A DICTIONARY GBARI LANGUAGE - Roger Blench

A Dictionary of the Gbari Language Trial Edition Roger Blench and Musa Doma
Tsumbo
Yebani
Zabeye-
Bwabo
Zegibwa
Zobeye
Zolo
APPENDIX 5
1. The Classification of Gbari
LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF GBARI-SUMWAKPNA
The Gwari lects are Niger-Congo languages and are usually classified as part of the Nupoid group which is
part of Benue-Congo (cf. Blench, 1989). The Nupoid group consists of Nupe and related languages, Gwari,
Gade and Ebira. These four subgroups are broadly co-ordinate with one another, although Nupe and Gwari
are evidently more closely related to one another than to Ebira and Gade. Gwari is a highly complex nexus
of interwoven lects, usually divided into two major branches, Gbagyi and Gbari, referred to together by their
Hausa name, Gwari.
No analysis has ever been published showing that Gwari forms a single group, but this is usually assumed
from the lexicostatistic data. In a wide-ranging comparison within Nupoid, Blench (1989) gave a figure of
73% cognacy between Gbagyi and Gbari, while James (1990) calculated that the maximum distance between
Gwari lects was 67%. It should noted, however, that this is very similar to the cognate figures with
neighbouring languages such as Kupa and Kakanda. Despite this, Gwari probably does form a unit; for
example, the prefixed pluralisation marker for nouns, a- seems to occur throughout the group, in contrast to
the Nupe group.
The division into two major subgroups, the Gbagyi and the Gbari, is supported by the lexicostatistics (cf.
James, 1990). However, some of the lects spoken between Zungeru and Minna 1 seem to show lexical
innovations common to both groups. Crozier and Blench (in press) have therefore noted these lects as a
tentative third subgroup. Rosenthal (p.c.) has noted that oral traditions in this region seem to suggest that
these lects result from a migration of Gbagyi speakers into a Gbari area in the precolonial era. Hence the
speech shows features of both subgroups. Clearly this an area that requires further research.
Gbagyi are the dominant group, both numerically and politically, and this has had a number of
consequences. Where speakers want to emphasise the similarity of the two peoples, they tend to assimilate
differences of lexicon and pronunciation. However, where there is antagonism, speakers sometimes
intentionally adopt slightly outré phonology to emphasise their distinctness. This has spilled over into
informal writing systems, and some orthographic suggestions seem to underline the differences by adopting
different conventions.
2.Phonology
The phonology of Gbari was first described by Hyman (1971) for the Gbagyi of Kuta and later by James
(1990) for the ensemble of Gwari lects. The broad picture appears to be very similar throughout the group.
However, one of the most complex features of Gwari are the range of allophones attributable to a single
1 These people are often referred to as Gwarin Nkwa, after a common greeting. In some senses, however, this
is misleading, as Nkwa! is a widespread through the Gwari area and does not therefore define a group.
2