Damakawa is a moribundBenue–Congo language of northwest Nigeria. The language has become extinct, there are no longer any speakers of the language, although the oldest people can remember a few words. Approximately 80 or so words and phrases were collected, with difficulty, in April 2008 (the language seems to have been unknown to linguists until then).[2]
The Damakawa have shifted to the nearby larger language C'Lela, and it is likely that all, or almost all of them, also speak the lingua francaHausa. The Hausa name for the ethnic group is also Damakawa.[citation needed]
Based on such a small amount of data of uncertain reliability, it is hard to classify Damakawa precisely. It is probably best placed in the Northwest Kainji branch of Benue–Congo. The words that have been collected show similarities with both C'Lela and Kambari languages, and it may be that the Kambari words are loans or mis-rememberings.
Alternative namesedit
The nearby Cicipu speakers call the Damakawa language 'Tidama'un'. In the trade language Hausa the expected name for the language would be Damakanci, given the people are called Damakawa. However Damakawa seems to be preferred by the Damakawa themselves, as far as can be ascertained.
Geographic distributionedit
The Damakawa people probably number about 500-1000, and live in three or four villages near Maganda in Sakaba Local Government Area, Kebbi State.
^McGill, Stuart. 2008. The Damakawa language. Unpublished manuscript. 2008-11-19 at the Wayback Machine.
Blench, Roger (2012). "The Kainji languages of northwestern and central Nigeria" (PDF). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
External linksedit
ISO 639-3 Request for new language code
January 01, 1970
damakawa, language, damakawa, moribund, benue, congo, language, northwest, nigeria, language, become, extinct, there, longer, speakers, language, although, oldest, people, remember, words, approximately, words, phrases, were, collected, with, difficulty, april. Damakawa is a moribund Benue Congo language of northwest Nigeria The language has become extinct there are no longer any speakers of the language although the oldest people can remember a few words Approximately 80 or so words and phrases were collected with difficulty in April 2008 the language seems to have been unknown to linguists until then 2 DamakawaNative toNigeriaRegionKebbi StateEthnicity500 1 000 2008 1 Extinct20th century 1 Language familyNiger Congo Atlantic CongoBenue CongoKainjiNorthwest KainjiDamakawaLanguage codesISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code dam class extiw title iso639 3 dam dam a Glottologdama1268ELPDamakawa The Damakawa have shifted to the nearby larger language C Lela and it is likely that all or almost all of them also speak the lingua franca Hausa The Hausa name for the ethnic group is also Damakawa citation needed Contents 1 Classification 2 Alternative names 3 Geographic distribution 4 References 5 External linksClassification editBased on such a small amount of data of uncertain reliability it is hard to classify Damakawa precisely It is probably best placed in the Northwest Kainji branch of Benue Congo The words that have been collected show similarities with both C Lela and Kambari languages and it may be that the Kambari words are loans or mis rememberings Alternative names editThe nearby Cicipu speakers call the Damakawa language Tidama un In the trade language Hausa the expected name for the language would be Damakanci given the people are called Damakawa However Damakawa seems to be preferred by the Damakawa themselves as far as can be ascertained Geographic distribution editThe Damakawa people probably number about 500 1000 and live in three or four villages near Maganda in Sakaba Local Government Area Kebbi State References edit a b ISO change request McGill Stuart 2008 The Damakawa language Unpublished manuscript Archived 2008 11 19 at the Wayback Machine Blench Roger 2012 The Kainji languages of northwestern and central Nigeria PDF Cambridge Kay Williamson Educational Foundation External links editISO 639 3 Request for new language code Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Damakawa language amp oldid 1114697299, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
