Tyap language


Tyap is a regionally important dialect cluster of Plateau languages in Nigeria's Middle Belt, named after its prestige dialect. It is also known as Katab or Kataf. It is also known by the names of its dialectical varieties including Sholyia̠. Other dialects are Fantswam, Gworok, Takad, Tyap proper, Tyecha̠rak and Tyuku. According to Blench, Jju—with more speakers—appears to be a form of Tyap.

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 of Nigeria. There are also large speaking communities in Kaduna South and Chikun Local Government Areas of the state.

Dialects

Achi has it that the Atyap speak a language in the Kwa group of the Benue-Congo language family.
Furthermore, according to Achi et al., the Kataf Group to which Tyap language belongs, is a member of the eastern Plateau. He went further to suggest that by utilizing a glotochronological time scales 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, 'Between Igala and Yoruba language, for example, at least 2,000 years were required to develop the distinction, while 6,000 years were needed for the differences observable in a comparison of Idoma and Yoruba language clusters', noting that this indicates that 'even within dialect clusters, a period of up to 2,000 years was needed to create clearly identifiable dialect separation and that it is thus a slow process of steady population growth and expansion and cultural differentiation over thousands of years'.
The implication for Tyap is that it has taken thousands of years to separate, in the same general geographical location from its six or so most closely related dialects. 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 who are little intelligible to them. The stability of language and other culture traits in this region of Nigeria has been recognized.
Tyap has a number of dialects, including:
DialectDescription
FantswamAlso known as Kafanchan by the Hausa, it is spoken by inhabitants of the Fantswam chiefdom in Jema'a and is closely related to the Jju, Gworok and Tyap Proper dialects.
GworokAlso known as Kagoro by the Hausa and Gwoot in Tyap Proper, it is spoken by inhabitants of the A̠gworok chiefdom in Kaura and is a junction dialect between Jju and Takat. The dialect was influenced by neighbouring dialects of the nearest language cluster, most notably Nikyob-Nindem and others.
JjuAlso known as Kaje by the Hausa and Jhyia̠ in Tyap Proper and often listed as a separate language, it is spoken by inhabitants of the Ba̠jju chiefdom in Zangon Kataf and the Jema'a, Kachia and Kaura LGAs. Jju has the greatest number of speakers of any Tyap dialect, and was influenced by Izere and Rigwe. Jju was also influenced by the dialects of its present Hyam-speaking neighbours and former neighbours, especially Izere. These contacts seem to be the leading factor in its drift from Tyap in comparison to other dialects.
Sholyia̠Also written Sholio and called Moro'a by the Hausa, it is spoken by inhabitants of the A̠sholyia̠ chiefdom in the Kaura LGA. In an early Tyap publication during the early 1990s, a Tyap Proper dialect related to Sholyia̠, the A̠shong A̠shwui sub-dialect was used. Tyap Proper and Sholyia̠ have separate language committees; the former completed its New Testament translation in 2015, and the latter translation is still in progress. Sholyia̠ is influenced by the Beromic dialect of Iten, Rigwe and Gworok; its speakers share common borders on the east and south, respectively.
TakatAlso known as Attakar by the Hausa is spoken by inhabitants of the A̠takat chiefdom in Kaura LGA of Kaduna state and Riyom LGA of Plateau state. Takat is closely related to the Gworok, Tyuku and Jju dialects. Although its speakers see themselves as brothers of the Ba̠jju, Takat seems more related to the aforementioned dialects than to Jju.
Tyap ProperThe dialect is spoken by inhabitants of the A̠tyap chiefdom in Zangon Kataf and in Kaura, Jema'a and Kauru. Tyap Proper seems to be the mother dialect from which the other dialects evolved, and was influenced by contacts which caused it to drift from its parent, proto-Plateau language root. British colonial anthropologist, C. K. Meek classified most of the proto-Plateau ethno-linguistic groups as part of the "Kataf Culture Complex", speaking closely related dialects of a possible single language, during the 1920s.
Tyecha̠rakAlso known as Kachechere by the Hausa, it is spoken by the A̠tyecha̠rak people in the A̠tyap, A̠sholyia̠ and A̠gworok chiefdoms in Zangon Kataf and Kaura LGAs and as far south as the Jema'a LGA.
TyukuThe Tyuku dialect is spoken by the A̠tyuku people in Jema'a Local Government Area, who live a few kilometers from the A̠takat around the Ni̱mbyia̱ forest reserve of southern Kaduna state. The dialect is most closely related to Takat and has the most language drift of any Tyap dialect, second to Jju.
Other dialectsOther dialects related to Tyap include Kulu, Nghan and Terri.

