Nupe language

Nupe ( ma ché mù ma ka kì ama ñõ chì Anufe, Nupenci, Nyinfe, kpaì Tapa) ì chá  Volta–Niger language efu yé í Nupoid kì chì ómétọ ìchì kù magbejù ákaa gbì amì Nupe people efu yé of the North Central region of Nigeria. Ì chì geographical distribution stretches kpaì maintains preeminence efu  Niger State manyú  Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa manyú éfu Federal Capital Territory. Nupe chì èfù kì mẹrù Kakanda efu ùjo odoo kpaì ómùkóla. There are at least amì kì deì chì óla mẹjì ón chì átẹ-un ,óǹ chì yé ì  Nupe: Nupe central kpaì Nupe Tako.

Demographics
Nupe chì ìchì kú má kaa kpì amì Nupe people, kì ma gbejùdodo efu Niger State efu ojìane Naijẹria,(kú má kú má dù ójìanẹ kì dabì   square kilometers in the Niger Basin, mostly north of the river between the Kontagora and Guara confluents from Kainji to below Baro, and also Kwara State, Kogi State and the Federal Capital Territory.

Nupe is spoken mainly in Bida, Niger State and surrounding areas. It is also spoken in villages on the Benue River near Ibi and east of Lafia. Nupe has assimilated earlier ethnolinguistic groups such as the Benu of Kutigi, who originally were Kanuri-speaking, and the Gbagyi at Lemu.Blench, Roger. 2013. The Nupoid languages of west-central Nigeria: overview and comparative word list.

Nupe-Tako ("The Nupe Below", also called "Bassa Nge") is spoken by the Bassa Nge, who also speak the Bassa Nge or Bassa Nupe dialect of Basa-Benue and is lexically most closely related to central Nupe.

Classification
The Nupe language belongs to the Nupoid branch of the Benue-Congo group of languages. Other languages in the group are Igbira (Ebira), Gade, and Kakanda. Nupe is related most closely to Kakanda in structure and vocabulary. There are at least two markedly different dialects: Nupe central and Nupe Tako.

  Phonology  
+VowelsFrontBackClose  MidOpen 

+ConsonantsLabialAlveolarPostalveolarPalatalVelarLabial-velarGlottalStopvoiceless voiced Affricatevoiceless  voiced  Fricativevoiceless voiced NasalApproximant Trill 
+Indication of tonesHigh tone (´) acuteLow tone (`) graveMid tone unmarkedFalling tone (ˆ) circumflex or (ˇ) caronRising tone (ˇ) caron or (ˆ) circumflex

 Proverbs 
Common sayings come in the forms of egankogi (parable), gangba (warning), egancin (idiom), ecingi (riddle/tales) and eganmagan (proverb).Ibrahim, Isyaku Bala (2009) Eganmaganzhi Nupe (Nupe Proverbs), over a thousand (1000) proverbs). Minna: Gandzo Enterprises.

Eganmagan (proverb, plural eganmaganzhi) are wise sayings spoken among the Nupes. They are didactic proverbs which educate, entertain, and teach morality. They form part of the oral culture on norms and ethics of Nupe societies, and are passed from one generation to another through songs, stories, fables, folk tales, myths, legends, incantations, communal discussions, and worship.

Similar to other African proverbs, Nupe proverbs associate or relate people's action to their immediate environment in order to explain or correct particular situations, norms, issues, or problems. They also enlighten, warn and advise, or teach language in order to change perception which is believed to become reality.

 References 

External links

PanAfriL10n page on Nupe
Takada nya Aduwa nya Eza Kama kendona zizi nya Anglican Church yi na Portions of the Book of Common Prayer in Nupe (1955) digitized by Richard Mammana

Category:Languages of Nigeria
Category:Nupoid languages
Category:Nupe