Dikaka language

This article is about the Nigerian language. For other uses, see Mona language (disambiguation).
Dikaka
Cham
Dijim-Bwilim
Native toGombe State of Nigeria
EthnicityDijim people
Native speakers
(25,000 cited 1998)[1]
Early forms
Dikaka
  • Dijim
Dialects
  • Dijim (Cham, Cam)
  • Bwilim (Mwana, Mona)
Latin (Dijim alphabets)
Language codes
ISO 639-3cfa
Glottologdiji1241

Dikaka or Cham, is one of the Savanna languages of Middle Belt, Nigeria. It is also known as Dijim–Bwilim, after its two dialects, Dijim and Bwilim. A tonal language, it has a whistled register. It is spoken in Gombe and southwestern parts of Adamawa State of Nigeria.

Dialects

The two dialects are Dijim and Bwilim.[2]

  • Dijim [dijím], spoken in and around Kindiyo (currently Cham town)
  • Bwilim [bwilím], spoken in and around Mɔna (Mwona, Mwana)

Another related dialect is spoken by former speakers of the Jalaa language in and around Loojaa settlement.

Orthography

It consists of 8 vowels and 17 consonants.

The vowels are: a, e, i, o, u, ǝ, ɨ, ʊ
The consonants are: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, w, y

References

  1. ^ Dikaka at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Kleinewillinghöfer, Ulrich. 2014. The languages of the Tula – Waja Group. Adamawa Languages Project.