Ron languages explained

Ron
Also Known As:Ron–Fyer
Region:Mangu LGA, Plateau State, Nigeria
Familycolor:Afro-Asiatic
Fam2:Chadic
Fam3:West Chadic
Protoname:Proto-Ron
Child1:Ron
Child2:Fyer
Glotto:west2716
Glottorefname:West Chadic A.4
Map:West Chadic Languages.jpg
Mapcaption:West Chadic per Newman (1977)

The Ron, Ronic or Ron–Fyer languages, group A.4 of the West Chadic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family, are spoken in Plateau State, north-central Nigeria.

The Ron languages have undergone extensive influence from Tarok.[1]

Languages

The Ron languages, and their tentative relationships, are:[2]

Ron

Blench (2019)[3] groups the following in the (Central) Ron/Run dialect cluster: Bokkos, Mbar, Daffo–Butura, Manguna, Mangar, Sha.

While noting that Ron is in fact a complex linkage, Blench (2003) rejects two of the connections proposed in Seibert (1998) [Sha with Mundat–Karfa and Mangar with Kulere/Richa]:[4]

Names and locations

Below is a comprehensive list of Ron language names, populations, and locations from Blench (2019).[3]

Language Cluster Dialects Alternate spellings Own name for language Other names (based on location) Other names for language Exonym(s) Speakers Location(s)
Fier 1,500 (1970); 10,000 (Blench 1999) Plateau State, Mangu LGA
ShagauKerifa DuhwaKarfaDuhwaChalla800 (SIL 1973) Plateau State, Bokkos LGA
Tof, Richa, Kamwai: the latter includes Marahai (Marhai) Akande (Kamwaĩ, Àkàndí (Tof), Kande (Richa) Tof, Richa, Kamwai Korom Ɓoye 6,500 (1925 Meek); 4,933 (1943 Ames); 8,000 (1973 SIL) Plateau State, Bokkos LGA
MundatRonMundatMundatMundatPlateau State, Bokkos LGA
Shagau Anguna, Hurti, Ahurum, Ambwash, Gbwendeng, Nzuhwe (Duhwa)Anguna Shagau 20,000 (SIL) Plateau State, Bokkos LGA
Tembis 3,000 (SIL) Plateau State, Pankshin LGA
Run cluster Run Bokkos and Daffo–Mbar-Butura are more closely related than Sha Ron Run Challa, Cala, Chala, Challawa 13,120 (1934 Ames); 60,000 (1985 UBS) Plateau State, Bokkos LGA
Run Bokkos, Baron Lis ma Run Bokos Challa, Cala
Run Daffa, Mbar, Butura Ron Alis I Run Batura Mbar-wuh Challa
Run Manguna, Hurti, Dambwash, Mahurum, Gwande, Karfa(Duhwa)RonShagauAnguna, Hurti, Duhwa, Agbwendeng, Ambwash, AhurumAnguna ShagauChalla20,000 (SIL)Plateau State, Bokkos LGA
Run Plateau State, Bokkos LGA
Run 500 (SIL); about 1,000 (1970 Jungraithmayr) Plateau State, Bokkos LGA

Reconstruction

Proto-Ron
Familycolor:Afroasiatic
Target:Ron languages

Since the Ron languages form a diverse linkage, Ron reconstruction is not straightforward due to the lack of neat sound correspondences. There are many borrowings from neighbouring Niger-Congo Plateau languages that Ron had assimilated or been in contact with.[5]

Proto-Ron reconstructions by Roger Blench are as follows.[2]

No. English Proto-Ron
1. person
  • naaf
7. friend
    • mwin
19. name
  • sum
45. flesh
  • lo
46. head
  • hay
49. bone
  • kaʃ
53. ear
  • kumu
54. nose
    • atin
57. mouth
  • fo
59. tongue
  • liʃ
61. tooth
  • haŋgor
62. molar
  • ɓukum
64. chin
  • njumut
69. throat
  • goroŋ
72. breast (female)
  • fofo
73. chest
  • cin
79. navel
    • mutuk
83. elbow
  • kukwat
91. thigh
  • for
107. saliva, spittle
  • lyal
110. urine
  • sar
190. I
  • yin
238. crocodile
    • haram
1072. blow (mouth)
  • fuɗ
1089. call (summon)
  • lahyal
1157. fall
  • fur
1218. land
    • nɗoro
1241. meet
  • tof
1249. open (door)
  • ɓwali
1276. put
  • kin

Morphology

Plurals of nouns in Ron languages are typically formed with -a- infixes.[6]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Some Historical Inferences from Lexical Borrowings and Traditions of Origins in the Tarokoid/Chadic Interface. Longtau. Selbut. International Symposium on Endangered Languages in Contact: Nigeria’s Plateau Languages. 25–26 March 2004. Hamburg. Asien-Afrika-Institut, Universität Hamburg.
  2. Blench, Roger. Comparative Ron wordlist.
  3. Book: Blench, Roger. An Atlas of Nigerian Languages. Kay Williamson Educational Foundation. 2019. 4th. Cambridge.
  4. Seibert, Uwe. 1998. Das Ron von Daffo (Jos-Plateau, Zentralnigeria): morphologische, syntaktische und textlinguistische Strukturen einer westtschadischen Sprache. (Europäische Hochschulschriften: Reihe XXVII: Asiatische und Afrikanische Studien, 66.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang
  5. Blench, Roger M. 2003. Why reconstructing comparative Ron is so problematic. In Wolff, Ekkehard (ed.), Topics in Chadic linguistics: papers from the 1st biennial international colloquium on the Chadic language family (Leipzig, July 5–8, 2001), 21-42. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
  6. Blench, Roger. 2021. The erosion of number marking in West Chadic Roger Blench. WOCAL, Leiden.