Gwari is a Nupoid language spoken by the Gbagyi people, which make up over a million people in Nigeria. There are two principal varieties, Gbari (West Gwari) and Gbagyi (East Gwari), which have some difficulty in communication; sociolinguistically they are distinct languages.
Phonology Vowels +VowelsFrontCentralBackClose Mid Open
/i, u, e, o/ can also have allophones [ɪ, ʊ, ɛ, ʌ]. Nasal vowels /ĩ, ũ, ẽ, õ/ can also be heard as [ɪ̃, ʊ̃, ɛ̃, ʌ̃].
Consonants +Gbagyi consonantsLabialAlveolarPalatalVelarLabial-velarGlottalNasal()()Stop/Affricatevoiceless()voiced()Fricativevoiceless()voiced()Approximantcentral()lateral
The following sounds may be labialized as /pʷ, bʷ, fʷ, vʷ, kʷ, ɡʷ, mʷ, k͡pʷ, ɡ͡bʷ, hʷ/ and palatalized as /pʲ, bʲ, fʲ, vʲ, kʲ, ɡʲ, mʲ, lʲ, wʲ/. Sounds /t, d, s, z, n/ when palatalized are always heard as [tʃ, dʒ, ʃ, ʒ, ɲ]. Sounds /f, b/ can be heard as bilabial sounds [ɸ, β] in free variation. /n/ is heard as velar [ŋ] when preceding velar consonants. /n/ becomes a labialized-velar [ŋʷ] when preceding a /w/. Sounds /bʷ, ɡʷ, ɡʲ/ are softened to fricatives [βʷ, ɣʷ, ɣʲ] when preceding a glide, in medial-intervocalic position. /ɡ͡b/ is heard as an implosive [ɓ] in free variation. /h/ only has a limited occurrence, but it also may be allophonic with /f/ in Northern Gbagyi. In Southern Gbagyi, [h] is heard in free variation with /j/, when /j/ occurs before /i/ in syllable-final position. The palatalized /lʲ/ may also be heard as a central glide [ɹ].
+Gbari consonantsLabialAlveolarPalatalVelarLabial-velarGlottalNasal()()StopvoicelessvoicedimplosiveejectiveAffricatevoiceless()voiced()Fricativevoiceless()voiced()Approximantcentral()lateral
The following sounds may be labialized as /pʷ, bʷ, fʷ, vʷ, kʷ, ɡʷ, mʷ/ and palatalized as /pʲ, bʲ, fʲ, vʲ, tʲ, dʲ, kʲ, ɡʲ, mʲ, lʲ, wʲ/. Stops may also be heard as post-nasalized as [pᵐ, bᵐ, tⁿ, dⁿ, kᵑ, ɡᵑ, k͡pᵐ, ɡ͡bᵐ]. Palatalized sounds /tʲ, dʲ/, typically occur as [tʃ, dʒ] or [tʲ, dʲ] in free variation, and as [tʃ, dʒ], they can be represented orthographically as <ch, j>. Sounds /s, z, n/ when palatalized are always heard as [ʃ, ʒ, ɲ], and can be represented orthographically as <sh, zh, ny>. Sounds /f, fʲ, b/ can be heard as bilabial sounds [ɸ, ɸʲ, β] in free variation. /d/ can also be heard as [ɾ]. Sounds /b, ɡ/ and /bʷ, ɡʷ, ɡʲ/ are softened to fricatives [β, ɣ] and [βʷ, ɣʷ, ɣʲ] when preceding a glide, in medial-intervocalic position. /n/ becomes a labialized-velar [ŋʷ] when preceding a /w/. The palatalized /lʲ/ may also be heard in free variation, as a central glide [ɹ] or as a palatalized equivalent [ɹʲ]. /n/ when palatalized is heard as a palatal nasal [ɲ], and is velar as [ŋ] when preceding velar consonants.
Varieties Gbagye is also known as Gwari-Matai or Gwarin Ngenge, which are recently adopted cover terms.Blench, Roger. 2013. The Nupoid languages of west-central Nigeria: overview and comparative word list.
There are two separate Gbagyi groups living in: Minna and Kuta (more prominent group) around Diko, northeast of Suleja
Gbagye is the only Nupoid language that has the bilabial implosive /ɓ/.
Gbagyi (also known as Gwari) is a cover term for all the Gbari-speaking peoples, and includes many varieties.
Gbari-Yama is a cover term used for all southern Gbari dialects. There are two closely related dialects, which are: Shigokpna Zubakpna
Gbedegi is an extinct language (possibly a Nupe dialect) spoken near Mokwa (Nadel 1941).
References