Tyap is a regionally important dialect cluster of Plateau languages in Nigeria's Middle Belt, named after its prestige dialect. It is also known by its Hausa exonym as Katab or Kataf.McKinney, N. P. (April 1990), p. 255. It is also known by the names of its dialectical varieties, including Sholyio, Fantswam, Gworok, Takad, "Mabatado" (Tyap 'proper'), Tyecharak, and Tuku. In spite of being 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.
Distribution Native Tyap speakers are primarily found in the local government areas of Jema'a, Kaura and Zangon Kataf, although pockets of speakers are also found in Kachia and Kauru in southern Kaduna state, and Riyom (especially Takad speakers) in Plateau State of Nigeria. There are also large speaking communities in Kaduna South and Chikun Local Government Areas of the state. Skoggard (2014) presented the distribution of the Atyap (Katab) people in Nigeria to include: Niger, Nasarawa, Kaduna states and the FCT.
Classification and dialects Meek (1931:2) suggested that the Katab (Atyap), Morwa (Asholyio), Ataka (Atakad) and Kagoro (Agworok) speak a common tongue and may be regarded as one; and later on, McKinney (1983:290) commented that the Kaje (Bajju) should likewise be included with the above, due to the linguistic and cultural similarities shared by them.Meek, C. K. (1931), p. 2.McKinney, C. (1983), p. 290 Murdock (1959) classified Kagoro (Gworok) and other dialects comprising the current Tyap language group as "Plateau Nigerian", in his "Semi-Bantu" branch of "Bantoid subfamily" of "Negritic Stock".Smith, M. G. (1960), p. 138. Tyap and Jju were placed by Greenberg (1963) under the "Plateau II" branch of the Benue-Congo language family. Later on, Gerhardt (1974) made a reconstruction of the branch, assigning it as "proto-Plateau". Again in 1989, Gerhardt placed Tyap and Jju under the South-Central subgroup, Central group, Plateau branch of Platoid, a division of the Benue-Congo languages. Achi (2005) stated that the Atyap speak a language in the Kwa group of the Benue-Congo language family. However, according to Bitiyong, Y. I., in Achi et al. (2019:44), the Kataf Group (an old classification) to which the Tyap language belongs is a member of the eastern Plateau. He went further to suggest that by utilizing a glotochronological time scale established for Yoruba and Edo languages and their neighbours, the separation of the Kataf Group into distinguishable dialects and dialect clusters would require thousands of years. Also mentioned was that,
noting further that this indicates that
He thereafter summarized that the implication for Tyap is that it has taken thousands of years to separate, in the same general geographical location from its about six most closely related dialects and stated that as a sub-unit, they required probably more thousands of years earlier to separate from other members of the "Kataf group" like Gyong, Hyam, Duya and Ashe (Koro) who are little intelligible to them. The stability of language and other cultural traits in this region of Nigeria has been recognized.
Dialects Tyap has a number of dialects, including: Dialect Description Fantswam (Hausa exonym Kafanchan, Kafancan) Spoken by inhabitants of the Fantswam chiefdom in Jema'a LGA, earlier regarded as Kagoro (of Jama'a) not until about the late 1950s were they recognized as a separate entity.Smith, M. G. (1960), p. 143. It is closely related to Jju, the Gworok and Tyap proper dialects. Gworok (Hausa exonym Kagoro; Tyap proper Gwoot) Spoken by the (also spelt: Oegworok), inhabitants of chiefdom bearing their name, in Kaura LGA. It seems like a 'junction dialect' between Jju and Takad and seems to be influenced by neighbouring dialects of the nearest language cluster, most notably Nikyob-Nindem and others. Jju (Hausa exonym Kaje, Kajji; Tyap proper Jhyo) Listed as a separate language (with the SIL code kaj, although its grammar and morphology are similar those of a Tyap dialect, with a bit of a variation in its syntax). It