Endangered Languages Project - Ziriya

Ziriya

^{[aka Jiriya]}

Classification: Niger-Congo

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dormant

ALSO KNOWN AS		Jiriya
CLASSIFICATION		Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Benue-Congo, Kainji
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		zir
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

Compare Sources (5)

Information from: “Notes on the Seni people and language with an addendum on the Ziriya” (12-13) . Roger Blench and John Garah Nengel (2004)

Dormant
0
Native speakers worldwide
SEMI SPEAKERS
1
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"[One] person with any recall of the language... The language has definitively disappeared, and even Sarkin Yakubu [the last rememberer] had only spoken it as a child, some sixty years ago. He could recall some greetings and some numbers."

DATE OF INFO: 2003

Dormant
0
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
2,000
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"No known L1 speakers."

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "Shifted to Hausa [hau]."

PLACES: Nigeria

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Bauchi state: Toro LGA, Kere and Ziriya."

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "Lost ground in favour of the contact language in the area, Hausa."

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Jos area, Nigeria."

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
A few
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"Only a few speakers seem to have some knowledge of Zìrìyà nowadays."

PLACES: Nigeria

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Several villages such as Zìrìyà (5km south of Yaagi near Chokobo), Kéré (two miles east of Rahaman Bauchi) and probably Wurno."

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"We visited Ziriya on 30th December 2003 and were able to interview Sarki Abubakar Yakubu, probably the last person with any recall of the language."

PLACES: 10.226000, 8.500000

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Ziriya village is situated at N10˚ 22.6, E 8˚ 50. Ziriya was divided into a number of wards as follows; Ziriya, Salingo, Kajakana, Wurno, Ungwar Marika, Funka and Farin Dutse... There is a third village, Kεrε,
somewhat further north, where the language was dropped even longer ago. "

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