The Sur (Tapshin) language of Central Nigeria and its affinities

[DRAFT CIRCULATED FOR COMMENT -NOT FOR CITATION WITHOUT REFERENCE TO THE AUTHOR

Roger Blench Mallam Dendo 8, Guest Road Cambridge CB1 2AL United Kingdom Voice/ Fax. 0044-(0)1223-560687 Mobile worldwide (00-44)-(0)7967-696804 E-mail R.Blench@odi.org.uk http://www.rogerblench.info/RBOP.htm This printout: April 25, 2006

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Location, history and sociolinguistic situation 2.1 Nomenclature 2.2 Location and settlements 2.3 Language status 2.4 Sur culture and history 3. Phonology 3.1 Vowels 3.2 Consonants 3.3 Tones 4. Morphology 5. Lexical comparison and the classification of Sur 6. Sur wordlist 7. The affinities of Sur 7.1 Links with Plateau 7.2 Relationship with Tarokoid 7.3 Influence of Chadic languages 7.4 Conclusion References 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 6 6 24 24 24 25 25 25

TABLES Table 1. Fossil prefixes in Sur ........................................................................................................................... 4 Table 2. Principal sources of data for lexical comparison .................................Error! Bookmark not defined. FIGURES Figure 1. Location of Tapshin ................................................................................................................................2 Figure 2. Internal structure of Tarokoid................................................................................................................25

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment 1. Introduction This is an annotated wordlist of the Sur language, spoken in Tapshin village in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Tapshin is some 25 km. north of the Pankshin-Amper road and reached by a track leading off the main road some 5 km. east of Pankshin. The wordlist was collected by Roger Blench with the assistance of Selbut Longtau from a group of elders in Tapshin on the 21st of March 1998. We would like to thank the chief, Sale Sambo, for calling the meeting and John Tula Rabu for help with translation as well as all those who attended for their good-natured participation. The only published reference to this language is in Hansford et al. (1976) apparently based on some unpublished observations of Kiyoshi Shimizu, who may have claimed that Tapshin was related to Eloyi. The entry in Hansford et al. (1976) is repeated in Crozier and Blench (1992) for lack of fresh information. In 1976, Eloyi was considered to be a Plateau language, although Armstrong (1983) was later to point to its equal affinity with Idomoid. What basis, if any, there was for Shimizus reported claim is unclear. The principal source for Eloyi is Mackay (1964) which has been compared to the data presented here. The wordlist was collected as a one-shot exercise and the transcription must therefore be regarded as very preliminary. In general, tones are not marked. In view of the problematic classificatory status of the language emphasis was placed on obtaining the maximum number of lexical items. This analysis was prepared by Roger Blench, who added the comparative observations1. This document is being circulated to scholars for comment. 2. Location, history and sociolinguistic situation 2.1 Nomenclature The name Tapshin is locally considered to be Hausa, although it does not look like Hausa. At any rate, this is the name of the major settlement. The Tapshin call themselves nSr plural nSr and their language kSr and the reference name adopted here is Sur. The Ngas people call the Sur Dishili. The name Myet found in some earlier references is one version of the name Met, a settlement some distance west of Tapshin. The people of Tapshin claim that the people of Met speak the same language as them, but this has yet to be directly confirmed. 2.2 Location and settlements Tapshin can be reached by turning north off the main road leading from Jos to Pankshin and Langtang, not long after Pankshin town. The road can only be traversed by a four-wheel drive and may well be cut off completely in the rainy season. Despite this, the area is densely populated with elaborate systems of terraces. Figure 1 shows the location of Tapshin; Tapshin is one large dispersed settlement with numerous wards.

To Tafawa Balewa

BAUCHI STATE

Tapshin Nyeleng Jivir

Figure 1. Location of Tapshin

Met PLATEAU STATE From the turn-off to Tapshin is approximately 25 km.

Balang

Pankshin

Amper

I am grateful to Selbut Longtau who accompanied me on the field trip and suggested the Tarok cognates, and Kay Williamson for general comments. -21

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment 2.3 Language status On the face of it, Sur should be a prime candidate for language loss. All adults appear to be fluent in Ngas and Hausa and Tapshin is an enclave within the Ngas, by whom they are culturally dominated. The number of speakers cannot be more than 3-4000, depending on the status of Met. The figure of 18,000 given in CAPRO (1995) would appear to be a serious over-estimate. However, it was apparent during the interviews that even young children are learning the language and there is no evidence of a decline in competence. Even more surprisingly, but no doubt related, the language is by no means full of Hausa and Ngas loanwords, as is sometimes the case in such situations. 2.4 Sur culture and history The only source for information on Sur culture is CAPRO (1995:323-327). 3. Phonology The phonology of Sur is based on rapid observations and should therefore be regarded as tentative at this stage. 3.1 Vowels Sur probably has seven phonemic vowels; Front Close Close-Mid Open-Mid Open a i e o Central Back u

The status of the // is highly uncertain, as it appears at times to be simply a centralised allophone of /i/. For the present it is transcribed as heard. 3.2 Consonants Sur consonants are as follows: Bilabial Labiodental Alveolar t d Alveopal atal Palatal Velar Labial -velar Glottal

Plosive Nasal Trill Fricative Approximant Lateral Approximant Implosive

p m

[c] j

k g

() h w

n [r] s z l

( )

I have occasionally transcribed the implosive //, but it seems to be in free variation with its non-implosive counterparts. [r] and [l] seem to be in free variation as do [c] and [ky]; I have consistently transcribed the latter sound as ky. -3-

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Some words have /yy/ and /ww/ in initial position, at least phonetically. Their likely source is the merging of i- and u- prefixes with the following approximant. Similar processes occur in some Kainji and Plateau languages, e.g. Kambari and Jju. In a few cases clear u + w sequences seem to occur; why these have not merged is not yet clear. Only one word, gwaar black cobra, was heard with a glottal stop and the status of this phoneme is best regarded as doubtful. 3.3 Tones 4. Noun Morphology Sur has completely lost any functioning affix system, perhaps under the influence of Angas. Sur nouns simply add the prefix - to mark pluralisation. No exceptions to this were recorded, even for persons. It does, however, retain clear traces of the former prefix system, as well as some suffixes which could possibly indicate a period of interaction with Adamawa languages. Table 1 shows the principal non-productive morphemes in Sur; Table 1. Possible fossil noun prefixes in Sur bibii fire ikimuntituuiyo flying ant, ium termite, kii head, kilerem tongue, klaan blacksmith, kijiri tree-trunk, kita bow, kiler bed, mutu hyna, ntap duiker, gafa frog, nyk guinea-fowl, kw ladder, nwak salt tii fonio, tisuk house-bat, tikakala crab, tikat head-pad, tikan stone tukwaki leg, tukurum knee, tukubi bone, tukum corpse, tukwala mushroom, urom husband, yya leaf, wwa dog, wwl goat, yy hunger,

Some of these can be clearly seen to be affixes by comparison with their external cognates. The single example and lack of parallels in other languages suggest that bi- and mu- were incorporated in the stem in pre-Tarokoid times. All of them occur in some form in neighbouring Plateau languages. Others may be disguised compounds. A widespread ku- prefix seems to occur principally with back vowels and is probably an allomorph of the ki- prefix given above. 5. Verb Morphology As with many Plateau languages, proto-Tarokoid probably had a rich system of verbal extensions. Tarok has at least one that still functions in part as a singulative, to emphasis a single action when the unmarked form implies a plural. However, in other Tarokoid languages these seem to be unproductive and only recoverable by morphological analysis and comparison with cognate forms in other Tarokoid or Plateau languages. It is true, however, that verbal extensions are not easily elicited in rapid survey work and Sur may in fact have functioning extensions.

