Alumu language

Alumu is a Plateau language spoken by approximately 7,000 people in Nassarawa State, Nigeria. It has lost the nominal affix system characteristic of the Niger–Congo family.

Alumu-Tesu
Native toNigeria
RegionNassarawa State
Native speakers
7,000 (1999)[1]
Dialects
  • Alumu
  • Tesu
Language codes
ISO 639-3aab
Glottologalum1246

Dialects

Two varieties, Alumu and Tesu, differ only in intonation.[1] Information for Alumu and Tesu is listed from Blench (2004).[2]

Alumu (or Arum), with 4,000 speakers, is spoken in the settlements of Arum-Kado (main settlement), Arum-Tsabo, Arum-Sarki, Arum-Tumara, Arum-Chugbu, Arum-Kurmi (Gbira), and Arum-Chine.

Tesu (Təsu) (Hausa: Chessu[3]), with just under 2,000 speakers, is spoken in the two villages of Chessu Sarki and Chessu Madaki, which are about one kilometre apart from each other on the Wamba - Fadan Karshi road.

Akpondu is also closely related (also Babur, Nisam and Nigbo) but moribund or extinct, and its classification as a separate language or as a shifting dialect or sociological group of related dialects is not clear.[4]

Phonology
Consonant phonemes[5]
  Labial Alveolar Palatal Labialized
palatal		 Velar Labialized
velar		 Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive p b t d tʃ dʒ k ɡ kp ɡb
Implosive ɓ ɗ
Fricative f v s z ʃ ʒ x h
Approximant l j ɥ w
Tap ɾ
Trill r
Vowel phonemes[6]
  Front Central Back
Close i u
Near-Close ɪ ʊ
Close-Mid e o
Open-Mid ɛ ə ɔ
Open a

It is unclear whether or not vowel nasality is phonemic in Alumu.[7]

References
  1. Alumu-Tesu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Blench, Roger. 2004. Tarok and related languages of east-central Nigeria.
  3. Blench, Roger. 2010. The Təsu language of Central Nigeria and its affinities.
  4. Blench, Roger, 2005. Akpondu, Nigbo, Bəbər and Nisam: Moribund or Extinct Languages of Central Nigeria, manuscript, 16 November 2005. 4pp.
  5. Roger Blench (2012:6)
  6. Roger Blench: The Təsu language of Central Nigeria and its affinities. (2012:5).
  7. Roger Blench (2012:5)
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