Jagham language

{{Infobox language

| name = Ekoi

| nativename = {{lang|etu|Ejagham}}

| states = Nigeria, Cameroon

| ethnicity = Ekoi people

| speakers = {{sigfig|116,700|2}}

| date = 2000

| ref = e18

| familycolor = Niger-Congo

| fam2 = Atlantic–Congo

| fam3 = Volta-Congo

| fam4 = Benue–Congo

| fam5 = Bantoid

| fam6 = Southern Bantoid

| fam7 = Ekoid–Mbe

| fam8 = Ekoid

| dia1 = Akin

| dia2 = Bendeghe

| dia3 = Northern Etung

| dia4 = Southern Etung

| dia5 = Ekwe

| dia6 = Akamkpa-Ejagham

| dia7 = Keaka

| dia8 = Obang

| dia9 = Nkim

| dia10 = Nkum

| dia11 = Ekajuk

| script = Nsibidi, Latin script

| iso3 = etu

| glotto = ejag1239

| glottorefname = Ejagham

| map = Map_of_the_Ekoid_languages.svg

| mapcaption = {{legend|#fff991|Ejagham}}

}}

The Jagham language, Ejagham, also known as Ekoi, is an Ekoid language of Nigeria and Cameroon spoken by the Ekoi people. The E- in Ejagham represents the class prefix for "language", analogous to the Bantu ki- in KiSwahili

The Ekoi are one of several peoples who use Nsibidi ideographs, and may be the ones that created them.

Dialects

Ekoi is dialectally diverse. The dialects of Ejagham are divided into Western and Eastern groups:

Western varieties include Bendeghe, Northern and Southern Etung, Ekwe and Akamkpa-Ejagham;
Eastern varieties include Keaka and Obang.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/Niger-Congo/Bantoid/Ekoid/Comparative%20Ekoid.pdf|title=Ekoid: Bantoid languages of the Nigeria-Cameroun borderland|last=Blench|first=Roger|page=1}}

Blench (2019) also lists Ekin as an Ejagham dialect.{{Cite book|title=An Atlas of Nigerian Languages|last=Blench|first=Roger|publisher=Kay Williamson Educational Foundation|year=2019|edition=4th|location=Cambridge}}

Phonology

= Consonants =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! colspan="2" \| !Labial !Alveolar !Post-alv./ Palatal !Velar !Labio- velar
align="center" ! colspan="2" \|Nasal \|{{IPA link\|m}} \|{{IPA link\|n}} \|{{IPA link\|ɲ}} \|{{IPA link\|ŋ}} \|
align="center" ! rowspan="2" \|Plosive/ Affricate !voiceless \|{{IPA link\|p}} \|{{IPA link\|t}} \|{{IPA link\|t͡ʃ}} \|{{IPA link\|k}} \|{{IPA link\|k͡p}}
align="center" !voiced \|{{IPA link\|b}} \|{{IPA link\|d}} \|{{IPA link\|d͡ʒ}} \|{{IPA link\|ɡ}} \|{{IPA link\|ɡ͡b}}
align="center" ! rowspan="2" \|Fricative !voiceless \|{{IPA link\|f}} \|{{IPA link\|s}} \| \| \|
voiced \|({{IPA link\|β}}) \| \| \|({{IPA link\|ɣ}}) \|
colspan="2" \|Tap \| \|{{IPA link\|ɾ}} \| \| \|
align="center" ! colspan="2" \|Approximant \| \| \|{{IPA link\|j}} \| \|{{IPA link\|w}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! colspan="2" |

align="center"

! colspan="2" |Nasal

|{{IPA link|m}}

|{{IPA link|n}}

|{{IPA link|ɲ}}

|{{IPA link|ŋ}}

|

align="center"

! rowspan="2" |Plosive/
Affricate

!voiceless

|{{IPA link|p}}

|{{IPA link|t}}

|{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}

|{{IPA link|k}}

|{{IPA link|k͡p}}

align="center"