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R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment -k(y)i The following verbs suggest a verbal extension k(y)ibyiki garki kakyi krakyi kyirki nyinki reki Break (stick) Grow (v.i.) Catch Dream Play (games) Bite Fold (e.g. Cloth) cf. Tarok kc cf. Tarok kpn, Yakam kn, Pe kom cf. Tarok nym, the first element is the word for tooth

The word for break shows that the extension is not cognate with Tarok ci, but does suggest that final -k endings in Tarokoid verbs may be the result of erosion. -ri -ri is a widespread verbal extension in Plateau, recorded in many other languages. deri gri gwri kwari kyari kyari mari puri riri turyi wuri wuri yari - i The following verbs appear to have the verbal extension i. bii call is the only one to have a clear cognate in another Tarokoid language. lami lick is interesting because the cLela (Kainji) cognate suggest this extension can be reconstructed to a considerable historical depth. Stay / remain Uncover (pot) Open (door) Hoe (cultivate) Cut (rope) Divide (share out) Lose (s.t.) Boil Be sharp Resemble Blow ( mouth) Enter Be straight cf. Pe kuli cf. Hasha kwar, Berom kara (ex BCCW). A widespread East Benue-Congo #ka- root a widespread #ka- root found throughout Benue-Congo cf. Tarok fl, cf. Tarok riri. This may be a reduplication and not an extension cf. Yakam wurok, Horom wil, Berom wlm cf. Ngas ar

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R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment bii Call (summon) Be rotten cf. Pe bisi, Fyem s

bwa i lami Lick

lki Pour lki Spit nui Smell rki i i wai zki Drop Fear Pluck (fruit) Shake

cf. Buji lama, Kwanka lyam, cLela lms, Lamnso la. Forms with initial l- are very widespread and there may be an ideophonic element. =spit, eject cf. Tarok ni+, Yangkam nu, CB #-nk (C.S. 1386) reconstructing back at least to ProtoBenue-Congo This may be a reduplication and not an extension

6. Lexical comparison and the classification of Sur The classification of Sur is unclear from the existing published literature. In view of its previously uncertain classificatory status I have sought to identify as many external cognates as possible. 6. Sur wordlist Sur nouns have no plural alternations but simply add the prefix - to all nouns. No exceptions to this were recorded, even for persons. Gloss Nouns tree leaf root branch trunk (of tree) grass mushroom seed/stone/pip bark (of tree) thorn charcoal Kisur kon yya ryusu baa kon kijiri pik tukwala gum gwok wu tikal Commentary cf. Pe kn, Yangkam koon, Tarok akn firewood. This root is widespread in Niger-Congo, often meaning firewood. cf. Tarok agwl, Yangkam ka, Pe w, Shall ya. Reconstructed as #(g)yaNa for EBC in Blench (ms). Also in Chadic e.g. Ngas ym cf. Tarok al, Pe u-li, though this may go back to Mande cf. Yakam yala + tree cf. Tarok pp, Yangkam sepip forest, Pe upip forest, bush. Westerman (310) cites #-pi as a PWS root, but his evidence is restricted to Benue-Kwa languages. cf. Tarok akkc, Pe u-kaguk, Yakam gwa, PLC *-kpk, cf. Yakam wu cf. Tarok akl, Bu ik@la. Plateau terms often have a ti- prefix though not in a precisely comparable form. The kal element goes back to Niger-Saharan. cf. Bu iwuru cf. Kwanka ndori although both these are probably local variants of the widespread #tu- root often with a final velar nasal in Plateau ku-prefix + cf. Horom abuk, Kwanka bura cf. Ngas k, perhaps also Tarok aer+, Yakam bwaar, Pe a-bwatibe cf. Yakam mi earth, Tarok am -6-

No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

Dust Ashes rubbish heap mud clay (for pots)

buru duri kuburi bwk kimi

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. Gloss dew stone sand smoke fire water rain cloud lightning rainy season dry season harmattan year today yesterday tomorrow morning evening darkness dawn day night moon/month sun Star(s) Wind God sky bush lake valley earth, soil thunder river hill/mountain Kisur mya tikan ial n i bii rya rya wwt leri yaki yuwap gii tuktur k r lem l weni weni cirki boobi pya weni vitlem gutuk pyam lem mat vivi Nen kubut bel deb rya kita mri yendet bwndr dugl cf. Tarok aur+, -7Commentary cf. Tarok mmy, Yakam mya, Pe inya Reflex of a Niger-Congo root #me? related to Nungu k-k, Aten k, unless forms such as Bu kita are related by metathesis. cf. Tarok ashshir, Pe aiei, Yakam yar, Vute sas, Kwanja Ndung s&, Jangani u, Gaa ammta cf. Horom ie, Pe ntsa Probably borrowed from Chadic ii forms and assigned a new prefix. Widespread in Bantoid. See discussion in Blench (1996) water + ? cf. Tarok ll

cf. j kr. =sun ? cf. Tarok lm =morning. The same connection is made in Tarok, although with a different root. also tomorrow () cf. words for blindness, e.g. Berom bwk, Mambila bb, Nnakenyare bp , vit [?] + lem sun -tuk is found throughout EBC. cf. Berom trk, but also tk day of 24 hours. Also Izere k-tk, Cara kituk, Rukul atuk cf. Tarok ap, Yangkam ee. A Niger-Congo root. Also Chadic: Fyem fyl, Sha, Kulere fen cf. Tarok alum+, Pe u-lom, Yakam loom cf. Tarok vvl whirlwind A widespread root in this region of Nigeria. cf. Angas Nen, Tarok, Pe Nan, cf. Tarok aur [used in compounds], cf. Wukari Jukun by, and possibly other scattered forms with initial b-. ? cf. P- j cf. Bantu ? and j cf. Cara mwel, Berom vwl, Pe mve world suggesting a proto-form #mvwl

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. Gloss farm field compound house room wall (of room) roof granary well road town village riverbank swamp/wetland place person man Kisur ram seri dugor gal ku gai pir bes gdgrn giel mel kwambel kwa bwndr p l r ri nimbi nukurum Commentary cf. Fyem rm, Horom rama, Tarok, Pe rm, Yakam ram. Ngas has mr which looks like metathesis cf. Tarok kl family, lineage, Pe ikala, Yakam lo, also Ngas lu

water-hole? cf. Tarok asl, Pe u-tsel, Eggon o-en, ? Bo ma-tel (pl.), also E. j ? + river. cf. Tarok akk cf. Pe u-pn river, cf. Pe uru pl. aru cf. Tarok unim, Ekoid N -nm. cf. Yakam nyirum, Fyem rm pl. arom. The #-rom- element is a very widespread Benue-Congo root for man/male, person (see discussion in BCCW 59). cf. Tarok cr, Yakam ker, Doka o-sal, Lungu ku-tsar, Eggon -l cf. Yakam children munda, Tesu amr, Tikar mw, Jaku mn, Bapi mwn, Degema m. Also PB, Yoruba,. Igbo etc. Also Chadic: Wangday min, Geji mil, u- prefix + -rom, a Niger-Congo root for male (see discussion in BCCW,II. See Fyem, Horom rom pl. barom see woman (Error! Reference source not found.) cf. Yakam ba though this is a worldwide root cf. Tarok nna, Pe u-na, Yakam nan although this reconstructs to PMC level. Also child (Error! Reference source not found.) child + woman Also child (Error! Reference source not found.)

