Dikaka or Cham, is one of the Savanna languages of Middle Belt, Nigeria. It is also known as Dijim–Bwilim, after its two dialects, Dijim and Bwilim. A tonal language, it has a whistled register. It is spoken in Gombe and southwestern parts of Adamawa State of Nigeria.
| Dikaka | |
|---|---|
| Cham | |
| Dijim-Bwilim | |
| Native to | Gombe State of Nigeria |
| Ethnicity | Dijim people |
Native speakers | (25,000 cited 1998)[1] |
Early forms | Dikaka
|
| Dialects |
|
| Latin (Dijim alphabets) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | cfa |
| Glottolog | diji1241 |
Dialects
editThe two dialects are Dijim and Bwilim.[2]
- Dijim [dijím], spoken in and around Kindiyo (currently Cham town)
- Bwilim [bwilím], spoken in and around Mɔna (Mwona, Mwana)
Another related dialect is spoken by former speakers of the Jalaa language in and around Loojaa settlement.
Orthography
editIt consists of 8 vowels and 17 consonants.
- The vowels are: a, e, i, o, u, ǝ, ɨ, ʊ
- The consonants are: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, w, y
References
edit- ^ Dikaka at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Kleinewillinghöfer, Ulrich. 2014. The languages of the Tula – Waja Group. Adamawa Languages Project.