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Gwari language

Gwari is a Nupoid language spoken by the Gbagyi people, which make up over a million people in Nigeria. There are two principal varieties, Gbari (West Gwari) and Gbagyi (East Gwari), which have some difficulty in communication; sociolinguistically they are distinct languages.

Phonology

Vowels

  • /i, u, e, o/ can also have allophones [ɪ, ʊ, ɛ, ʌ].
  • Nasal vowels /Ä©, Å©, ẽ, õ/ can also be heard as [ɪ̃, ʊ̃, ɛ̃, ʌ̃].

Consonants

  • The following sounds may be labialized as /pÊ·, bÊ·, fÊ·, vÊ·, kÊ·, É¡Ê·, mÊ·, kÍ¡pÊ·, É¡Í¡bÊ·, hÊ·/ and palatalized as /pʲ, bʲ, fʲ, vʲ, kʲ, ɡʲ, mʲ, lʲ, wʲ/.
  • Sounds /t, d, s, z, n/ when palatalized are always heard as [tʃ, dʒ, ʃ, ʒ, ɲ].
  • Sounds /f, b/ can be heard as bilabial sounds [ɸ, β] in free variation.
  • /n/ is heard as velar [ŋ] when preceding velar consonants.
  • /n/ becomes a labialized-velar [ŋʷ] when preceding a /w/.
  • Sounds /bÊ·, É¡Ê·, ɡʲ/ are softened to fricatives [βʷ, ɣʷ, ɣʲ] when preceding a glide, in medial-intervocalic position.
  • /É¡Í¡b/ is heard as an implosive [ɓ] in free variation.
  • /h/ only has a limited occurrence, but it also may be allophonic with /f/ in Northern Gbagyi. In Southern Gbagyi, [h] is heard in free variation with /j/, when /j/ occurs before /i/ in syllable-final position.
  • The palatalized /lʲ/ may also be heard as a central glide [ɹ].
  • The following sounds may be labialized as /pÊ·, bÊ·, fÊ·, vÊ·, kÊ·, É¡Ê·, mÊ·/ and palatalized as /pʲ, bʲ, fʲ, vʲ, tʲ, dʲ, kʲ, ɡʲ, mʲ, lʲ, wʲ/.
  • Stops may also be heard as post-nasalized as [pᵐ, bᵐ, tⁿ, dⁿ, kᵑ, ɡᵑ, kÍ¡pᵐ, É¡Í¡bᵐ].
  • Palatalized sounds /tʲ, dʲ/, typically occur as [tʃ, dʒ] or [tʲ, dʲ] in free variation, and as [tʃ, dʒ], they can be represented orthographically as <ch, j>. Sounds /s, z, n/ when palatalized are always heard as [ʃ, ʒ, ɲ], and can be represented orthographically as <sh, zh, ny>.
  • Sounds /f, fʲ, b/ can be heard as bilabial sounds [ɸ, ɸʲ, β] in free variation.
  • /d/ can also be heard as [ɾ].
  • Sounds /b, É¡/ and /bÊ·, É¡Ê·, ɡʲ/ are softened to fricatives [β, É£] and [βʷ, ɣʷ, ɣʲ] when preceding a glide, in medial-intervocalic position.
  • /n/ becomes a labialized-velar [ŋʷ] when preceding a /w/.
  • The palatalized /lʲ/ may also be heard in free variation, as a central glide [ɹ] or as a palatalized equivalent [ɹʲ].
  • /n/ when palatalized is heard as a palatal nasal [ɲ], and is velar as [ŋ] when preceding velar consonants.

Varieties

Gbagye is also known as Gwari-Matai or Gwarin Ngenge, which are recently adopted cover terms.

There are two separate Gbagyi groups living in:

Gbagye is the only Nupoid language that has the bilabial implosive /ɓ/.

Gbagyi (also known as Gwari) is a cover term for all the Gbari-speaking peoples, and includes many varieties.

Gbari-Yama is a cover term used for all southern Gbari dialects. There are two closely related dialects, which are:

  • Shigokpna
  • Zubakpna

Gbedegi is an extinct language (possibly a Nupe dialect) spoken near Mokwa (Nadel 1941).

References