69. 70.

woman child (general)

er or yar mwana

71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87.

old person husband wife father mother son daughter youth ancestors barren woman friend guest/stranger chief hunter thief doctor (native) witch

garki urom er or yar ba naa mwana maer mwana (a)giet suur be in ler kplvwak la eni nan

cf. Yakam r, but also Mambiloid mbi cf. Tarok nmcn (where nm is person), Fyem cen. A root #kyingoes back to Proto-Atlantic-Congo (PWN 129). cf. LC sn. Ijoid, Bantu cf. Yakam la

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R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. Gloss corpse blacksmith slave widow anger fear (n) shame bravery truth wisdom laughter Kisur tukum klaan mwan er kula byen i i kii bwagal ryak fi kubwana kubari uwal yir-vari ku kyin kigyin uwum kuwar tadi kusurmi ryaa kii kuwar kraki kunser nugwalgwal garak yy yy-rya yyekwan dugwot kuol i gwanji Commentary cf. Tarok akm, Yangkam ku. The #-kum element is widespread in Benue-Congo and tu- is presumably an unproductive prefix. Also Chadic: Mwaghavul km, la- element may be cognate with Tarok la+ to smith cf. Ngas nfwan

cf. Nindem sisip, Kadara u-i, Rindre cici

? cf. Tarok -yil, Yangkam yil to laugh cf. Tarok k, . A Niger-Congo root #ku cf. Pe ti-yin, PJ *gyin, CB #-g .n. All are probably versions of a PVC root #iri widespread? < H. cf. Tarok arwp (archaic)

99. life 100. death 101. name 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. grave song language story word lie prophesy oath news insult hunger

108. proverb

cf. Fyem y, Tarok ay, Mangar (Chadic) yu and Hausa yunwa. hunger for water

114. thirst 115. famine 116. horn 117. tail 118. egg 119. wing

cf. Tarok aswl cf. Tarok ac, Pe ti-ci pl. a-ci, Yakam gy Common in Plateau in this form, but reflects a Niger-Congo root with g- initial (W. 214). the ji is likely to be a suffix and the gwan- element cognate with other forms with a labial velar. Thus: Mada gb, Nindem -gb Eggon gba, Yashi kwen. (BCCW,101). mouth of bird house of bird cf. Tarok aak heap house of termite

120. beak 121. nest (of bird) 122. feather 123. bundle 124. gum/glue 125. termite hill 126. hole (in ground) 127. poison 128. war, fight

kunu nyl gal nyl dugur bak korgi gal um guduk bwat gwm

cf. Tarok km, Pe ikom, Yakam gum. A weakening of the common Niger-Congo root #-kwan (see BCCW,99). -9-

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Gloss 129. work 130. divination (generic) 131. medicine (trad.) 132. medicine (charm) 133. money 134. Shadow 135. Thing 136. land/country 137. sleep 138. 139. 140. 141. 142. 143. 144. 145. 146. 147. Gift load market soap (traditional) stick soul masquerade time world firewood Kisur m eni gal lau giam wuri ni mel na nididi kaya as Hausa bwai mbya wuriwuri rum kubel tukur kon wal s(p)pi ryak zuzuk blbl kinyet fwaram yil yiwuni kwai kraki tukur kya kii ki ki aal pinkii gvrum koto kunu kyan kunu nyin kilerem cf. Pe u-kali < Hausa layi = iron. cf. Fyem gym cf. Pe wurok cf. Yashi nina, Chawai nyen, Kegboid nu, Nupe enya cf. Cara mwel, Berom vwl, Pe mve world suggesting a proto-form #mvwl the na- element is extremely common in East Benue-Congo, e.g. Wapan na, Hasha na, Lamnso n-r < H. Commentary A form of the extremely widespread PMC root #tom-

cf. shadow () cf. Tarok rm cf. tree An ancient Niger-Congo root going back at least to PAC. Discussed in BCCW. ? cf. Pe iset cf. Tarok zk to pour out ? cf. Tarok m bukm cf. Pe u-nat, Yakam n-not, Tarok annur body + ? body + fruit

148. disease / illness 149. smallpox 150. diarrhoea 151. goitre 152. sore / wound 153. cough 154. fever 155. 156. 157. 158. 159. 160. boil (n) leprosy dream (n) funeral running / race head

The -i is a common root throughout Benue-Congo = eye ? + head cf. Yangkam viram, cf. Tarok acw, Pe u-to, Yangkam to. The PVC root tu for ear with an assimilated ki- prefix. (PWN 556) cf. Tarok an, Pe unu, Yakam no. The Niger-Congo root nu for mouth with an assimilated ki- prefix. edge of the mouth the same term is used for riverbank cf. Tarok nyin, Pe ti-yin. A Niger-Saharan root ki- prefix + cf. Tarok ailim+, Mabo de-rem, cLela d-rm, ultimately PNC #-lima -10-

161. eye 162. face 163. cheek 164. forehead 165. nose 166. ear 167. mouth 168. lips 169. tooth 170. tongue

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Gloss 171. throat 172. neck 173. chin 174. shoulder 175. armpit 176. arm/hand 177. finger 178. leg 179. breast (female) 180. stomach 181. belly 182. navel 183. thigh Kisur gwgl mwak kidgl pakpal alaklak bak yrbk tukwaki m ri ryak kumbul (w)ar Commentary #goro forms are found throughout Africa (Blench 1996) cf. Yakam mwak cf. Tarok gl, Despite the appearance of a labial-velar, these do not otherwise seem to occur in Sur and this probably arose at the morpheme boundary. However, #kpa- is a widespread root for shoulder in Niger-Congo. <Ngas though compare Nungu lal cf. Yakam bwak, Pe u-ok, Tarok aw. A Niger-Congo root, usually #bok? + arm cf. Yakam kwi, Nungu -kpr. The #kwa- element is likely to be a PNC root (Westermann: 239), and the tu- and ki affixes cf. Yakam mi. cf. eat, food cf. Yangkam lwak, cf. Tarok gum, Pe igum, Yakam kum, Horom kom. Also Mambiloid (Cambap) kmbn, PB #kb cf. Ngas war. The probable Tarokoid cognates are for leg cf. Tarok ar, Aten cw, Ninzam u-z probably derived from widespread #taroots (BCCW,55). Two possible analyses: either prefix tu- + kuru, a pan-African root for knee, or prefixes tu- + ki + -rum a widespread local root for knee. e.g. Yangkam ru, Tarok ri but cf. Fyem urm pl. arm, Mabo rurum. Reconstructed as #-r in East Benue-Congo in Blench (ms.) Also in Chadic: Kulere arm, Tangale purum and Mupun frm. This is so widespread in Chadic that the #-rum element may have been loaned into Plateau and its prefix re-analysed. cf. PLC *br ? Tarok fr, cf. Tarok asm, ?Yangkam pinz, Both this and waist are reconstructed to Proto-Benue-Congo as #-im (Blench ms.). See also PLC *-dm. Also in Chadic: cf. Ngas zm cf. Tarok kksk, ? Tep, Somie k see previous entry back (186.) clearly related though not identical

