Tarok is a regionally important Plateau language in the Langtang area of southeast Plateau State, Nigeria, where it serves as a local lingua franca. Blench (2004) estimates around 150,000 speakers.[2]
| Tarok | |
|---|---|
| Yergam | |
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Plateau State, Taraba State |
| Ethnicity | Tarok |
Native speakers | (300,000 cited 1998)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | yer |
| Glottolog | taro1263 |
Names for other languages
editAs the local lingua franca, the Tarok feature prominently in the local ethnic composition of southeast Plateau State. Many Tarok clans can also trace their ancestries back to Chadic-speaking peoples, pointing to a long history of Chadic peoples assimilating into Tarok society. Some Tarok names for neighbouring languages according to Longtau (2004):[3]
| Language | Classification | Tarok name |
|---|---|---|
| Ngas | West Chadic A.3 | Dúk |
| Boghom | West Chadic B.3 | Burom |
| Duguri | Jarawan | Duguri |
| Goemai | West Chadic A.3 | Lar |
| Jukun-Wase | Jukunoid | Jor |
| Kanam | West Chadic B.3 ? | (not known by Tarok) |
| Kantana | Jarawan | Kantana |
| Tel | West Chadic A.3 | Dwal |
| Pe | Tarokoid | Pe |
| Tal | West Chadic A.3 | Tal |
| Sur | Tarokoid | (not known by Tarok) |
| Yangkam | Tarokoid | Yangkam |
| Yiwom | West Chadic A.3 | Zhan |
| Zaar | West Chadic B.3 | Zhim |
Writing system
edit| a | a̲ | b | ɓ | c | d | ɗ | e | ǝ | f | gb |
| gh | i | j | k | kp | l | m | n | ny | ŋ | o |
| p | r | s | sh | t | u | v | w | y | z | zh |
References
edit- ^ Tarok at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Blench, Roger. 2004. Tarok and related languages of east-central Nigeria.
- ^ Longtau, Selbut (25–26 March 2004). Some Historical Inferences from Lexical Borrowings and Traditions of Origins in the Tarokoid/Chadic Interface. International Symposium on Endangered Languages in Contact: Nigeria’s Plateau Languages. Hamburg: Asien-Afrika-Institut, Universität Hamburg.
