Gwari is a Nupoid language spoken by the Gbagyi people people, which make up over a million people in Nigeria. There are two principal varieties, Gbari (West Gwari) and Gbagyi (East Gwari), which have some difficulty in communication; they are distinct languages.
Phonology
Vowels
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/i, u, e, o/ can also have allophones ɪ,.
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Nasal vowels /ĩ, ũ, ẽ, õ/ can also be heard as ɪ̃,.
Consonants
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The following sounds may be labialized as /pʷ, bʷ, fʷ, vʷ, kʷ, ɡʷ, mʷ, k͡pʷ, ɡ͡bʷ, hʷ/ and palatalized as /pʲ, bʲ, fʲ, vʲ, kʲ, ɡʲ, mʲ, lʲ, wʲ/.
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Sounds /t, d, s, z, n/ when palatalized are always heard as tʃ,.
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Sounds /f, b/ can be heard as bilabial sounds ɸ, in free variation.
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/n/ is heard as velar ŋ when preceding velar consonants.
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/n/ becomes a labialized-velar ŋʷ when preceding a /w/.
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Sounds /bʷ, ɡʷ, ɡʲ/ are softened to fricatives βʷ, when preceding a glide, in medial-intervocalic position.
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/ɡ͡b/ is heard as an implosive ɓ in free variation.
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/h/ only has a limited occurrence, but it also may be allophonic with /f/ in Northern Gbagyi. In Southern Gbagyi, h is heard in free variation with /j/, when /j/ occurs before /i/ in syllable-final position.
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The palatalized /lʲ/ may also be heard as a central glide ɹ.
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The following sounds may be labialized as /pʷ, bʷ, fʷ, vʷ, kʷ, ɡʷ, mʷ/ and palatalized as /pʲ, bʲ, fʲ, vʲ, tʲ, dʲ, kʲ, ɡʲ, mʲ, lʲ, wʲ/.
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Stops may also be heard as post-nasalized as pᵐ,.
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Palatalized sounds /tʲ, dʲ/, typically occur as tʃ, or tʲ, in free variation, and as tʃ,, they can be represented orthographically as . Sounds /s, z, n/ when palatalized are always heard as ʃ,, and can be represented orthographically as .
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Sounds /f, fʲ, b/ can be heard as bilabial sounds ɸ, in free variation.
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/d/ can also be heard as ɾ.
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Sounds /b, ɡ/ and /bʷ, ɡʷ, ɡʲ/ are softened to fricatives β, and βʷ, when preceding a glide, in medial-intervocalic position.
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/n/ becomes a labialized-velar ŋʷ when preceding a /w/.
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The palatalized /lʲ/ may also be heard in free variation, as a central glide ɹ or as a palatalized equivalent ɹʲ.
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/n/ when palatalized is heard as a palatal nasal ɲ, and is velar as ŋ when preceding velar consonants.
Varieties
Gbagye is also known as
Gwari-Matai or
Gwarin Ngenge, which are recently adopted cover terms.
[Blench, Roger. 2013. The Nupoid languages of west-central Nigeria: overview and comparative word list.]
There are two separate Gbagyi groups living in:
Gbagye is the only Nupoid language that has the bilabial implosive /ɓ/.
Gbagyi (also known as Gwari) is a cover term for all the Gbari-speaking peoples, and includes many varieties.
Gbari-Yama is a cover term used for all southern Gbari dialects. There are two closely related dialects, which are:
Gbedegi is an extinct language (possibly a Nupe dialect) spoken near Mokwa (Nadel 1941).