184. knee

tukurum

185. nail 186. back 187. chest 188. waist 189. buttocks 190. penis 191. vagina 192. skin 193. bone 194. rib 195. vein 196. blood 197. breath 198. tear 199. saliva 200. urine

kba im nkwak in kitak kufurum gur fwn tkw tukubi tukubi par giel zl zl vri iyil mbyak burum

cf. Yakam gur, Somie Mambila g#r# vagina and wrpenis cf. Yangkam fyel, Horom pr, Nizaa f#r tu- prefix + cf. Yakam kpa though #kwa is an ancient PMC root. Tarok aw may be a weakened form Prefix tu- + #kub-, cf. Tarok akp, Pe ukup, Yakam kup but a widespread BC root for bone bone + ? road of blood cf. Tarok cr, Pe ntsii, Yangkam gyir. cf. Pe mve, Vute f, Somyev fil cf. Pe anyul, Yakam yil. ? cf. Mambiloid e.g. Gembu yn, Gelep yrm

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R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Gloss 201. shit 202. hair (head) 203. beard 204. liver 205. body 206. heart 207. lungs 208. meat 209. animal 210. cow 211. goat 212. he-goat 213. castrated he-goat 214. sheep 215. ram 216. dog 217. cat* 218. horse* 219. donkey* 220. pig* 221. elephant 222. hippopotamus 223. buffalo 224. lion 225. leopard 226. duiker 227. porcupine 228. hyena2 229. wart-hog 230. civet 231. baboon 232. patas monkey 233. squirrel 234. rat (generic) 235. cane rat 236. giant rat
2

Kisur byi yil od nci yii turum fufwak nam nam nak wwl

Commentary cf. Yakam iyo. #biN- is a widespread PAC root cf. Yakam ar cf. Ngas nki cf. Yakam yit, Mambila Kb. yeli; PB #ytu cf. Yakam nrwo, Pe ntene. Blench (ms.) reconstructs #-duN- for Proto-Benue-Congo which may well be related. Also Chadic: Ngas ur Forms including fu- are very common and may include a phonaesthetic element. However, see Mambiloid, e.g. Somie ff cf. animal (209.). Niger-Congo root #nama-, widespread in Plateau, also in Chadic, e.g. Ngas nam cf. meat (208.). Niger-Congo root #nama-, widespread in Plateau, also in Chadic, e.g. Ngas nam cf. Yakam nak, Pe nak, Tarok n although widespread in NigerCongo. Some forms may be borrowed from Fulfulde nagge cf. Tarok il, Yangkam be, Pe wel, Fyem bwol. A Niger-Congo root #bok< H. (?)

bus lukurum wwl nta cf. Tarok tam, Pe tamu, Yakam tam but also widespread in West Africa kunda wwa presumably a reduced form of the more common lexemes with initial bsuch as Pe iwa, Yangkam gba, Tarok va. A Niger-Congo root < H. kyanwa too cf. Yakam too(k) but related to widespread West African soo as Hausa as Hausa nanina probably animal + a form cognate with Irigwe -, Mada ezi. baktukwa yyet cf. Yakam iyeet, Nupe eya. A root #ya reconstructed for BenueCongo. bwar cf. Ngas mbwar gwt cf. Piti o-kw, Nungu me-k and ultimately Westermanns PNC root, usually reconstructed with a labial velar ntap cf. Tarok tep. Widespread (KW) tumbul mutu cf. Tarok tu. Also in Chadic: Goemai tumu, Mwaghavul ndm t k i nda m gwm muni pala bi eltem kwr cf. Tarok kpir, Pe -kot, Yakam ikot, Cara ki-gut

cf. Yakam pla cf. Tarok pi, Yakam pi, Igbo Etiti -p, Esimbi -fimbi

(Crocuta crocuta) -12-

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Gloss 237. hare3 238. musk shrew 239. 240. 241. 242. mongoose Fruit-bat House-bat crocodile Kisur kafwan abat luwan gigyak tisuk gebi Commentary cf. Tyap ??

243. agama lizard 244. skink 245. gecko 246. 247. 248. 249. 250. 251. 252. 253. 254. 255. 256. 257.

wari gut irkindi toad tubwalabwala cf. Pe -wap zhoi, Tarok mal atk frog gafa chameleon cf. Pe i-ndapso, Tarok tasum kudk Boscs monitor tukwan cf. Tarok kun lizard damo water monitor yyuwar tortoise guguri cf. Tarok kwkkri. #kul- is virtually a Pan-African root (Blench 1997). snake (generic) animal + bad. BCCW gives the examples of Ogbia and Degema nambi where snake is bad thing spitting cobra namdm black cobra gwaar fish ywak cf. Yakam vyak. Connell (1991) reconstructs *-k /i- for PLC. Also Yoruba ja. crab (water) tikakala cf. Tarok km'gwl, Pe -gwal, Yangkam ngala. Niger-Congo #kala bird cf. Tarok nyil, Pe i-nol, Yakam noi nyl gwari gwanji ny k

? Igboid the ge- element is common in Bantoid, especially Bamileke meaning crocodile. Also Mambiloid ga and the bi element presumably means bad as in snake (below). it is curious there are no other nearby parallels. Or PB gubu ? cf. Pe iali, Tarok oli

258. chicken 259. cock 260. guinea-fowl

The ri is a suffix, and a nasal has almost certainly been assimilated (see cock). Hence cognates are Horom kogo, Yakam gwoa, Berom coo see above cf. Tarok rusk, Eggon i-ugu, Kamanton ok. Widespread Plateau #wok forms are probably weakened versions of an initial #nk < H. perhaps shortened from Hausa tantabara

261. duck (domestic)* agwagwa 262. pigeon baru (domestic) 263. vulture jinta 264. village weaver4 gwal 265. cattle-egret palago 266. black kite wwar 267. bush-fowl kwaal 268. owl nyinyi 269. grey parrot kuler 270. pied crow*5 gwak

Reconstructed to Proto-Benue-Congo as #-gba in Blench (ms.)

cf. Ngas yiyi cf. Pe -gokra, Tarok grok, Ngas ngak though presumably ideophonic

3 4

(lepus crawshayi) (ploceus cucullatus) -13-

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Gloss 271. woodpecker 272. swallow 273. crowned crane 274. insect (generic) 275. scorpion 276. butterfly 277. mosquito 278. spider 279. mason wasp6 280. bee 281. bee-hive 282. sweatfly 283. housefly Kisur nylb barklaat akula mp na prpl bu nen iru yyk b yyk kpaen nim cf. Pe i-tsi, Tarok cc, D) i, Mambiloid nd but probably part of the larger set reconstructed as #-ciN to Proto-Benue-Congo in Blench (ms.). Also in Chadic: Ngas ni, Mwaghavul nd, Tangale tn animal + ? cf. PLC *-l, Nizaa lm, PB -d, bird of hole Commentary

cf. Tarok nyny, Pe i-na, Yakam na. This root is found scattered through BC and reconstructs back as far as PVC cf. Yakam pilipili. Also Chadic: Ngas purpul, cf. Yakam o, LC -b but a PWN root cf. Pe i-naan cf. Yakam vyak, Rukul a-y(k), PB #-yk ? + bee

284. 285. 286. 287. 288.

ant (generic) louse millipede cockroach termite (generic)

