Njerep language
Njerep | |
---|---|
Native to | Adamawa Region, Cameroon |
Extinct | 1998[1] 4 (2018)[1] |
?
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | njr |
Glottolog | njer1242 |
ELP | Njerep |
Njerep (Njerup) is a
General information
Njerep is considered a critically endangered language under the
History of Njerep people
Though the Njerep people currently reside in Somié village, it is widely understood that the Njerep immigrated to that location from the mountains. Geographically, Somié village is located on the Tikar Plain of Cameroon. The approximately 2,500 inhabitants[4] of Somié are not only Njerep, but also a wide variety of immigrant groups including the Liap, Ndeba, and Mvup people.[5] Though oral accounts of how these groups immigrated to the Tikar plain are often contradictory, it appears that three or four waves of immigration led to the population of this area. It is likely that the Njerep people immigrated to the Tikar Plain from some region of the Adamawa Plateau,[3][5] possibly from the Djeni Mountain (also shown as Jiini or Aigue Mboundo on some maps) on the Mambilla Plateau. Njerep is a variant of Nzirrip, formerly located at Nyo Heights of the Mambilla Plateau. It is today represented by the remnant village of Yanzirri. It is obvious that their ultimate origin is traceable to the Mambilla Plateau from where they accessed the lowlying Nyalang Highlands through the Jiini Mountain range.
Language affiliations
Njerep appears to be related to the extinct Kasabe, the extinct Yeni, and the endangered Twendi.[1][3] Njerep appears to have been mutually intelligible with Kasabe, though not with Twendi.[3]
Njerep falls under the broad classification of one of the Mambiloid languages. Mambila, the largest language in the Mambiloid grouping, has approximately twenty different dialects, loosely divided into East Mambila and West Mambila dialect clusters.[4] Linguistic analysis suggests that Njerep may fall under the East Mambila cluster.[1] However, it remains contested whether or not Njerep and its related languages should comprise its own unique grouping.
History of scholarship
Intense efforts to record and characterize Njerep began in 2000. However, by the year 2000, Njerep had already been in terminal decline for some time. Thus, knowledge of Njerep vocabularies and grammars remains quite fragmentary.[1] Unfortunately, the lack of fluent speakers makes it unlikely that the incomplete record will ever be significantly amended.
Word lists and grammar
A comprehensive guide to Njerep vocabulary and grammar has been published and is freely available.[1]
References
- ^ S2CID 141021811.
- ^ Marques, Nuno (13 June 2018). "Quali sono le lingue meno parlate al mondo?" [What are the least spoken languages in the world?]. La rivista di Babbel (in Italian).
- ^ a b c d e f Connell, B. (1997). Moribund languages of the Nigeria-Cameroon borderland. In M. Brezinger (ed.), Endangered Languages in Africa. Cologne, Germany: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. Pp 197-213. Retrieved from http://www.ddl.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/projets/clhass/PageWeb/ressources/Isolats/Bung%20%20Connell%201997.pdf
- ^ .
- ^ .
Further reading
- Caron, Bernard (2000). "Les langues au Nigéria" [languages in Nigeria]. Notre Librairie. Revue des littératures du Sud (in French). Littératures du Nigéria et du Ghana, 2 (141): 8–15.
- Blench, R. M. (n.d.). New developments in the classification of Bantu languages and their historical implications. Unpublished field materials. Retrieved from http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_6/colloques2/38088.pdf
- Blench, R. M. (1993). "An outline classification of the Mambiloid languages" (PDF). Journal of West African Languages. 23 (1): 105–118.
- Connell, Bruce (1998). "Moribund languages of the Nigeria-Cameroon borderland". In Brenzinger, Matthias (ed.). Endangered Languages in Africa. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. pp. 207–225. ProQuest 229590414.