Phonology

The Tyap alphabet had 39 letters, as drafted by the Tyap Literacy Committee during the early 1990s:
aa̱bchchydefggbghghwghy
hii̱jjhykkhkplmnngny
oprsshshyttsuvwyz

However, a present development as at 2018, has the basic Tyap Basic Alphabetical Chart reduced to 24, as follows:
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v w y z
The letter "ch" would henceforth be represented by the symbol "c", without the "h". All others remain the same.

Vowels

Tyap has seven vowels and five diphthongs:.

Consonants

The language has over 80 digraphic labialized and palatalized consonant sounds, classified into fortis and lenis modifications. The following table contains the main basic consonant sounds of Tyap:
BilabialLabiodentalAlveolarPost-alveolarPalatalVelar plainLabio-velarGlottal
Nasal
Plosive
Affricates
Fricatives
Lateral
Approximants
Rhotic

Pronunciation and Vocabulary

Dialect comparison

Numbers ()

The numbers 11 to 19 are created by adding 1–9 to 10 with the prefix m̠ang to the adjoining number, but usually each word is written in full: e.g. swak ma̠ng a̠fwuon.
The numbers 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 are formed by replacing the prefix 2 to 5, affixed to the "swak" with n-, with the swak itself taking the prefix n- throughout:
Other numbers are formed by adding 1–9, similar to the teens:
Note that what could be termed as the "ancient" counting system used for 1-5 is usually used from 100 till infinity. 1 becomes jhyiung, and no more a̱nyiung. Same thing the 2,3,4 and 5 placed immediately after cyi, the word for hundred.
Hayab in his research on Hyam, a related language to Tyap found out that the original word for number 10 is "kop"/kwop, and that the present word used for ten was the de facto word used for twelve or a dozen is "shwak" or swak. Due to the growing Hausa influence between the mid 1920s till date, the counting system has taken the shape of the Hausa style and the word "kop/kwop" became almost extinct, while the "swak" took its place and misplaced its original meaning, which is twelve, to now mean ten. With this in mind, when one considers the number "1,000" or cyi kwop jhyiung, one can say that it literally means "one ten hundred" or "1 X 10 X 100".
Below are the modern Tyap Counting style in thousands:
Some Tyap names for neighbouring and other languaɡes are as follows:
LanguageClassificationTyap name
EnglishWest, Germanic, Indo-EuropeanShong
FulfuldeCentral, Eastern Fula, Fulani-Wolof, Sene-Gambian, Northern, West AtlanticFa̠taa
HausaA.1, A, West ChadicKpat
HyamHyamic, Northwestern, Western Plateau, Platoid, East Benue-ConɡoDa
IgboIgbo, Igboid, West Benue-ConɡoKuma̠cyi
ItenBeromic Plateau, Platoid, East Benue-ConɡoTyen
KuluNorthern Plateau, Platoid, East Benue-ConɡoSunkurum
NɡhanNinzic Plateau, Platoid, East Benue-ConɡoByoot; Byurok
NikyobA, Southwestern, Western Plateau, Platoid, East Benue-ConɡoKu
RiɡweSouthcentral, Central Plateau, Platoid, East Benue-ConɡoKuut; Kuruk
TivTivoid, Southern Bantoid, East Benue-ConɡoZi̠ya; Zi̠tya
T'kurmiKauru, Northern Jos, Eastern Kainji, Platoid, East Benue-ConɡoWai
TsamPiti-Atsam, Eastern Kainji, Platoid, East Benue-ConɡoTsamyio
YorubaYoruboid, Defoid, West Benue-ConɡoGhwangkpang
.

Endangered language

Research has shown that the Tyap language is classified as one of the endangered languages vulnerable towards extinction.
A study by Ayuba showed that Tyap is endangered and that Hausa language and the non-transmission of Tyap by the older generation of Atyap to the younger generation largely accounted for the endangerment of Tyap. The study recommended, among other measures, that the Atyap Community Development Association should set up a committee to create awareness on the need for Atyap to rise up and save their language and another to work towards establishing vacation schools where older adults would provide pre-school child care where Tyap children could be immersed in the language.