289. Flying ant 290. praying mantis 291. earthworm 292. centipede 293. sand-fly 294. dragonfly 295. firefly 296. giant cricket 297. giant snail 298. oil 299. fat 300. salt 301. 302. 303. 304. 305. soup food sorghum beer peelings rag

namburna dani nagwanla mpyaman ium iyo kaltokri delele nakabari d d kalwoni nyalwus nakaka kr fada nyii mbip nwak kuri ri yya gwami nap kupup ada

cf. Tarok -yeye, Hasha iyu,

perhaps a compound including wus, the Ngas word for fire. The Pe word is nkili wus cf. Pe u-kika, cf. Pe nnye. Possibly related to the much more widespread NigerCongo #no-, #nucf. Tarok m pp animal fat, Yakam mbyep. East Benue-Congo #mbyep in Blench (ms.) cf. Pe ntok, cf. Tarok akri, Yangkam kuru cf. to eat cf. Yakam iyam cf. Tarok akwkwa, Pe u-koko, Yakam gwa cf. Ngas nak cf. Pe u-pomni, Yangkam pp, Cara pop, Nupe ef, Mambila f, PB #pni. Reconstructed to PBC as #-fu[pu] in Blench (ms.) < H.

306. handle (of tool) 307. cutlass

5 6

(corvus albus ) (belenogaster spp.) -14-

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Gloss 308. iron (metal) 309. 310. 311. 312. 313. 314. 315. 316. 318. 319. 320. 321. axe adze hoe (gen) hoes I hammer knife comb broom Kisur giam pel duk nuwari nuwari dn boro mbaram bayera kai kiar tukwa lulu tagya dugwa mwadugwa guzu Commentary ? cf. Tarok acm, Yangkam gyim, cf. Pe iduk

317. fireplace shoe cloth (wrapper) hat, cap grindstone (lower) 322. grindstone (upper) 323. mortar

cf. Tarok acir, Pe iciri ? < H. but see Tarok akwp, Yangkam taxap, Pe kap see cotton () < H. cf. Yangkam gyamgwan child of lower grindstone gu + zu. cf. Tarok atm, Pe utu, Horom u-du. The two words seem to be reversed in Fyem, thus Fyem huu pestle and tun mortar. Also in Chadic: Ngas . This is likely to be a Niger-Congo root derived from the verb to pound. Hausa trm may be from this source. arm of the mortar cf. Yakam aara cf. Mamb/LC? ? cf. Kegboid ba, ti- prefix + #kata A Proto-Benue-Kwa root (PWN 199) cf. Pe ti-kat, Yangkam ka, Tarok akr, cf. Tarok, Pe m bndar, Ngas bandar < Ngas karam cf. Tarok azhal+, Ngas nwal cf. Tarok gap, Yakam gs ki- prefix + Niger-Congo #-ta? cf. Tarok ja, Pe i-gigya both for bow

324. pestle 325. pot (clay) (generic) 326. cooking pot 327. waterpot 328. head-pad 329. basket (general) 330. 331. 332. 333. winnowing tray mat (gen) mat (sleeping) bag

bak gusu biar dikel kubala tikat mbandar kuburi karam pal ari gai kita d ki gwa mwalani et abta yiza kiler pinpin ze kw zarna

334. spear 335. bow (weapon) 336. arrow 337. quiver 338. needle (thatching) 339. rope 340. chain 341. 342. 343. 344. 345. stool bed door fence ladder

cf. Tarok alr, cf. Yangkam nopya, cf. Tarok gw, Pe -ko < H. ? -15-

346. fish-net

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Gloss 347. snare 348. one 349. two Kisur kimbala ana barap Commentary cf. Tarok zi, Che in, Jari zn, Hyam zn, cLela ci The ba- element is extremely ancient and can probably be reconstructed back to Niger-Saharan. The p might be an affix for a count form or else the Chadic #rop has been compounded with the ba-. Note Ngas bap a PNC root a PNC root cf. Yakam soo, Pe co. A weakening of the more common roots of the form #toon- widespread in Niger-Congo, e.g. Yakam soo, Nembe r . Discussed in KW Towards Niger-Congo sn, P-j s reconstruction connected with the root for three (and evidence for the duodecimal counting system in Plateau). Cf. Horom taran, Aten taara, Jari gtr, Fyem trin, also Fyer tn, which are connected with the widespread Plateau root #taani and may have originally represented a reduplicated version of the word for three a compound whose elements are unclear perhaps from Ngas pkwun with deletable k- prefix (see nine) eight + one ? originally a word for nine cf. Yakam zopi. For ten ? cf. Kona dup, Anaang dp ten + one

350. three 351. four 352. five

tat ni y

353. six

itar

354. seven 355. eight 356. nine 357. ten 358. eleven 359. twelve 360. twenty 361. thirty 362. forty 363. hundred 364. black 365. white 366. red 367. half 368. hot (as fire) 369. cold 370. sweet (tasty) 371. old (of person) 372. new (of thing) 373. 374. 375. 376. 377. 378. 379. 380. 381. wet dry all good bad deaf dumb blind empty

t k a i kpakni pakni a na zup zup l a na

zup l rm ten + two barap cf. Tarok sm used in compounds for multiples of ten im barap 10 x 3 im tat im ni dari kibi kipya kza kijeri l rus nyim goi pi fyigur womi njyap bwa bwatak kotoda war mitak rwak warna 10 x 4 < H. bi- is an extremely widespread root for black in West-Central Africa (Blench 1996a). ki- + cf. Ngas pye. P-j pn cf. Tarok -riza cf. Yakam doozu cf. Tarok rusok

cf. Tarok pipe, Pe mpe, Yakam pya. Niger-Congo #pi- Also Chadic: Ngas pwi. cf. Tarok wom, Pe nwoom, Yakam mwom, Takum Jukun wom+. cf. Tarok n ear + x

-16-

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Gloss 382. full 383. many 384. Abuse 385. 386. 387. 388. Accompany Add to Arrive Ask (question) Kisur yilyil ri sksr adak kwula ka kwan byi(bu) yem nyl ritk kwtar sasa bwai lyeklyek riri gyeri derwet yari kwtar lulu rk cip bip mwaru nyinki wuri puri byiki yi vri mi pyegel lu cf. be strong (400.) Commentary cf. Tarok yl

cf. Pe kaa cf. Yakam bip, Tarok i@p, Pe gigyip but a Niger-Congo root, cf. PLC *bp, Gbari byibe, P-j , Reshe bp cf. Pe yemsel, Tarok yendl+, Yangkam yirak

389. Awaken 390. Be bitter 391. Be blunt 392. Be hard 393. Be heavy 394. Be rotten 395. 396. 397. 398. Be round Be sharp Be short Be small

cf. Pe rik, cf. Tarok riri (a.)

399. Be straight 400. Be strong 401. Be tall 402. Beat (drum) 403. 404. 405. 406. 407. Beat (s.o.) Beg Begin Bite Blow (mouth, wind)

cf. be hard (Error! Reference source not found.)

