Fyem
[aka Fyam, Pyem, Paiem]Classification: Niger-Congo
·endangered
Classification: Niger-Congo
·endangered
Fyam, Pyem, Paiem, Gyem, Fem, Pem, Genawa, Gyema |
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Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Benue-Congo, Plateau |
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ISO 639-3 |
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pym |
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As csv |
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Information from: “The Fyem Language of Northern Nigeria” . Daniel Nettle (1998) München: Lincom
~7,700-14,000
"The number of ethnic Fyem is hard to ascertain exactly... The two estimates cited by Crozier and Blench (1992:40) are likely to be a better guide to the contemporary figure: 7,700, in 1952 and 14,000 in 1973."
"Over the last sixty years or so, the Fyem language has lost ground dramatically to Hausa as the vernacular in the Fyem villages. This language shift has produced gradients in both the use and the knowledge of Fyem along the dimension of age, space, and social position... in Chanso, older people switch freely between Hausa and Fyem, whilst children and adolescents use Hausa almost exclusively. In fact, in this village, there is little evidence that children are acquiring full competence in the language... The prospects for the language, then, might seem rather bleak. However, Richard Bruce reports that there has been an increase in Fyem use since the 1970s. The motivation behind this would seem to be an assertion of authenticity by Fyem people, who now find themselves sharing the area with more and more outsiders."
Hausa; English;
"All Fyem speakers, like most inhabitants of Northern Nigeria, speak Hausa, the regional lingua franca. English, the national language and medium of education, is also in use amongst the younger people, though for most people it is the language of choice only in dealing with non-Northerners and in specialised contexts such as schools and local government. "
"Fyem speakers live in an area of about 100 sq. km in the central part of Northern Nigeria. Their settlements are about 9'30" North of the equator and 9'20" East of the Prime meridian. The territory is high, dotted with rocky outcrops or inselbergs. It is part of Mangu Local Government Area of Nigeria's Plateau State."
Information from: “The Fyem Language of Central Nigeria and its Affinities” . Roger Blench (2006)
"Fyem is widely considered to be a dying language. The Bapyam Azonici Association is making efforts to
restore Fyem cultural practices."
"The Fyem people live on the south-eastern escarpment of the Jos Plateau... The main settlement of the Fyem is Gindiri which is the seat of the Sum Pyem. Today in the Gindiri area, Pyam people are found in the following villages and towns: Gindiri, Kasuwa-Ali, Zandur, Batni, Langai, Chanso, Dalan, Ungwar-Baraya, Sharka, Kayarda, Bulh, Mangar, Kongorong, Nagwak, Kweradu, Banda and Keras. Others, are Gobel, Sabon-furshi, Dukli, Jigi, Gimti, Pyamgiji, Mungi and Kopai etc."
Information from: “Benue-Congo Comparative Wordlist” . Kay Williamson (1973) University of Ibadan, Nigeria: West African Linguistic Society
Town of Gindiri
Information from: “The World Atlas of Language Structures” . Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer · Oxford University Press
Information from: “Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)” . M. Paul Lewis · SIL International
"In some villages, used by young people only in special contexts. Shifting to Hausa [hau]. Home, village. Also use Hausa or English."