is spoken by inhabitants of the Ba̱jju chiefdom in Zangon Kataf, Jema'a and Kachia LGAs. It has the greater number of speakers of any Tyap dialect, and could have been deeply influenced by Izere and Rigwe (with whose speakers the Ba̱jju lived near Chawai with, in today's Kauru by oral narrative, before migrating to their present homeland several centuries ago). Jju was also probably influenced by the dialects of its present Hyam-speaking neighbours and former neighbours, to the southwest. These contacts seem to be the leading factor in its drift from Tyap in comparison to other dialects. Sholyio (variant spellings Sholio, Sholyia̱; Hausa exonym Moro'a, Moroa, Marwa) Spoken by the A̱sholyio (also spelt: Osholio, Aesholio, Asholio, A̱sholyia̱) people of the chiefdom bearing their name in the Kaura LGA. It seems to have been influenced by the Beromic dialect of Iten, Rigwe, and Gworok; its speakers share common borders to the east and south, respectively, with the people of the aforementioned. Takad (variant spellings Takat; Hausa exonym Attakar, Attaka, Ataka) Spoken by the Takad (Tyap proper ) of the chiefdom bearing their name, in Kaura LGA, Kaduna State and Riyom LGA, Plateau State. It is closely related to the Tyuku and Gworok dialects, as well as Jju. Although its speakers see themselves as brothers of the Ba̱jju (with whom they migrated from Chawai by oral narrative), Takat seems more related to the core Tyap dialects than to Jju, although it has some of its special elements. Tyap proper (also Tyap-Central,Akau, K. T. L. (2014), p. xxi. Tyap Mabatado, Tyab; Hausa exonym Katab, Kataf, Katab proper) Spoken by the A̱tyap people of the chiefdom bearing their name, in Zangon Kataf, also found in neighbouring chiefdoms in Kaura, Jema'a and Kauru LGAs. The dialect seems to be the mother dialect from which the others evolved, and was probably influenced by other languages, causing its drift from its parent proto-Plateau language root. British colonial anthropologist, Charles Kingsley Meek in 1931, classified most of the proto-Plateau ethno-linguistic groups as part of the "Kataf (Atyap) Culture Complex", speaking closely related dialects of a possible single language. Tyecha̱rak (also spelt Tachirak, Techerak, Ticarak; Hausa exonym Kachechere, Kacecere, Kacicere; Tyap proper Tyecaat, Ta̱caat, Ta̱chaat) Spoken by the ; (Tyap proper ) people in the A̱tyap, A̱sholyio (Moro'a) and Gworok (Kagoro) chiefdoms in Zangon Kataf and Kaura LGAs and as far south as the Jema'a LGA. Tuku (variant spelling: Tuku, Tukun, Tyukum; Hausa exonym Atuku) Spoken by the Atuku (also Atukum) people in Jema'a Local Government Area in Takat chiefdom, around the (also spelt Nimbio) forest reserve of southern Kaduna State. The dialect is often regarded as a dialect of Takad, and seems to possess the most language drift of any Tyap dialect, second to Jju. Other dialects Other dialects related to Tyap include Kulu (SIL code ikl, also an Adara dialect), Nghan (SIL code kcl, a Gyongic dialect) and Terri (SIL code cfd).
Phonology The Tyap alphabet (Zwunzwuo A̱lyem Tyap ji) had 39 letters, as drafted by the Tyap Literacy Committee (TLC) during the early 1990s:Haruna, D.; Follingstad, C. & J. (n.d.), p. 74. Tyap alphabet: previous basicAA̱BCHCHYD EFGGBGHGHWGHYHHYHWII̱JJHYKKHKPLMNNGNYOPRSSHSHYTTSUVWYZaa̱bchchydefggbghghwghyhhyhwii̱jjhykkhkplmnngnyoprsshshyttsuvwyzPhonetic value However, a current development as of 2018 has the Tyap Basic Alphabetical Chart reduced to 24, as follows:
Tyap alphabet: new basicABC D EFGHIJKLMNOPRSTUVWYZabcdefghijklmnoprstuvwyzPhonetic value
The letter "ch" would henceforth be represented by the symbol "c", without the "h". All others remain the same.
Vowels FrontCentralBackCloseiɨuClose-mideoMidəOpena
The seven vowels of Tyap may either be short or long monophthongs sounds. The language has five (or six) diphthongs: .A̱lyiat A̱gwaza na di̱n Tyap: A̱li̱ka̱uli A̱fai (2015), p. vii.McKinney, N. P. (April 1990), p. 256.Akau, K. T. L. (2014), pp. xxv-xxvi.