408. Boil (v) 409. Break (stick) 410. Breathe 411. Build (house) 412. Burn 413. Bury

cf. Pe c see under ask question cf. Tarok r, cf. Tarok nym, the first element is the word for tooth cf. Tsu wuri, Yakam wurok, Horom wil, Berom wlm, Len Mambila wl`, cf. Tarok fl, cf. Tarok i@kc cf. Tarok yi see mould (Error! Reference source not found.). cf. Pe, Tarok me+, Mada m, cLela ma. Widespread in Plateau but also Niger-Congo. cf. Tarok li+ but a common Benue-Congo root, also found in I . jo .. Discussed in Williamson (1992:393) and reconstructed as d to PP4 (Gerhardt 1983). =sell. Sur rup, Fyem rp, PLC #-lp, PB #dip. but widespread in BC and reconstructed as #-rp- in Blench (ms.). cf. PLC #-lep. Discussed in Gerhardt (1983) and also found in some neighbouring Chadic languages. cf. Pe bisi, Fyem s cf. Tarok yr, cf. Tarok g carve calabash, Mbembe gw, Tiv gb, Yala gba, Mama gbagba. The Jukunoid forms #hwa could well be weakenings of this. cf. Tarok kpn, Yakam kn, Pe kom -17-

414. Buy

rup

415. Call (summon)

bii

416. Carry (child on b back) 417. Carry (load) ya 418. Carve (wood) gwa 419. Catch kakyi

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Gloss 420. Chew 421. Choose 422. Climb 423. Close (door) Kisur taal tul fw Commentary cf. Pe tadi but the ta- element is an ancient Niger-Congo root A scattered root in Plateau, cf. Yakam fwm, ? Tarok f (pl. of climb down), Fyem f, Yeskwa f, Hyam f-r, and Che hu cf. Tarok kk

gwk 424. Come man 425. Continue (to do rim bala s.t.) 426. Count kr 427. Cover (pot) 428. 429. 430. 431. 432. gk Cut (cloth) kyak Cut (rope) kyari Cut down (tree) kyak Cut off (head kyak etc.) Dance bw taa zur ku in

cf. Tarok k, Pe kumdi, Kwanka kori, Abuan -kl and Rindre kla. All these are versions of a more ancient root #-kaLa widespread in Niger-Congo. Also Chadic: Kofyar kwan, Zaar kunaan, cf. Tarok kk cf. Tarok ca+,

presumably related to the Mambila bene and Proto-Bantu #bin- though it is strange to find it so isolated. Igbo b.

433. Defecate 434. Descend 435. Die 436. Dig

437. Divide (share kyari out) 438. Do/make i 439. Drag, pull nap 440. Draw (water) nap 441. Dream krakyi 442. Drink w 443. Drop 444. Dry in sun 445. Dry up 446. Dwell, live 447. Eat 448. Enter 449. Extinguish 450. Fall (rain) 451. Fall 452. Fear 453. Feel (cold etc.) 454. Fight 455. Filter (e.g. Beer) rki yan womi ar ri wuri ku wt (man) gu i i gwl gwn iak

cf. Tarok, Sur, Yangkam k, Pe pu, Eggon kp, Tesu kwe, Kenyi kie, Surubu kee. Niger-Congo root #-ku. cf. Pe sum, Yakam su, Fyem cin, Horom sim, Tesu umu, Kulu cem, Berom ci if the ri is a fossil extension, as in other Plateau languages, then this is cognate with the widespread #ka- root found throughout Benue-Congo ? Tarok dpci, Pe dapti, cf. Kwanka nap cf. Yakam, Tarok, Arum w, Pe wu, perhaps reduced from Ngas mwak ? See also Mambiloid, LC, Igboid perhaps Anaang st, almost certainly Bamileke languages, e.g. Bamenjinda sa and Bamenyam si cf. Tarok wm to be dry, Yangkam wom, Pe wom. cf. Tarok, Pe r, Fyem d, Horom ye, linked to the widespread ri, -di roots found in Niger-Congo =die cf. Yangkam bowot, Proto-Bantu #-gwa, but also Yala gwo

cf. Pe kom, Tarok km fight, cf. Tarok k to sieve -18-

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Gloss 456. Finish (a task) 457. Flow (water) 458. Fly 459. Fold (e.g. Cloth) 460. Follow (behind) 461. Forget 462. Fry (in oil) 463. Gather (things) 464. 465. 466. 467. Get (obtain) Give Give birth Go out/exit Kisur sr zur yel reki yal klm yelye wum o pit dyu kibyel tur Commentary

also stand (541.). cf. Fyem yila, Horom yala, Pe yel, Tarok yel+ float

ye + think cf. Yakam wu ? cf. Pe com

cf. Yakam turuk, ?Tarok tur+ to remove, Nindem doru, Mada dorwe, and possibly also Ribina sr and Ekoid M d but also in Chadic, Bokkos u, Fyer oo cf. Yakam gba, Tarok kp Also Chadic: Ngas gwak cf. Pe, Tarok pwk cf. Tarok kol+ listen to every detail Reconstructed to Proto-BenueCongo as #gb in Blench (ms.) cf. Hasha kwar, Berom kara (ex BCCW). Perhaps the more widespread East Benue-Congo #ka- root with a fossil extension cf. Pe bai, Tarok abr hunting expedition. Also in Chadic: cf. Bokkos faar, Tangale para (n.), Ngizim br and Hausa frwt cf. Pe yel cf. Pe wel, Yangkam wyu, Fyem, Horom wol, Pe wel, Kwanka won, Olulomo wl although as #wu this is widespread in Niger-Congo cf. Tarok ny, Pe yi, Yangkam yakwi, cf. Tarok wal+ to jeer at cf. Tarok g go cf. Buji lama, Kwanka lyam, cLela lms, Lamnso la. Forms with initial l- are very widespread and there may be an ideophonic element. The -i is probably a verbal extension cf. Tarok, Pe r, A widespread Niger-Congo root, often meaning sleep < Ngas probably a recent calque =breathe

468. 469. 470. 471.

Greet (salute) Grind (vt) Grow (v.i.) Hatch (egg)

472. Have 473. Hear 474. Hide 475. Hoe (cultivate) 476. Hunt 477. Jump (1) 478. Jump (2) 479. Kill 480. Kneel 481. Know 482. 483. 484. 485. Laugh Learn Leave Lick

yemna gwak garki bwaa myanana gwl wak kwari bar dam yur wl zugwl yk wal kwasal gat lami

486. 487. 488. 489. 490.

Lie (down) Like, want Listen Live (exist) Look at

491. Lose (s.t.) 492. Make a mistake 493. Marry 494. Mix 495. Mould (pot)

zura pala dak koto yivri a mari lar rm ka mi

A widespread root related to Niger-Congo #rom man cf. Pe kaa, Tarok gwa+ see build (Error! Reference source not found.). -19-

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Gloss 496. Move (sth.) 497. Open (door) 498. Pass (by) 499. Pierce/stab 500. Plait (hair) I 501. 502. 503. 504. Plait (hair) II Plant (tubers) Play (games) Pluck (fruit) Kisur gwp gwri nambal bor l k pap nyer kyirki wai sa l k i tksul ga nyi ruwa lye gamtu turyi kaman f n v cf. Tarok k@m This root (nyi-) appears in CB, but not elsewhere in EBC =think. cf. Tarok ri+, Pe lekat, Yakam rya cf. Yakam kom cf. Yakam va, Tarok w, Pe mva, Eggon vm, Kohumono v, Obolo f and some Grassfields. But perhaps see also fry cf. Yakam wur =spit, eject cf. Pe kuli Commentary

cf. Tarok lk to weave, but widespread

505. Pound (mortar) 506. Pour (vt) 507. Push 508. Quarrel 509. 510. 511. 512. 513. 514. 515. Receive Refuse (request) Remember Reply (question) Resemble Return Ride (horse etc.)

