Bata language

Bata
Bata
Person	Gbwata
Language	Magbwata

Bata
Bata
Gbwata
Native to	Nigeria, Cameroon
Region	Adamawa State, North Region
Native speakers	300,000 (2020)
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Chadic Biu–Mandara Bata languages (A.8) Bata; ; ; ;
Dialects	Zumu; Wadi; Malabu; Kobocī; Ribow; Njoboliyo; Garua; Jirai; Furo; Song Bata;
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bta – inclusive code; Individual code:; kso – Kofa
Glottolog	bata1314
ELP	Kofa
	Ethnic territories of the Bata-speaking people (Batta) in Nigeria, in blue

Bata (Gbwata) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Nigeria in Adamawa State in the Numan, Song, Fufore and Jimeta gire Yola maiha Demsa lamorde LGAs, and in Cameroon in North Province along the border with Nigeria. Dialects are Demsa, Garoua, Jirai, Kobotachi, Malabu, Ndeewe, Ribaw, Wadi, and Zumu (Jimo).^[1] It is often considered the same language as Bacama.^[2]

Names

Blench (2019) lists Bwatye (endonym: Ɓwaare; exonym: Bachama) as a closely related language variety. They are located in Adamawa State (Numan and Guyuk LGAs) and Kaduna State (northeast of Kaduna town).^[3] It is also called Kwā ɓwàryē.^[4]

ALCAM (2012) lists Gbwata (Bwaara in Nigeria) as the singular personal form of Bata. The speakers refer to their language as "the language of the Gbwata", called Magbwatá, Magbwati or Magbwatiye in Cameroon.^[5]

Dialects

In Cameroon, there are three varieties of Gbwata:^[5]

Demsa (Demsa commune in Bénoué department, which is on the Nigerian border, 30 km northeast of Garoua)
Kokoumi (Garoua commune, Bénoué department, which is along the Benue River)
Faro (Jelepo in Beka commune, Faro department)

Ndeewe is the dialect of the Gbwata who live far from the banks of the Faro and Benue rivers, where the "agricultural Bata" live. It is now spoken by only a few dozen people.^[5]

Bacama is a Gbwata ethnic group settled in Nigeria.^[5]

There are 2,500 speakers in Cameroon.^[5]

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Retroflex	Post-alv./ Palatal	Velar	Labio- velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n		(ɲ)
Stop/ Affricate	voiceless	p	t			k	k͡p	ʔ
	voiced	b	d		(d͡ʒ)	ɡ	ɡ͡b
	prenasal	ᵐb	ⁿd		(ⁿd͡ʒ)	ᵑɡ	ᵑɡ͡b
	implosive	ɓ	ɗ
Fricative	voiceless	f	s		(ʃ)			h
	voiced	v	z
	prenasal		ⁿz
Rhotic				ɽ
Lateral				ɭ
Approximant					j		w

Sounds [ɲ, ʃ, d͡ʒ ⁿd͡ʒ] may occur optionally as independent sounds, or as allophones of /n, s, z, ⁿz/ in palatalized positions.^[6]

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		ɯ	u
Mid	e	ə	o
Open		a

Notes

^ ^a ^b Bata at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
Kofa at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
^ Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
^ Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
^ Bata materials from Raymond Boyd
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.
^ Boyd, Raymond (2002). Bata phonology: a reappraisal. München: Lincom Europa.