Izere is a dialect continuum of Plateau languages in Nigeria. According to Blench (2008), it is four languages, though Ethnologue does not distinguish NW and NE Izere. The Cen and Ganang varieties are spoken by only 2000 each. Cen has added Berom noun-class prefixes and consonant alternation to an Izere base.
| Izere | |
|---|---|
| Afusare | |
| Izarek | |
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Kaduna State, Bauchi State, Plateau |
Native speakers | 500,000 (2006–2016)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:izr – NE & NW Izerecen – Cèn (Chen)gne – Ganàng (Gashish) |
| Glottolog | Noneizer1242 Izeric, incl. Firan |
Dialects
editBlench (2019) lists the following Izere dialects.[2]
- Fobur
- Northeastern (Federe)
- Southern (Foron)
- Ichèn
- Faishang
- Ganang
Phonology
editThe Izere phonetic inventory includes 29 consonants and seven vowels and distinguishes three tone levels; two additional contour tones appear only rarely, in loanwords and due to onomatopoeia.[3]
Consonants
editThe consonant phonemes of Izere are shown in the following table.
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labial–velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | p b | t d | c ɟ | k ɡ | k͡p ɡ͡b | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ŋ͡m | |||
| Trill | (r) | |||||||
| Fricative | f v | s z | ʃ ʒ | h | ||||
| Affricate | ts | |||||||
| Approximant | j, ɥ | w | ||||||
| Lateral | l |
Vowels
editThe vowel phonemes of Izere are shown in the following table.
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Close-mid | e | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | |
| Open | a | |
Tonemes
editThere are three level (L, M & H) and two contour tonemes (LM & HL) in Izere; the latter two are found only in loanwords and onomatopoeia.
References
edit- ^ NE & NW Izere at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Cèn (Chen) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Ganàng (Gashish) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ^ Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
- ^ Blench, Roger; Kaze, Bitrus. Dictionary of the Izere language.
- Blench (2008) Prospecting proto-Plateau. Manuscript.