Berom language
Berom or Birom is the most widely spoken Plateau language in Nigeria. The language is locally numerically important and is consistently spoken by Berom of all ages in rural areas. However, the Berom are shifting to Hausa in cities. The small Cen and Nincut dialects may be separate languages. Approximately 1 million people speak in this language.
History
The Berom have a link to the Nok culture, a civilization that existed between 200BC to 1000AD. Generally, the Berom speakers are identified to live in the core Jos Plateau and down the low plains of Kaduna State.Phonology
Consonants
Eastern Berom consists of twenty-four consonant phonemes| Labial | Labio-dental | Alveolar | Palato- Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio velar | Glottal | |
| Plosives Voiceless/Voiced | p b | t d | k g | kp gb | ||||
| Fricatives Voiceless/Voiced | f v | s z | ʃ | h | ||||
| Affricates Voiceless/Voiced | tʃ dʒ | |||||||
| Nasals | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||||
| Laterals | l | |||||||
| Vibrants | r | |||||||
| Approximants | y | w |
In Berom, approximants are found in the last position. for example- orthographic rou is /ròw/ and vei is /vèy/.
Vowels
This language consists of seven vowel phonemes:| Front | Central | Back | |
| High | i | u | |
| Mid-High | e | o | |
| Mid-Low | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Low | a |
Berom consists of three type of tones and four glide tones. The glide tones are treated here as rising and falling tones. The tones are as follows:
/tút / = for a high tone
/shɛl/ = No tone mark is demonstrated for the Mid tone.
/bàsa/ = for a low tone
/nepâs/ = for a falling tone
/sǎn/ = for a rising tone