516. Roast 517. 518. 519. 520. 521. 522. Rub Run Say Scratch Search for See

gwarkat kyekwul wwar kwal pyarimi a 523. Sell rup 524. Send (s.o. To do m s.t.) 525. Sew ar 526. Shake zki 527. Sharpen ryu 528. Shoot tat 529. Show 530. Sing 531. Sit (down) 532. Skin (v), flay 533. Slaughter (animal) 534. Sleep 535. Smash (pot) 536. Smell er bwum zuza wt kal gudna aa nui

=buy. See commentary under buy a reflex of the Niger-Congo for work #tom-

cf. Tarok lw, cf. Tarok, Yangkam, Pe tat+. A Niger-Congo root often found as #-ta bow The b element is probably connected with the widespread Plateau #bom-. But see also dance

see discussion under sleep (noun) (137.). cf. Yakam nam, Tarok nyp, cf. Tarok ni+, Yangkam nu, CB #-n . k (C.S. 1386) reconstructing back at least to Proto-Benue-Congo -20-

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Gloss 537. Sneeze 538. Sow (seeds holes) 539. Speak language) 540. Spit 541. Stand (up) 542. Stay / remain 543. Steal 544. Stir (soup) 545. 546. 547. 548. 549. 550. 551. 552. 553. 554. 555. 556. 557. 558. 559. 560. 561. 562. 563. 564. 565. Kisur tiim in i (a wwar (kunu) l k i yel deri Commentary

rila zmi Suck wa Surpass nambal Swallow mrk Sweep byak Swell (as boil) f f Swim kuwa Take ya Take off tul (clothes) Talk wwar Taste yam Tear su Thank dabu dn Think lye Throw rk Tie (animal with it rope) Tie (e.g. Bundle) it Touch zk Trap (set a) Turn round Twist (rope etc.) Uncover (pot) kbalak gsl myerkat gri pun in lk burm gwaksa en

se under fly (458.). cf. Ngas ar cf. Yakam la see under drink (442.). cf. Tarok mkn+, Yakam mr ? cf. Tarok fl, cf. Tarok yr, cf. Tarok tur+,

see under remember ().

cf. Tarok dk, cf. Tarok lwk, cf. Yakam, Tarok myar+, Pe mande cf. Tarok fin =dig. cf. Yakam su, Horom sim spit urine cf. Tarok cn, Nindem sen, Yashi in, Tiv, dznd, Common Ekoid jn, Legbo s, LC s. These forms are probably related to a wider series with a stop in C1, reflecting CB #-gnd-. Discussed in Williamson (1992: 393) =like probably a loan from Ngas cf. Tarok nl, Pe nyali, Yangkam nwi, see under plait. An ancient Niger-Congo root cf. Tarok gbk -21-

566. Untie 567. Uproot (g. Nuts) 568. Urinate 569. Vomit 570. Walk

571. 572. 573. 574.

Want pala Wash gal Wear nyak Weave (e.g. lk Cloth) 575. Weep (cry) mwa 576. Wipe byak

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Gloss 577. Work 578. 579. 580. 581. 582. 583. 584. 585. 586. 587. 588. 589. 590. 591. 592. 593. 594. 595. No. 596. 597. 598. 599. 600. 601. 602. 603. 604. Worry Wring (clothes) Write Yawn I you he/she/it we you they here there this that who? which? what? where? Gloss Guinea yam aerial yam taro7 new cocoyam8 cassava sweet potato sorghum 3-month sorghum millet (maiwa) Kisur im lyelye yerkat war a a a mi u neme yiyi nyinyin bami roma yina mam ma wa mina iya wana Singular girki grt mwlm wl rg lwr yeri didar mr gari sargi tii Commentary A reduplicated form of the ancient Niger-Congo root #tom-. See also under send think reduplicated ideophonic? cf. Tarok mi+ cf. Tarok u cf. Tarok yi

cf. Pe iyaa, Commentary

< H. < H. < H. cf. Mambiloid ? < jigaari cf. Tarok mr, Yangkam marak, Pe ime but perhaps these are loans from Ngas? cf. Tarok zzi, ? Pe -zadi, Yangkam saraa, cf. Pe itisa, Tarok bsh, Bu isu, Gbari esu < Fyer blbo, Ngas balwo < H. < H. for the coiled pod cultivars

605. millet (geero) 606. Eleusine*9 607. fonio 608. iburu 609. 610. 611. 612. 613. 614. 615. 616.
7 8

tii-musum maize balbo rice inkafa cowpea10 sandok Bambara groundnut fadari groundnut(s) maken garden egg11 ni okra lapat chili pepper ita

< H.

(C. esculenta) (Xanthosoma mafaffa) 9 (Eleusine coracana) (H. tamba) 10 (Vigna unguiculata) 11 (solanum melongena) -22-

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment No. 617. 618. 619. 620. 621. 622. 623. 625. 626. 627. 628. 629. 630. Gloss onion tomato guna melon12 edible squash13 sorrel sesame seeds14 black sesame15 waterleaf* bitterleaf banana17 gourd (generic) gourd-bottle18 gourd (spherical)
16

Singular alabasa tumatur boro bat swa lm imji ngami aleho rumji ayaba gigl ribji gl ln taba putuk waar wurba mpat ga ri kum

Commentary <Hausa <Hausa

cf. Yakam za cf. Tarok lmpyar, Pe ilumsa,

624. sesame leaves

< Hausa < H.

631. tobacco 632. cotton 633. fan-palm19 634. oil palm 635. Canarium tree20 636. wild date-palm21 637. baobab 638. silk-cotton tree
22

< H. cf. Ngas wakar < Ngas pet cf. Tarok g, Pe nga cf. Yakam, Rukul kum, Pe kukum, Tarok kumkum (snuff-box tree) also Mambiloid but this root is found widely in West Africa, often applied to the baobab cf. Pe -kup cf. Yangkam roi, Tarok lur, Horom ryl, Bu r)

639. shea tree23 640. locust24 641. locust fruit 642. locust-bean cakes 643. tamarind 644. Black plum25 645. Calotropis procera 646. monkey-guava
26

kura lwal wuni-lwal nii ndum i-kibi fnkapan kua

cf. Tarok tlm, Pe tum, Yangkam um,

(Citrullus lanatus) (Cucurbita pepo) 14 (Sesamum indicum) 15 (S. radiatum) 16 (Amaranthus spp) 17 (Musa AAA) 18 (Lagenaria siceraria) 19 (Borassus aethiopum) 20 (C. schwein-furthii) 21 (Phoenix reclinata) 22 (Ceiba pentandra) 23 (Vitellaria paradoxa) 24 (Parkia biglobosa) 25 (Vitex doniana)
12 13

