Jju language

Not to be confused with Jeju language.

Jju (Tyap: Jhyuo; Hausa: Kaje, Kache) is the native language of the Bajju people of Kaduna State in central Nigeria. As of 1988, there were approximately 300,000 speakers. Jju is one of the Southern Kaduna languages. Although usually listed separately from the Tyap cluster, Jju's separation, according to Blench R.M. (2018), seems to be increasingly ethnic rather than a linguistic reality.

Jju
Kaje
Diryem Jju
Native to	Nigeria
Region	Kaduna State
Native speakers	600,000 (2020)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Plateau Central ? Tyapic Jju
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kaj
Glottolog	jjuu1238

Jju
People	Ba̠jju
Language	Jju
Country	Ka̠jju

Distribution

Jju is spoken as a first language by the Bajju people in Zangon Kataf, Jema'a, Kachia, Kaura and Kaduna South Local Government Areas of Kaduna state. It is also spoken in neighbouring Atyap, Fantswam, Agworok, Ham, Adara, and other kin communities as a second or third language.

Phonology

Vowels

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i	ɨ	u
Mid	e	ə	o
Open		a

A few words also include the long vowels /aː/ and /oː/.

Consonants

Consonants

		Labial		Alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Labial–velar
Nasal	plain	m		n				ŋ
	tense	mː		nː				ŋː
Stop	plain	p	b	t	d			k	ɡ	k͡p	ɡ͡b
	tense	pː	bː	tː	dː			kː	ɡː
Affricate	plain	p͡f	b͡v	t͡s	d͡z	t͡ʃ	d͡ʒ
	tense	p͡fː	b͡vː	t͡sː	d͡zː	t͡ʃː	d͡ʒː
Fricative	plain	f		s		ʃ
	tense	fː		sː		ʃː
Rhotic	tap			ɾ
	tense			ɾː
	trill			r
Approximant	labial	ʍ	w			ɥ̊	ɥ
	lab. tense	ʍː	wː			ɥ̊ː	ɥː
	central					j̊	j
	tense						jː

• There is a tenseness distinction, which McKinney (1990) calls a fortis-lenis distinction. McKinney analyzes the fortis consonants as longer than lenis consonants.
• There is allophonic palatalization before front vowels and allophonic labialization before rounded vowels.
• Most consonants have a three-way contrast between plain, labialized [ʷ], and palatalized [ʲ].

• Aspiration [ʰ] may phonetically occur among stops.
• Tense stops /kː ɡː/ may also be heard as affricates [k͡x, ɡ͡ɣ].

Numerals

Numeral	Jju word
1	A̠yring
2	A̠hwa
3	A̠tat
4	A̠naai
5	A̠pfwon
6	A̠kitat
7	A̠tiyring
8	A̠ninai
9	A̠kumbvuyring
10	Swak
11	Swak bu a̠yring
12	Swak bu a̠hwa
13	Swak bu a̠tat
14	Swak bu a̠naai
15	Swak bu a̠pfwon
16	Swak bu a̠kitat
17	Swak bu a̠tiyring
18	Swak bu a̠ninai
19	Swak bu a̠kumbvuyring
20	[Nswak nh] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |3= (help)
30	Nswak ntat
40	Nswak nnaai
50	Nswak npfwon
60	Nswak a̠kitat
70	Nswak a̠tiyring
80	Nswak a̠ninai
90	Nswak a̠kumbvuyring
100	Cyi
1000	Cyikwop

Vocabulary

List of vocabulary relating to body parts.

• zwuoi - nose
• shog - cheek
• a̠kpukpa ka̠nu - lip
• zwuak - throat
• du̱ryem - tongue
• pffwa - neck
• ka̠dyet - chin
• ka̠hog - chest
• trang - beard
• kawiyang - armpit
• du̱ccu - head
• a̠nyyi teeth
• tsuo mbvak - elbow
• ka̠ma - back
• du̱kkwat - back of head
• tak - leg
• ka̠hwa - stomach
• du̱kkwut - knee
• hun-tak ankle
• gruang - shoulder
• kanu - mouth
• kop - navel
• pffwo - ear
• du̱ssi - eye
• a̠cat - hair
• du̱byiang - breast
• ka̠ta̠ssi - forehead
• a̠ta̠ngbak - wrist
• ka̠ta̠ng-hurung bak - finger
• bva̠k - hand

References

• McKinney, Norris P. (April 1990). "Temporal characteristics of fortis stops and affricates in Tyap and Jju". Journal of Phonetics. 18 (2): 255–266. doi:10.1016/S0095-4470(19)30392-4. ISSN 0095-4470.