# 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

Vowels :
| | Front | Central | Back |
| Close | i ĩ | | u ũ |
| Mid | e ẽ | | o õ |
| Open | | a ã | |
* /i, u, e, o/ can also have allophones [ɪ, ʊ, ɛ, ʌ].
* Nasal vowels /ĩ, ũ, ẽ, õ/ can also be heard as [ɪ̃, ʊ̃, ɛ̃, ʌ̃].

### Consonants

Gbagyi consonants :
| | | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labial- velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | (ɲ) | (ŋ) | | |
| Stop/ Affricate | voiceless | p | t | (t͡ʃ) | k | k͡p | |
| Stop/ Affricate | voiced | b | d | (d͡ʒ) | g | ɡ͡b | |
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | (ʃ) | | | h |
| Fricative | voiced | v | z | (ʒ) | | | |
| Approximant | central | | (ɹ) | j | | w | |
| Approximant | lateral | | l | | | | |
* The following sounds may be labialized as /pʷ, bʷ, fʷ, vʷ, kʷ, ɡʷ, mʷ, k͡pʷ, ɡ͡bʷ, hʷ/ 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 /bʷ, ɡʷ, ɡʲ/ are softened to fricatives [βʷ, ɣʷ, ɣʲ] when preceding a glide, in medial-intervocalic position.
* /ɡ͡b/ 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].
Gbari consonants :
| | | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labial- velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | (ɲ) | (ŋ) | | |
| Stop | voiceless | p | t | | k | k͡p | |
| Stop | voiced | b | d | | g | ɡ͡b | |
| Stop | implosive | ɓ | ɗ | | | | |
| Stop | ejective | | | | kʼ | | |
| Affricate | voiceless | | t͡s | (t͡ʃ) | | | |
| Affricate | voiced | | | (d͡ʒ) | | | |
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | (ʃ) | | | h |
| Fricative | voiced | v | z | (ʒ) | | | |
| Approximant | central | | (ɹ) | j | | w | |
| Approximant | lateral | | l | | | | |
* The following sounds may be labialized as /pʷ, bʷ, fʷ, vʷ, kʷ, ɡʷ, mʷ/ 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, k͡pᵐ, ɡ͡bᵐ].
* 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, ɡ/ and /bʷ, ɡʷ, ɡʲ/ are softened to fricatives [β, ɣ] 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:
* Minna and Kuta (more prominent group)
* around Diko, northeast of Suleja
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).