Eloyi language

Eloyi
Afu
Native toNigeria
RegionBenue State, Nassarawa State
Native speakers
100,000 (2021)
Language codes
ISO 639-3afo
Glottologeloy1241

Eloyi, or Afu (Afo) or Ajiri, is a Plateau language of uncertain classification. It is spoken by the Eloyi people of Agatu LGA and Otukpo LGA of Benue State and Nassarawa State in Nigeria.

Classification

Armstrong (1955, 1983) classified Eloyi as Idomoid, but that identification was based on a single word list and Armstrong later expressed doubts. Other preliminary accounts classify it as Plateau, and Blench (2008) leaves it as a separate branch of Plateau.

Blench (2007) considers Eloyi to be a divergent Plateau language that has undergone Idomoid influence, rather than vice versa.

Phonology

Consonants

Consonants
BilabialLabio-
dental		AlveolarPost-
alveolar		PalatalVelarLabial-
velar		Glottal
Plosivevoiceless ptkk͡p
voiced bdgg͡b
Affricate d͡zd͡ʒ
Fricativevoiceless fsʃh
voiced vz
Nasal mnɲŋ
Rhotic r/ɾ
Approximant ljw

Vowels

Vowels
FrontCentralBack
Close iu
Close-mid eo
Open-mid ɛɔ
Open a

Notes

  1. ↑ Eloyi at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian (eds.). "Ajiri". Glottolog. 5.0. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  3. ↑ Blench 2007, citing Armstrong, R. G. (1955). "The Idoma-speaking peoples". In Forde, C. D. (ed.). Peoples of the Niger-Benue confluence. Ethnographic Survey of Africa. Vol. X. London: IAI. pp. 77–89.
  4. ↑ Blench 2007, citing Armstrong, R. G. (1983). "The Idomoid languages of the Benue and Cross River Valleys". Journal of West African Languages. 13 (1): 91–149.
  5. ↑ Blench 2007, citing Armstrong, R. G. (1984). "The consonant system of Akpa". Nigerian Language Teacher. 5 (2): 29.
  6. 1 2 3 Blench 2007, p. 5.
  7. ↑ Blench, Roger (24 April 2008). "Prospecting proto-Plateau" (PDF). Draft. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Blench 2007, p. 26.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Muniru et al. 2021, p. 21.
  10. 1 2 3 Muniru et al. 2021, p. 22.
  11. ↑ Blench 2007, p. 2.
  12. ↑ Muniru et al. 2021, p. 23.

References