u̠t-Ma'in or Fakai is a Northwest Kainji dialect continuum spoken by 36,000 people in Nigeria. (The letter ⟨u̠⟩ is /ə/.) There are numerous rather divergent dialects:
- Kag (Puku, Fakanchi, Et-Kag)
- Jiir (Gelanchi, Et-Jiir)
- Kur (Kere, Kar, Keri-Ni, Kelli-Ni, Kelanchi, Kelinci)
- Zuksun (Zussun, Et-Zuksun)
- Ror (Et-Maror, Tudanchi, Er-Gwar)
- Fer (Fere, Et-Fer, Wipsi-Ni, Kukum)
- Us (Et-Us)
- Koor (Kulu)
| Ut Main | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Kebbi State, Niger State, Sokoto State, Zamfara State |
Native speakers | (36,000 cited 1992)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | gel |
| Glottolog | kagf1238 |
Names
editNames for the u̠t-Ma'in peoples and languages from Blench (2012):[2]
| Hausa name | c-Lela name | People | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fakkawa | Pək-nu | Kag-ne | ǝt-Kag |
| Fakkawa | Pək-nu | əs-Us | ǝt-Us |
| Gelawa | Geeri-ni | a-Jiir | ǝt-Jiir |
| Zuksun | Wipsi-ni | a-Zuksun | ǝt-Zuksun |
| Kukumawa | Wipsi-ni | əs-Fer | ǝt-Fer |
| Kelawa | Keri-ni | Kər-ni | ǝt-Kər |
| Tuduwa | ǝd-Gwan | a-Ror | ǝt-ma-Ror |
| Kuluwa | ? | a-Koor | ǝt-ma-Koor |
Geographic distribution
editThe Ut-Ma'in language is spoken mainly in Kebbi State (especially Fakai) and Sokoto State (Kebbe) but also in Niger State (Kontagora) and Zamfara State.
References
edit- ^ Ut Main at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Blench, Roger (2012). "The Kainji languages of northwestern and central Nigeria" (PDF). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
Further reading
edit