron dialect.
- Éwn malábó:IPAslink Éwn malábó:IPAslink, Éwn malábó:IPAslink are bilabial, while Éwn malábó:IPAslink and Éwn malábó:IPAslink are labiodental.
- Éwn malábó:IPAslink, Éwn malábó:IPAslink, and Éwn malábó:IPAslink are palato-alveolar, while Éwn malábó:IPAslink and Éwn malábó:IPAslink are palatal.
In Berom, approximants are found in the last position, for example, orthographic Éwn malábó:Lang is Éwn malábó:IPA and Éwn malábó:Lang is Éwn malábó:IPA.
Vowels
[nwọ́che | nwó étéwn che]This language consists of seven vowel phonemes:
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | Éwn malábó:IPAlink | Éwn malábó:IPAlink | |
| Close-mid | Éwn malábó:IPAlink | Éwn malábó:IPAlink | |
| Open-mid | Éwn malábó:IPAlink | Éwn malábó:IPAlink | |
| Open | Éwn malábó:IPAlink |
Berom consists of three type of tones and four glide tones.Éwn malábó:Sfn The glide tones are treated here as rising and falling tones. The tones are as follows:
- Éwn malábó:IPA Éwn malábó:Gloss Éwn malábó:Endash high tone
- Éwn malábó:IPA Éwn malábó:Gloss Éwn malábó:Endash mid tone
- Éwn malábó:IPA Éwn malábó:Gloss Éwn malábó:Endash low tone
- Éwn malábó:IPA Éwn malábó:Gloss Éwn malábó:Endash falling tone
- Éwn malábó:IPA Éwn malábó:Gloss Éwn malábó:Endash rising tone
Orthography
[nwọ́che | nwó étéwn che]Berom orthography:[2]
a, b, c, d, e, ɛ, f, g, gb, h, i, j, k, kp, l, m, n, ng, o, ɔ, p, r, s, sh, t, ts, u, v, w, y, z
Notes
[nwọ́che | nwó étéwn che]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ewn madú gbigalí kí manyó: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namede18 - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Blench, Roger (2021). "Introduction to Berom: Reading and Writing Guide". Draft.Éwn malábó:Self-published source
- ↑ Mbamalu, Socrates (2017-02-16). "The Berom people of Nigeria". This is Africa (in American English). Retrieved 2019-11-21.
- ↑ Blench, Roger M. (2006). "Plural Verb Morphology in Eastern Berom" (PDF). rogerblench.info. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2024-03-07.Éwn malábó:Self-published source
References
[nwọ́che | nwó étéwn che]- Bouquiaux, L. (1970). La langue Birom (Nigéria septentrional) –phonologie, morphologie, syntaxe. Paris: Société d’édition Les Belles Lettres.