The Bena–Mboi (Ɓəna–Mboi) a.k.a. Yungur languages form a branch of the Adamawa family. They are spoken in central Adamawa State, eastern Nigeria, just to the east of Lafia LGA.
| Ɓəna–Mboi | |
|---|---|
| Yungur | |
| Geographic distribution | Adamawa State, eastern Nigeria |
| Linguistic classification | Niger–Congo? |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | bena1258 |
Idiatov & van de Velde (2019) classify the Bena–Mboi languages as Benue-Congo.[1]
Classification
editIn the Adamawa Languages Project website, Kleinewillinghöfer (2011) classifies the Ɓəna-Mboi or Yungur group as follows.[2]
- Ɓəna-Mboi (Yungur)
Names and locations
editBelow is a list of language names, populations, and locations from Blench (2019).[3]
| Language | Branch | Cluster | Dialects | Alternate spellings | Own name for language | Endonym(s) | Other names (location-based) | Other names for language | Exonym(s) | Speakers | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ɓena | Yungur | Ɓəna is divided into 17 clans each of which is said to have a distinct speech-form, but they are too closely related to actually be distinct dialects. | Ebina, Binna, Gbinna | Ebəna | Ɓəna | Lala (not recommended), Purra (general term for northern Ɓəna) | Yungur, Yangur | Yungirba, Yungur | 44,300 (1963) probably including Lala and Roba; fewer than 100,000 (1990 est.) | Adamawa State, Song and Guyuk LGAs | |
| Kaan | Yungur | Libo | Adamawa State, Guyuk LGA | ||||||||
| Lala cluster | Yungur | Lala | Ɓəna | 30,000 (SIL); 44,300 with Ɓəna (1963) | Adamawa State, Guyuk, Song and Gombi LGAs | ||||||
| Yang | Yungur | Lala | Yan | Lalla | |||||||
| Roba | Yungur | Lala | Gworam | ||||||||
| Ebode | Yungur | Lala | Ẹbode | ||||||||
| Mboi cluster | Yungur | Mboi | Mboire, Mboyi | 3,200 (1973 SIL) | Adamawa State, Song LGA | ||||||
| Gana | Yungur | Mboi | Gəna | Mboire, Mboyi | 1,800 (LA 1971) | Adamawa State, Song LGA, northwest of Song. Livo village and associated hamlets | |||||
| Banga | Yungur | Mboi | Adamawa State, Song LGA, west of Loko. Banga village and associated hamlets | ||||||||
| Haanda | Yungur | Mboi | Handa | 1,370 (LA 1971) | Adamawa State, Song LGA, west of Loko. Handa village and associated hamlets | ||||||
| Voro | Yungur | Vɔrɔ | Ebəna, Ebina | Ɓena | Woro | Yungur | Adamawa State, Song and Guyuk LGAs, south of the Dumne road. Waltande and associated hamlets. |
References
edit- ^ Idiatov, Dmitry; van de Velde, Mark. 2019. Bena-Mboi is Benue-Congo. Adamawa Conference, Department of Anthropology & African Studies, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 9–11 September 2019.
- ^ Kleinewillinghöfer, Ulrich. 2011. Ɓəna-Mboi (Yungur) group. Adamawa Languages Project.
- ^ Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 3.0 license.
External links
edit- Ɓəna-Mboi (Yungur) group (Adamawa Languages Project)