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Berom language

Berom
Birom
Cèn Bèrom
Native toNigeria
RegionPlateau State
EthnicityBerom people
Native speakers
1 million (2010)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3bom
Glottologbero1242
Berom[2]
PersonWòrom
PeopleBerom; Birom (Du dialect)
LanguageCèn Bèrom

Berom or Birom (Cèn Bèrom) 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 area to the south of Jos city to Barkin Ladi and Riyom in Plateau State, Nigeria.[3] The Berom population distribution culminates at the edge of the Jos plateau in Sopp chiefdom of Riyom Local Government Area.

History

The Berom have a link to the Nok culture, a civilization that existed between 200 BCE to 1,000 CE.[4] Generally, the Berom speakers are identified to live in the core Jos Plateau and down the low plains of Kaduna State.[5]

Dialects

The Berom dialect clusters are:[3]

  • Gyel–Kuru–Vwang
  • Du–Foron
  • Fan–Ropp–Rim–Riyom–Heikpang
  • Bachit
  • Gashish
  • Rahoss-Tahoss

Phonology

Consonants

Eastern Berom consists of twenty-four consonant phonemes:[6]

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Labio-
velar 		Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t k kp
voiced b d g gb
Affricate voiceless (ts) tʃ
voiced dʒ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ h
voiced v z
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Rhotic r
Approximant l j w
  • /ts/ occurs in the Foron dialect.
  • /p/ /b/, /m/ are bilabial, while /f/ and /v/ are labiodental.
  • /tʃ/, /dʒ/, and /ʃ/ are palato-alveolar, while /ɲ/ and /j/ are palatal.

In Berom, approximants are found in the last position, for example, orthographic rou is /ròw/ and vei is /vèj/.

Vowels

This language consists of seven vowel phonemes:

Vowels
Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a

Berom consists of three type of tones and four glide tones.[5] The glide tones are treated here as rising and falling tones. The tones are as follows:

  • /tút / 'to climb' – high tone
  • /shɛl/ 'small' – mid tone
  • /bàsa/ 'to teach, read' – low tone
  • /nepâs/ 'new' – falling tone
  • /sǎn/ 'empty' – rising tone

Orthography

Berom orthography:[3]

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

  1. ^ a b c Berom at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
  3. ^ a b c Blench, Roger (2021). "Introduction to Berom: Reading and Writing Guide". Draft.[self-published source]
  4. ^ Mbamalu, Socrates (16 February 2017). "The Berom people of Nigeria". This is Africa. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  5. ^ a b Bouquiaux 1970.
  6. ^ Blench, Roger M. (2006). "Plural Verb Morphology in Eastern Berom" (PDF). rogerblench.info. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2024.[self-published source]

References

  • Bouquiaux, L. (1970). La langue Birom (Nigéria septentrional) –phonologie, morphologie, syntaxe. Paris: Société d’édition Les Belles Lettres.
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