Consonants The language has over 80 monographic and digraph labialized and palatalized consonant sounds, classified into fortis and lenis modifications.Akau, K. T. L. (2014), p. xxiv-xxix.Haruna, D.; Follingstad, C. & J. (n.d.), pp. 72-73 The following table contains the main basic consonant sounds of Tyap:
LabialAlveolarPost-alveolarPalatalVelarLabio-velarGlottalplainpal.plainpal.Nasal Plosive Affricate Fricative Lateral Rhotic Glide A̱lyiat A̱gwaza na di̱n Tyap: A̱li̱ka̱uli A̱fai (2015), p. viii-ix.McKinney, N. P. (April 1990), p. 257
Syntax Tyap has the SVO constituent order type as illustrated below in the first given example:
Vocabulary Affixes and concord Tyap's noun-class affixes appear after its word stem. These affixes consist of prefixes, usually attached to the root of the word for pluralization. For example: a̱som (hare)—a̱yaasom (hares), bwak (hand)—mbwak (hands), a̱kwon (tree)—a̱ka̱kwon (trees), etc. Meanwhile, the CV suffixes—usually alternating, and following the noun, are usually rendered as separate words in the orthography. For example, a̱som wu (the hare), a̱yaasom ba (the hares), bwak hu (the hand)—mbwak na (the hands), a̱kwon ka (the tree)—a̱ka̱kwon na (the trees), etc. These constitute the nominal affixes and concord of Tyap.
Reduplication Reduplication of nouns takes place for pluralization. Usually, the first root syllable gets duplicated. For example, tyan (place)—tityan (places), a̱nyung (tooth)—a̱nyunyung (teeth), a̱kwon (tree)—a̱ka̱kwon (trees), etc.
Words associated with the alphabet
Letter IPA Symbol Tyap dialects and Jju English translationa /a/ aba̱n welcome (masculine) a̱ /ə/ a̱gwam ruler, king, chief b /b/ bat wall, fencec/t͡ʃ/ cat (tsat in Sholyio, Takad, Tuku) want, love, need, like cy /t͡ʃʲ/cyat cut/thatch grass d /d/ dam to worry e /e/; /ɛ/ a̱lyem ( du̱ryem in Jju) tongue, language f /f/ faat ( frak in Fantswam, Gwolok, Takad, Tuku) to cut g /g/ gaat ( grak in Fantswam, Gwolok, Takad, Tuku) (visitors' room)gb /g͡b/ gbang far gh /ɣ/ ghan to hurry ghw /ɣʷ/ ghwang drawing ghy /ɣʲ/ a̱ghyang ( a̱yaan in Fantswam, Jju; a̱zang in Tuku) another h /h/ hyet ( hywet in Jju) arrowhy/ç/ hyenhyiamsourhw/ʍ/ yihwawhat i /i/ ii yes (feminine)i̱ /ɨ/ ci̱p twisting j /d͡ʒ/ jem ( zem in Sholyio, Cacrak) hippopotamus jhy /ʒʲ/ jhyi ( jyi in Fantswam, Jju) to repairk /k/ kan medicine kh /x/ khap cultivating kp /k͡p/ kpa ( kpe in Sholyio; kpi in Takad, Tuku) to pound, pestlel /l/ li ( ryi in Jju) to see m /m/ mup to grab n /n/ nam ( du̱nam Jju) meat, flesh, muscle ng /ŋ/ ngaan to be last ny /ɲ/ nyam animal o /ɔ/; /o/ long ( rong in Jju) fire p /p/ piit nothing, to lose, to score noughtr /r/ ra̱ra̱k to enter with ease s /s/ san to receive, to save sh /ʃ/ shan stick, staff shy /ʃʲ/ shyi to swear t /t/ ta to throw ts /t͡s/ tsang crocodile u /u/ lyuut ( lyuruk in Fantswam, Gwolok; jem in Jju) to writev /v/ vam ( lvam in Fantswam; lwam in Gwolok; rwam in Jju) body w /w/ wan to cook y /j/ ya ( [g]ye in Sholyio, Cacrak; [g]yi in Takad, Tuku) to eat z /d͡z/ za ( ze in Sholyio, Cacrak; zi in Takad, Tuku) rain
Common phrases and sentences TyapEnglish (Shong)A nyia̱ ni?How are you?N shyia̱ ka̱nɡka̱ra̱ng, n gwai.I am fine, thank you.A neet ma̱ a̱ji ni/wa?Where are you from?N neet a̱mali kya.I am from home.Á̱ ngyei ang a̱nyan wa?Who are you called? (What is your name?)Á̱ ngyei nung Kambai A̱ka̱u.I am called Kambai A̱ka̱u. (My name is Kambai A̱ka̱u.)Bai a ya kyayak.Come and eat.N fa̱k da̱ a̱lyem nung ka.I love my language.Á̱nienzi̱t ba neet di̱ fam Kwara-Apa hwa hwa.The Nenzit people are from Kwararafa.A̱gwaza gu nang ang/nyin nda. OR, A̱gwaza gu nang nda ang/nyin.God bless you (sing.)/(plur.).
Comparison of dialects