Cipu language

Cicipu chì ìchì  Kainji language àmónẹ kì dàbì Íchámú ny'ọ́gwọ́kọ́ méjì mẹ́lā kù má dẹju efú northwest Nigeria akìchì -kìdèì. ámọ́na là ádì ọ̀lamá kì  Acipu, kpaì má ño dóò kì Acipawa afì  Hausa.

Dábì ìcha-ẹkùbo éfu Benue–Congo languages, Cicipu má nì ùkomù  noun class system. ì ñọ́ nì  fairly complex phonology kpayì  lexical kpaì  grammatical tone, vowel harmony kpaì  nasalisation.

ẹmẹ gbo Cicipu akìchì yé í  lingua franca Hausa. Ójìle ìcha ẹkùbo máa áñọ́ kì ìchì omúné kì mẹrù má.

Classification
Cicipu chẹ eju olá-owo yẹ́ ì Kambari kì nì ùgbo‘mùnẹ ùgbo ì Niger–Congo languages.

The most recent published classification has Cicipu as part of the Kamuku group of West Kainji. However more detailed studies have shown this to be unlikely.

Alternative names
The Ethnologue used to list Cicipu as 'Western Acipa'. In Hausa, the language is referred to as Acipanci and the people as Acipawa.

Geographic distribution
Cicipu is spoken in Nigeria by approximately 20,000 people, split between Sakaba Local Government Area, Kebbi State and Kontagora Local Government Area, Niger State.

Dialects/Varieties
The Acipu themselves recognise seven distinct varieties of Cicipu. The dialect names are as follows (with the corresponding Hausa names in parentheses):
Tirisino (Karishen)
Tidipo (Kadonho)
Tizoriyo (Mazarko)
Tidodimo (Kadedan)
Tikula (Maburya)
Ticuhun (Kakihum)
Tikumbasi (Kumbashi)

Phonology
The most common syllable type in Cicipu is CV, although there are fairly strong arguments for N and CVN. A small number of noun and verb roots begin with a V syllable. Lexical tone contrasts are found in nouns e.g. káayá ‘house’ and káayà ‘bean’, but not in verbs (although grammatical tone is important for verbs).

Vowels
Cicipu has an asymmetric six-vowel system. All vowels can be long or short, and all have nasalised counterparts. There are four diphthongs: , , , and .

+Monophthongs Front Central Back Close   Close-mid   Open-mid  Open 

Consonants
Consonant length is contrastive in Cicipu, e.g. yuwo 'fall' vs. yuwwo 'turn around'. Any consonant may be lengthened.

+Consonant phonemes   Labial Dental or alveolar Postalveolar or palatal Velar Glottal Plain Labialized Palatalized Plain Labialized Plosives and  affricates Voiceless            Voiced         Implosive      Fricatives Voiceless         Voiced      Nasals       Rhotic      Approximants       

Vocabulary
A large number of Cicipu words are borrowings from the lingua franca Hausa. The pronunciation of many of these loanwords has changed to fit in with Cicipu phonology, in particular with respect to vowel harmony.

Writing system
Cicipu is not currently written, although a preliminary orthography proposal has been made, and a small number of trial books has been circulated.McGill, Stuart (ined). Some orthographic challenges for Cicipu. West Kainji Language Workshop, Safara Motel, Kontagora, 10 -12 March 2008, pp. 2-3.

 See also 
 Journal of West African Languages

 Further reading 

References

External links
 Cicipu language website 

Category:Languages of Nigeria
Category:Kambari languages