The Ron, Ronic or Ron–Fyer languages, group A.4 of the West Chadic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family, are spoken in Plateau State, north-central Nigeria.
The Ron languages have undergone extensive influence from Tarok.
Languages The Ron languages, and their tentative relationships, are:Blench, Roger. Comparative Ron wordlist.
Ron Fyer, Tambas (branch) Central Ron Daffo-Mbar-Butura Bokkos Monguna (Shagawu) [perhaps actually closer to Sha] Sha Mangar Mundat–Karfa Mundat Karfa (Duhwa) Kulere (Richa)
Blench (2019) groups the following in the (Central) Ron/Run dialect cluster: Bokkos, Mbar, Daffo–Butura, Manguna, Mangar, Sha. Ɗimang and Mingah, both spoken near Bokkos LGA, are Ron languages that are also later reported by Blench.
While noting that Ron is in fact a complex linkage, Blench (2003) rejects two of the connections proposed in Seibert (1998) [Sha with Mundat–Karfa and Mangar with Kulere/Richa]:Seibert, Uwe. 1998. Das Ron von Daffo (Jos-Plateau, Zentralnigeria): morphologische, syntaktische und textlinguistische Strukturen einer westtschadischen Sprache. (Europäische Hochschulschriften: Reihe XXVII: Asiatische und Afrikanische Studien, 66.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Northern: Fyer, Tambas Central: Bokkos, Daffo-Mbar-Butura, Monguna Western: Sha, Mundat, Karfa Southern: Richa, Mangar
Names and locations Below is a comprehensive list of Ron language names, populations, and locations from Blench (2019).
Language Cluster Dialects Alternate spellings Own name for language Other names (based on location) Other names for language Exonym(s) Speakers Location(s) Fyer Fier 1,500 (1970); 10,000 (Blench 1999) Plateau State, Mangu LGA Karfa Shagau Kerifa Duhwa Karfa Duhwa Challa 800 (SIL 1973) Plateau State, Bokkos LGA Kulere Tof, Richa, Kamwai: the latter includes Marahai (Marhai) Akande (Kamwaĩ, Àkàndí (Tof), Kande (Richa) Tof, Richa, Kamwai Korom Ɓoye 6,500 (1925 Meek); 4,933 (1943 Ames); 8,000 (1973 SIL) Plateau State, Bokkos LGA Mundat Mundat Ron Mundat Mundat Mundat Plateau State, Bokkos LGA Shagawu Shagau Anguna, Hurti, Ahurum, Ambwash, Gbwendeng, Nzuhwe (Duhwa) Anguna Shagau 20,000 (SIL) Plateau State, Bokkos LGA Tambas Tembis 3,000 (SIL) Plateau State, Pankshin LGA Run cluster Run Bokkos and Daffo–Mbar-Butura are more closely related than Sha Ron Run Challa, Cala, Chala, Challawa 13,120 (1934 Ames); 60,000 (1985 UBS) Plateau State, Bokkos LGA Run Bokkos Run Bokkos, Baron Lis ma Run Bokos Challa, Cala Run Daffo–Mbar-Butura Run Daffa, Mbar, Butura Ron Alis I Run Batura Mbar-wuh Challa Manguna Run Manguna, Hurti, Dambwash, Mahurum, Gwande, Karfa(Duhwa) Ron Shagau Anguna, Hurti, Duhwa, Agbwendeng, Ambwash, Ahurum Anguna Shagau Challa 20,000 (SIL) Plateau State, Bokkos LGA Mangar Run Plateau State, Bokkos LGA Sha Run 500 (SIL); about 1,000 (1970 Jungraithmayr) Plateau State, Bokkos LGA
Reconstruction
Since the Ron languages form a diverse linkage, Ron reconstruction is not straightforward due to the lack of neat sound correspondences. There are many borrowings from neighbouring Niger-Congo Plateau languages that Ron had assimilated or been in contact with.Blench, Roger M. 2003. Why reconstructing comparative Ron is so problematic. In Wolff, Ekkehard (ed.), Topics in Chadic linguistics: papers from the 1st biennial international colloquium on the Chadic language family (Leipzig, July 5–8, 2001), 21-42. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
Proto-Ron reconstructions by Roger Blench are as follows.
No. English Proto-Ron 1. person *naaf 7. friend **mwin 19. name *sum 45. flesh *lo 46. head *hay 49. bone *kaʃ 53. ear *kumu 54. nose **atin 57. mouth *fo 59. tongue *liʃ 61. tooth *haŋgor 62. molar *ɓukum 64. chin *njumut 69. throat *goroŋ 72. breast (female) *fofo 73. chest *cin 79. navel **mutuk 83. elbow *kukwat 91. thigh *for 107. saliva, spittle *lyal 110. urine *sar 190. I *yin 238. crocodile **haram 1072. blow (mouth) *fuɗ 1089. call (summon) *lahyal 1157. fall *fur 1218. land **nɗoro 1241. meet *tof 1249. open (door) *ɓwali 1276. put *kin
Morphology Plurals of nouns in Ron languages are typically formed with -a- infixes.Blench, Roger. 2021. The erosion of number marking in West Chadic Roger Blench. WOCAL, Leiden.
References
External links Comparative Ron wordlist by Roger Blench