Eloyi language

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Eloyi
Afu
Native toNigeria
RegionBenue State, Nassarawa State
Native speakers
100,000 (2021)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3afo
Glottologeloy1241

Eloyi, or Afu (Afo) or Ajiri,[2] is a Plateau language of uncertain classification. It is spoken by the Eloyi people of Agatu LGA and Otukpo LGA of Benue State and Nassarawa State in Nigeria.

Classification

Armstrong (1955, 1983)[3][4] classified Eloyi as Idomoid, but that identification was based on a single word list and Armstrong later expressed doubts.[5] Other preliminary accounts classify it as Plateau,[6] and Blench (2008) leaves it as a separate branch of Plateau.[7]

Blench (2007) considers Eloyi to be a divergent Plateau language that has undergone Idomoid influence, rather than vice versa.[8]

Phonology

Consonants

Consonants[9]
Bilabial Labio-
dental		 Alveolar Post-
alveolar		 Palatal Velar Labial-
velar		 Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t k k͡p
voiced b d g g͡b
Affricate d͡z d͡ʒ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ h
voiced v z
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Rhotic r/ɾ
Approximant l j w
  • Muniru et al. (2021) classify /ʃ/ as post-alveolar, but /d͡ʒ/, /ɲ/, and /j/ as palatal.[9]
  • Blench (2007) includes two palatal plosives, written ⟨c⟩ and ⟨j⟩,[6] which Muniru et al. (2021) interpret as /t͡ʃ/ and /d͡ʒ/, respectively. However, Muniru et al. do not find /t͡ʃ/ in their wordlists.[9]
  • Muniru et al. also place /h/ in the labial-velar column of the table but describe it as a voiceless glottal fricative.[9] Blench (2007) does not include /h/ in the consonant inventory.[6]
  • Muniru et al. also found instances of labialization and palatalization.[10]

Vowels

Vowels[10][11]
Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a
  • Muniru et al. (2021) also found [ø] in [ɾǿwɛ́] 'red', though they state this may be due to the following [w].[10] They also mention that there may be five tones: low, mid, high, rising-falling, and falling-rising.[12]

Notes

  1. ^ Eloyi at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian (eds.). "Ajiri". Glottolog. 5.0. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  3. ^ Blench 2007, citing Armstrong, R. G. (1955). "The Idoma-speaking peoples". In Forde, C. D. (ed.). Peoples of the Niger-Benue confluence. Ethnographic Survey of Africa. Vol. X. London: IAI. pp. 77–89.
  4. ^ Blench 2007, citing Armstrong, R. G. (1983). "The Idomoid languages of the Benue and Cross River Valleys". Journal of West African Languages. 13 (1): 91–149.
  5. ^ Blench 2007, citing Armstrong, R. G. (1984). "The consonant system of Akpa". Nigerian Language Teacher. 5 (2): 29.
  6. ^ a b c Blench 2007, p. 5.
  7. ^ Blench, Roger (24 April 2008). "Prospecting proto-Plateau" (PDF). Draft. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 April 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  8. ^ Blench 2007, p. 26.
  9. ^ a b c d Muniru et al. 2021, p. 21.
  10. ^ a b c Muniru et al. 2021, p. 22.
  11. ^ Blench 2007, p. 2.
  12. ^ Muniru et al. 2021, p. 23.

References

External links


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