# Bade language

Bade (also spelled Bede, Bedde, or Bode) is a West Chadic language spoken by the Bade people in Yobe State and Jigawa State, Nigeria. Their traditional ruler is the Emir of Bade. Similar to many other Western African languages, Bade is a vulnerable language at great risk of extinction. With 356,000 speakers, the language and the culture of the Bade people have suffered over the last several years. As the language continues to fade, the culture and historic value associated with the language perishes as well. The local dialect is shifting from Bade to Hausa. Across West Africa, the impact on local communities through the loss of the indigenous tongues will be significant. The endangerment of the Bade language represents the worldwide language diversity that is at risk. Many African languages have only received little linguistic attention, impacting these African languages.

## Classification

Bade is classified under the following categories: Afro-Asiatic, Chadic, West, B, B.1, Bade Proper.

## History

While historical information about the Bade language is limited in scope, many words in the Bade language take root in the Kanuri language. The Kanuri language is primarily spoken in West Africa, including: Nigeria and Chad. Bade and Ngizim have borrowed a number of words from the Kanuri language. According to traditional accounts, the Bade language itself originates from the Badr of Yemen and Muhammad purportedly drove the Bade people out after a failure to pray. Currently, as one of the many Nigerian endangered languages, bade serves as a local dialect. In general, Nigerian languages comprise the wealth of linguistic diversity that exists in the country. Over the years, colonization has also played a role in the deteroriation of local languages, which Bade happens to be among, that for now, most of the Bade villages are becoming Hausa speaking villages.

## Geographic distribution

The speakers of the Bade language are centered in Nigeria. It is spoken in the northern part of Yobe State, Nigeria.

### Official status

The language is not the official language of Nigeria or any other country.

### Dialects/varieties

There are three dialects of the Bade language that coincide with regions:
* Gashua Bade (Mazgarwa)
* Southern Bade (Bade-Kado)
* Western Bade (Amshi, Maagwaram, Shirawa)

## Phonology

Most West Chadic languages have a similar consonant inventory separated into eight major groups: labialized laryngeal, laryngeal, labialized velar, velar, lateral, alveopalatal, alveolar, and labial. In the Bade/Ngizim languages, the glottal stop plays no role, but the vowel hiatus relies on elision and coalescence. The sounds also feature a "yawning" and has a shift from fricative to stop.

### Consonants

| | | Labial | Alveolar | Alveolar | Post-alv./ Palatal | Velar | Velar | Glottal | Glottal |
| | | Labial | plain | lateral | Post-alv./ Palatal | plain | lab. | plain | lab. |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | | ɲ | ŋ | | | |
| Stop/ Affricate | voiceless | p | t | | t͡ʃ | k | kʷ | | |
| Stop/ Affricate | voiced | b | d | | d͡ʒ | ɡ | ɡʷ | | |
| Stop/ Affricate | prenasal | ᵐb | ⁿd | | ⁿd͡ʒ | ᵑɡ | ᵑɡʷ | | |
| Stop/ Affricate | implosive | ɓ | ɗ | | ɗ̠ʲ | | | | |
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ɬ | ʃ | | | h | hʷ |
| Fricative | voiced | v | z | ɮ | ʒ | | | ɦ | ɦʷ |
| Rhotic | Rhotic | | r | | ɽ | | | | |
| Approximant | Approximant | | | l | j | | w | (ˀj) | |
* /r/ may also be heard as a flap [ɾ].
* /ɗ̠ʲ/ may also be heard as [ˀj].

### Vowels

| | Front | Central | Back |
| Close | i iː | ɨ | u uː |
| Mid | eː | | oː |
| Open | | a aː | |

## Grammar

The grammar for the Bade language is consistent with the Ngizim language.

### Morphology and syntax

The Bade/Ngizim languages slightly differ from other Chadic languages. Bade and Ngizim have long vowels in closed syllables. Mid vowels also have a restricted use compared to other vowels. Mid vowels will rather appear as loanwords from other languages. The language preserves diphthongs in both native and loanwords.

## Vocabulary

The Bade language has strong influence from the Kanuri language. There are many loanwords from Kanuri to West Chadic languages, including Bade. Bade is commonly grouped with the Ngizim language. As an example, the word "healthy" is nga in the Kanuri language and ngā in the Ngizim language. More recently, the Hausa language has influenced the Bade language.