!voiced

|{{IPA link|b}}

|{{IPA link|d}}

|{{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}

|{{IPA link|ɡ}}

|{{IPA link|ɡ͡b}}

align="center"

! rowspan="2" |Fricative

!voiceless

|{{IPA link|f}}

|{{IPA link|s}}

|

voiced

|({{IPA link|β}})

|

|({{IPA link|ɣ}})

|

colspan="2" |Tap

|

|{{IPA link|ɾ}}

|

align="center"

! colspan="2" |Approximant

|

|{{IPA link|j}}

|

|{{IPA link|w}}

Stop sounds /b, ɡ/ are lenited to fricatives [β, ɣ] when in intervocalic positions.
Velar sounds [k, ɡ; (ɣ)] can be heard as uvular [q, (ʁ)] when in syllable-final position.{{Cite book |last=Watters |first=John R. |title=A Phonology and Morphology of Ejagham- with notes on Dialect Variation |publisher=Los Angeles: University of California at Los Angeles |year=1981}}

= Vowels =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! !Front !Central !Back
align="center" !Close \|{{IPA link\|i}} \|{{IPA link\|ʉ}}{{Efn\|Occurs as unrounded /ɨ/ in the eastern Ejagham dialect. Does not occur in the southern dialect.\|name=Close central vowel}} \|{{IPA link\|u}}
align="center" !Close-mid \|{{IPA link\|e}}{{Efn\|Only occurs in the southern Ejagham dialect.\|name=Mid-vowels}} \| rowspan="2" \|{{IPA link\|ə}} \|{{IPA link\|o}}{{Efn\|Only occurs in the southern Ejagham dialect.\|name=Mid-vowels}}
Open-mid \|{{IPA link\|ɛ}} \|{{IPA link\|ɔ}}
align="center" !Open \| \|{{IPA link\|a}} \|

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!

align="center"

|{{IPA link|i}}

|{{IPA link|ʉ}}{{Efn|Occurs as unrounded /ɨ/ in the eastern Ejagham dialect. Does not occur in the southern dialect.|name=Close central vowel}}

|{{IPA link|u}}

align="center"

!Close-mid

|{{IPA link|e}}{{Efn|Only occurs in the southern Ejagham dialect.|name=Mid-vowels}}

| rowspan="2" |{{IPA link|ə}}

|{{IPA link|o}}{{Efn|Only occurs in the southern Ejagham dialect.|name=Mid-vowels}}

Open-mid

|{{IPA link|ɛ}}

|{{IPA link|ɔ}}

align="center"

!Open

|

|{{IPA link|a}}

|

Writing system

A Jagham alphabet was developed by John R. Watters and Kathie Watters in 1981.

class="wikitable"

|+ Western Jagham alphabet{{sfn|Tadadjeu|1993|p=73}}

| a

b

bh

ch

d

| e

ə

f

g

gb

| gh

i

j

k

kp

| m

n

ny

ŋ

o

| p

r

s

t

u

| ʉ

w

y

Morphology

Ekoi has the following noun classes, listed here with their Bantu equivalents. Watters (1981) says there are fewer than in Bantu because of mergers (class 4 into 3, 7 into 6, etc.), though Blench notes that there is no reason to think that the common ancestral language had as many noun classes as proto-Bantu.

Noun class\|\|Prefix\|\|Concord
1	N-	w, ɲ
2	a-	b
3	N-	m
5	ɛ-	j
6	a-	m
8	bi-	b
9	N-	j, ɲ
14	ɔ-	b
19	i-	f

('N' stands for a homorganic nasal. 'j' is "y".)

References

=Works cited=

{{cite book |first=Maurice |last=Tadadjeu |chapter=Cameroun |title=Alphabets des langues africaines |editor=Rhonda L. Hartell |publisher=Unesco et Société internationale de linguistique |location=Dakar |date=1993}}

External links

[http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=new100&morpho=0&basename=new100\bco\eko&limit=-1 Ejagham basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database]

Category:Ekoid languages

Category:Languages of Nigeria

Category:Languages of Cameroon