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Nizaa language
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Nizaa language
Nizaa (Nizaa pronunciation: [nɪ˦zʌː˧˨], romanized: nízαὰ), also known as Galim, Nyamnyam, and Suga, is an endangered Mambiloid language spoken in the Adamawa Region of northern Cameroon. Most of the language's speakers live in and around the village of Galim in the department of Faro-et-Déo.
Nizaa has a complex sound system with 60 consonant phonemes, eleven tones, and a contrast between oral and nasal vowels. In terms of grammar, it is the only Bantoid language that allows multiple verbal suffixes on one verb. It also is neither a head-initial nor head-final language (the head or main element of a clause does not prefer to come before or after its modifiers) and uses postpositions instead of prepositions (the adposition follows the noun it modifies).
Nizaa was first extensively documented in the 1980s by Norwegian linguists Rolf Theil Endresen and Bjørghild Kjelsvik. The language is endangered, but the exact number of active speakers is unknown since the last census of speakers took place in 1985.
Nizaa is also referred to as Suga (also spelled Ssuga), Galim, Nyamnyam (also spelled Nyemnyem, Njemnjem, and Jemjem), "Sewe" and "Mengaka". Nizaa is the word the Nizaa call themselves, while Suga comes from Pero súgò 'stranger' or 'not Pero'. 'Nyamnyam' is a pejorative term likely derived from the Fula word nyaamnyaamjo 'cannibal', which may also mean 'sorcerer', though there is no evidence the Nizaa have ever practised cannabalism or sorcery. The name Galim comes from the main town of the Nizaa of the same name. Nizaa is referred to as "Mengaka" in the 1988 version of Ethnologue, but Endresen in 1991 did not recognise the name or know where it came from. "Sewe" may also be another alternate name for the language.
Nizaa is primarily spoken in and around the village of Galim, located in Faro-et-Déo, which itself is in the Adamawa Region of northern Cameroon; the village has roughly 2,000 inhabitants. The most recent census of speakers was carried out in 1985 and reported 10,000 people actively speaking the language. However, the Atlas Linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) estimated only 2,000 speakers in 1983, so the actual number of speakers is unknown. The language is endangered.
Most Nizaa are not literate, and the few who are often only can read and write Fula in the Ajami Arabic script. The romanisation of Nizaa has not been widely adopted by the Nizaa people because of their low literacy rate. Several other languages are spoken in the region, and most Nizaa speakers are bilingual in Fula, specifically the Adamawa dialect, since it is essentially the lingua franca of northern Cameroon. Many also know Hausa, another regional language, or French, because it is an official language of Cameroon.
The Nizaa are divided into various different clans, each with their own sacred animal which they do not eat or harm; traditionally, it is thought that these animals helped a clan overcome a stressful situation in the mythological past.
The Nizaa are primarily farmers. They used to grow finger millet and sorghum as their main crops, with yom grass (Tephrosia vogelii) being planted after harvest to replenish nitrogen in the soil and kill pests, as the plant contains rotenoids, which are a natural pesticide. However, Fula pastoralists practiced transhumance, or moving cattle into river valleys and farmlands during the dry season to find grass and water. Because millet matures late, Fula cattle herds had already started migrating through the fields, and they would eat or trample both the millet and yom grass. As a result, the Nizaa switched to primarily growing maize in the 1950s and 1960s, which has a growth cycle of only four months. The Nizaa also grow other crops such as yams, peanuts, and cassava, and their main food is a paste made from cooked flour, sorghum, millet, or cassava. Hunting and fishing are also regular food sources among the Nizaa, with beekeeping and ironsmithing being used as sources of income by some communities.
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Nizaa language
Nizaa (Nizaa pronunciation: [nɪ˦zʌː˧˨], romanized: nízαὰ), also known as Galim, Nyamnyam, and Suga, is an endangered Mambiloid language spoken in the Adamawa Region of northern Cameroon. Most of the language's speakers live in and around the village of Galim in the department of Faro-et-Déo.
Nizaa has a complex sound system with 60 consonant phonemes, eleven tones, and a contrast between oral and nasal vowels. In terms of grammar, it is the only Bantoid language that allows multiple verbal suffixes on one verb. It also is neither a head-initial nor head-final language (the head or main element of a clause does not prefer to come before or after its modifiers) and uses postpositions instead of prepositions (the adposition follows the noun it modifies).
Nizaa was first extensively documented in the 1980s by Norwegian linguists Rolf Theil Endresen and Bjørghild Kjelsvik. The language is endangered, but the exact number of active speakers is unknown since the last census of speakers took place in 1985.
Nizaa is also referred to as Suga (also spelled Ssuga), Galim, Nyamnyam (also spelled Nyemnyem, Njemnjem, and Jemjem), "Sewe" and "Mengaka". Nizaa is the word the Nizaa call themselves, while Suga comes from Pero súgò 'stranger' or 'not Pero'. 'Nyamnyam' is a pejorative term likely derived from the Fula word nyaamnyaamjo 'cannibal', which may also mean 'sorcerer', though there is no evidence the Nizaa have ever practised cannabalism or sorcery. The name Galim comes from the main town of the Nizaa of the same name. Nizaa is referred to as "Mengaka" in the 1988 version of Ethnologue, but Endresen in 1991 did not recognise the name or know where it came from. "Sewe" may also be another alternate name for the language.
Nizaa is primarily spoken in and around the village of Galim, located in Faro-et-Déo, which itself is in the Adamawa Region of northern Cameroon; the village has roughly 2,000 inhabitants. The most recent census of speakers was carried out in 1985 and reported 10,000 people actively speaking the language. However, the Atlas Linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) estimated only 2,000 speakers in 1983, so the actual number of speakers is unknown. The language is endangered.
Most Nizaa are not literate, and the few who are often only can read and write Fula in the Ajami Arabic script. The romanisation of Nizaa has not been widely adopted by the Nizaa people because of their low literacy rate. Several other languages are spoken in the region, and most Nizaa speakers are bilingual in Fula, specifically the Adamawa dialect, since it is essentially the lingua franca of northern Cameroon. Many also know Hausa, another regional language, or French, because it is an official language of Cameroon.
The Nizaa are divided into various different clans, each with their own sacred animal which they do not eat or harm; traditionally, it is thought that these animals helped a clan overcome a stressful situation in the mythological past.
The Nizaa are primarily farmers. They used to grow finger millet and sorghum as their main crops, with yom grass (Tephrosia vogelii) being planted after harvest to replenish nitrogen in the soil and kill pests, as the plant contains rotenoids, which are a natural pesticide. However, Fula pastoralists practiced transhumance, or moving cattle into river valleys and farmlands during the dry season to find grass and water. Because millet matures late, Fula cattle herds had already started migrating through the fields, and they would eat or trample both the millet and yom grass. As a result, the Nizaa switched to primarily growing maize in the 1950s and 1960s, which has a growth cycle of only four months. The Nizaa also grow other crops such as yams, peanuts, and cassava, and their main food is a paste made from cooked flour, sorghum, millet, or cassava. Hunting and fishing are also regular food sources among the Nizaa, with beekeeping and ironsmithing being used as sources of income by some communities.