### Fish names

Below are some fish names of the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands in Bade, along with their Hausa and Manga Kanuri equivalent names. Note that many of the species have not been observed recently, due to the drying up of the region.
    Scientific nameEnglishBadeHausaManga KanuriPresent in 2003? fish (general)Vunakonkíífííbúnì kur cibil ? awgirinkanze amimiwalkúr̃úƙúllìì Hepsetus odoeAfrican pikenjig duwaŋkiribuniNo Labeo coubieAfrican carpNo Synodontis spp.catfishƙùrúngùùNo Citharinus citharus, Citharinus latuslutefishkalafanbáánààpalewalNo Hemichromis bimaculatus, Hemichromis fasciatusjewelfishbakar Heterotis niloticusbonytongueufdakon, ebugancenbárgììbayaYes Mormyrus macrophthalmuspatima kururunburar buzu Labeo senegalensisAfrican carpgadabdanbúrdòòbəskəmNo Marcusenius ihyuysigulendagarilamsaYes Epiplatys spp., Aplocheilichthys spp.killifish/panchax, toothed carpak dakwandankya, akunu Barbus spp.buk zәmәndigila, bakin burdobəskəm, cilimonly seen near Geidam Brycinus leuciscusAfrican tetraswasandindukurimәɗiNo Oreochromis aureus (formerly Tilapia aurea)tilapiakafakundugurukawowoYes Parachanna obscurasnakeheadmudugundúmnóódumnoNo Clarias submarginatuscatfishdundin Clarotes sp. ? ?dùrùdúrùù Labeo sp.African carpɗán dáátàà Citharinus citharus, Citharinus latuslutefishfàlfàlfálfàl Sarotherodon galileus (formerly Tilapia galilaea)tilapiakafakun hetafárín walaholoYes Protopterus annectenslungfishambungáìwááambuYes Heterobranchus bidorsalismәsangara raka (?) ? Polypterus spp.bichir fishawiɗongàrgázáá, garzabàràkádíNo Lates niloticusNile perchkaɓәlingííwár̃ rúwááɓáríyààɓariyaNo Mormyrus isidori ?hààlàɓà Clarias sp.catfishaalanjàrííariYes Brycinus macrolepidotusAfrican tetras ?kándáurákàà ?No Ichthyborus besse ? but cf. 'otter'kàren rúwáá Tilapia spp.tilapiaɗiɗikirkárfásááYes Distichodus spp.grasseaterkaskasankáwsàà cihaki Tetraodon fahakapufferfishkuɗiɗin mәfkәtәn, məkfətənkómbáníkubeNo Dasyatis garouaensisdotted raywurjik duwankunaman rúwáá Mormyrus rumeelephantsnout fish, trunkfishlámsàà Parailia pellucidakalaparlaparlaparYes Schilbe spp.butter catfishganunlûlúú mai kayalulu Chrysichthys sp.mai barewa Tilapia ziliitilapiakafakun suk jijinmai gidan gaci karfasa shurikawowoYes Heterobranchus spp. ?mài leemu ? Malapterurus electricuselectric catfishmjaŋ, njanmínjíryáámuuYes Bagrus filamentosussilver catfishmumfal [?] Bagrus bayad, Bagrus docmaksilver catfishmasamaninmúskòòmazambaleYes Marcusenius cyprinoidestakɗopayapayaNo Alestes baremozeAfrican tetraszantarin saaronsááróósaraŋNo Oreochromis niloticus (formerly Tilapia nilotica)tilapiaandalonsakiyakawowoYes Mormyrus sp.sááwáyàà Siluranodon auritus ?sháŋsháŋ (given as Synodontis sp. in other sources) ? Clarias sp.catfishmәsantárwáɗáábigiriYes Marcusenius abadiikurinyintáátàr̃lamsaYes Campylomormyrus tamanduatәrwәn, sawayentola, kánzáyíítólà, sawayaYes Hydrocynus vittatustigerfishdlayad, dleyal, jik duwantságííjayNo Brycinus nurseAfrican tetraszharwon, saronƙááwàráádedaNo Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus, Chrysichthys auratusdumdumi, gajakanƙàrááyááŋgayaYes Auchenoglanis occidentalis, Auchenoglanis biscutatuscatfishkazhakatyàunííŋgayaYes Gymnarchus niloticusmәzәmanzááwààkaazNo

## Writing system

The Bade language uses a Latin script writing script.
Bade alphabet :
| Ə | A | B | Ɓ | C | D | Ɗ | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | Ŋ | O | P | R | R̃ | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ʼY | Z |
| ə | a | b | ɓ | c | d | ɗ | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | ŋ | o | p | r | r̃ | s | t | u | v | w | y | ʼy | z |
The letter R̃ is only used in the Gashua dialect.