A Grammar of Miya - UCLA Department of Linguistics

Chapter 1
THE MIYA PEOPLE AND LANGUAGE
1. Classification, Location, and Cultural Notes
Miya is a member of the Chadic language family. More precisely, in the classification
of Newman (1977), it belongs to the "North Bauchi" Group of the B-Subbranch of West
Chadic; in the classification of Iungraithmayr and Ibriszimow (1994) it is in the Northern
Bauchi Group of the Bauchi-Bade Sub-branch of the West Chadic Branch. Within the
North Bauchi Group, there are eight known languages in addition to Miya. These are most
fully documented and described in Skinner (1977). Neither I nor anyone else, to my
knowledge, has made a careful study of "ubgrouping among the North Bauchi languages.
Skinner (1977:6) suggests a particularly close relationship between Warji and Kariya (44%
cognation in his word lists). My impression, based on Warji data in Newman (n.d.) and a
small amount of fieldwork that I did on Kariya, is that Miya is quite closely related to these
languages, and only more distantly related to Pa' a, for which Skinner (1979) provides
grammatical data.
Position of Miya within Chadic (after Newman 1977)
WEST
A B
I I
Hausa Sec
Bole detailed
Angus diagram
Ron
etc.
CHADICFAMILY
Biu-Mandam EAST Masa
/"--.. A
A B A B
I I I I
Tern Kotoko Somrai Dangla Musu
Bura Musgu Nanccre Mokulu etc.
Mandara Gidar Kern Sokara
Bata
etc.
etc. etc. etc.
N. Bauchi
MIYA
Warji
Pa'a
Mburku
Diri
Kariya
Tsagu
Siri
Iimbin
(WEST CRADIC)
I
B
Bade Gr.
Bade
Ngizim
Duwai
S. Bauchi
Zaar
Guruntum
Boghom
etc.
Miya is spoken in the town of Miya (Miya) and in a few nearby farming hamlets in
Bauchi State, Nigeria, approximately 70 miles (110 km) north of Bauchi.