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R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment No. Gloss 647. Faidherbia albida 7. The affinities of Sur The present study suggests that Sur is certainly a Plateau language. It shares a numerous common lexical items, and there is evidence for a fossilised system of classprefixes in accord with those in nearby languages. The existing suggestion, that it is related to Eloyi, is so far from the truth as to make it likely this was an erroneously transcribed remark. No single common lexical item between the two languages was identified that was not also common to numerous other languages. The sections below consider the links with Plateau, Tarokoid and the shared vocabulary with Chadic. 7.1 Links with Plateau Sur shows a number of classic Niger-Congo roots, whose sources can be consulted in Westermann (1927) and Mukarovsky (1976-1977) (e.g. ). 7.2 Relationship with Tarokoid Sur people do not know of any language that resembles their own, and given their Ngas orientation would probably be surprised that its closest relatives are Tarokoid. This is not all that surprising, given the enclaving of Tapshin among the Ngas, which is similar to the position of Pe, further down the road toward Langtang. The Tarokoid group consists of Tarok, Pe and Yakam but excludes Turkwam and Arum-Chessu, formerly listed as members (Blench 1996b). Items shared with all members Tarokoid Items shared with Yangkam of Error! Reference source not found., Error! Reference source not found., Error! Reference source not found., Error! Reference source not found., Error! Reference source not found., Error! Reference source not found., Error! Reference source not found., 236., Error! Reference source not found., 277. Singular wukipiya Commentary

Items shared with Pe Items shared with Tarok As the data tables show, Sur shares more lexical items with the Tarok group than any other branch of Plateau. Impressionistically, the language closest to Sur is Yakam, and the two share a number of lexical items not found elsewhere in Tarokoid (e.g.). Error! Reference source not found. presents a tentative structure for the Tarokoid group based on present evidence. A full reconstruction will be undertaken in due course.

26

(Diospyros ) -24-

R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Figure 2. Internal structure of Tarokoid

*Proto-Tarokoid

Tarok

Pe

Yangkam

Sur

The evidence presented here seems to further the suspicion that Tarokoid should not have the distinctive status it has acquired in recent classifications (see also Blench in press).
7.3 Influence of Chadic languages

Apart from recent Hausa borrowings, the cognate list shows substantial mutual influence with Ngas. In some cases this is simply the borrowing of material culture items, such as baskets and mats (Error! Reference source not found., Error! Reference source not found., Error! Reference source not found.). The direction of borrowing is harder to determine in other cases, for example bird names (Error! Reference source not found., Error! Reference source not found.). In the case of house-fly (Error! Reference source not found.) the widespread presence of the root in Benue-Congo languages suggests that the word was borrowed by Ngas, though not necessarily from Sur, of course. Why words such as thigh (Error! Reference source not found.) should be borrowed is hard to imagine.
7.4 Conclusion

To summarise these results; a) Sur is a Plateau language b) Sur is part of the Tarokoid group and is probably most closely related to Yakam. c) There has been substantial mutual influence with the Ngas language, and Ngas is in some cases clearly the receptor language, despite its present-day numerical importance d) Despite virtual bilingualism in Hausa there has been very limited influence except for recent items of material culture.
References

Abraham, R.C. 1962. Dictionary of the Hausa language. London: University of London Press. Angas Language Committee 1978. Shk nkarn k shktok mwa nn Ngas. Ngas -Hausa-English dictionary. NBTT, Jos. Armstrong, R.G. 1983. The Idomoid languages of the Benue and Cross River valleys. Journal of West African Languages, XIII,1:91-149. Bendor-Samuel, J. ed. 1989. The Niger-Congo languages. Lanham: University Press of America. Blench, R.M. 1996a. Is Niger-Congo simply a branch of Nilo-Saharan? In: Proceedings of the Fifth Nilo-Saharan Linguistics Colloquium, Nice, 1992. ed. R. Nicolai and F. Rottland. 68-118. Kln: Rudiger Kppe. Blench, R.M. 1996b. Report on the Tarokoid languages. Iatiku, 3:14-15.
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R.M. Blench Sur (Tapshin) Wordlist Circulated for comment Blench, R.M. in press. Rethinking Plateau: recent research on the languages of central Nigeria. (in press) Paper given at WOCAL, Leipzig, July 29th, 1997 and to be published in the proceedings. Blench, R.M. ms. The Benue-Congo languages: a proposed internal classification. CAPRO 1995. Unmask the giant: an ethnic survey of Bauchi State. Jos: CAPRO Research Office. Crozier, D. and Blench, R.M. 1992. Index of Nigerian Languages (edition 2). SIL, Dallas. De Wolf, P. 1971. The noun class system of Proto-Benue-Congo. The Hague: Mouton. Frajzyngier, Z. 1991. A Dictionary of Mupun. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer. Gerhardt, L. 1983a. Beitrge zur Kenntnis der Sprachen des Nigerianischen Plateaus. Glckstadt: Verlag J.J. Augustin. Gerhardt, Ludwig 1983b. Lexical interferences in the Chadic/Benue-Congo Border-Area. In Wolff, E. & MeyerBahlburg, H. (eds.) Studies in Chadic and Afroasiatic Linguistics. 301-310. Hamburg: Helmut Buske. Guthrie, M. 1967-73. Comparative Bantu. 4 vols. Gregg International Publishers. Hansford, K. Bendor-Samuel, J. & Stanford, R. 1976. An Index of Nigerian Languages. Ghana: Summer Institute of Linguistics. Jungraithmayr, H. 1970. Die Ron-Sprachen. Glckstadt: J.J. Augustin. Jungraithmayr, H. and Dymitr Ibriszimow. 1995. Chadic lexical roots. [2 vols.] Berlin: Reimer. Mackay, H.D. 1964. A word-list of Eloyi. Journal of West African Languages, 1,1:5-12. Mukarovsky, H. 1976-1977. A study of Western Nigritic. 2 vols. Wien: Institut fr gyptologie und Afrikanistik, Universitt Wien. Nettle, D. ined. An outline of the Fyem language. Mnchen: Lincom Europa. Newman, R.M. 1997. An English-Hausa dictionary. Lagos: Longman. Seibert, Uwe 1998. Das Ron von Daffo (Jos-Plateau, Zentralnigeria): morphologische, syntaktische und textlinguistische Strukturen einer westtschadischer Sprache. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Shimizu, K. 1975. A lexicostatistical study of Plateau languages and Jukun. Anthropological Linguistics, 17:413418. Shimizu, Kiyoshi. 1980. Comparative Jukunoid. (3 vols) (Verffentlichungen der Institut fr Afrikanistik und gyptologie der Universitt Wien: Afro-Pub. Temple, Olive 1922. Notes on the Tribes, Provinces, Emirates and States of the Northern Provinces of Nigeria. Argus Printing and Publishing Co. Capetown. Westermann, D. 1927. Die Westlichen Sudansprachen und ihre Beziehungen zum Bantu. Berlin: de Gruyter. Williamson, K., and K. Shimizu. 1968. Benue-Congo comparative wordlist, Vol. 1. Ibadan: West African Linguistic Society. Williamson, K. 1971. The Benue-Congo languages & j. In Current trends in Linguistics 7 (ed.) T. Sebeok 245306. The Hague: Mouton. Williamson, K. 1973. Benue-Congo comparative wordlist: Vol. 2. Ibadan: West African Linguistic Society. Williamson, K. 1992. Some Bantu roots in wider context. In: Sprach-, geschicts- und literaturwissenschaftliche Aufstze zu Ehren von Hand G. Mukarovsky anllich seines 70. Geburtstags. W. Ebermann, E.R. Sommerauer and K.. Thomanek (eds.) 387-403. Vienna: Verffentlichungen der Institute fr Afrikanistk und gyptologie. Wilson, Janet E. 1996. A phonological grammar of Kuche. M.A. Linguistics. Arlington: University of Texas at Arlington.

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