Kiong language

Not to be confused with Kiong Nai language.

Kiong, or Kayon, is a nearly extinct Upper Cross River language of Nigeria. Okoyong speakers of the Kiong language are geographically located in the Odukpani, Akamkpa and Biase local government areas of Cross River State. This language was documented in 1990s, and it have 25 speakers counted in 1998. But in 2010, only 8 elders were able to speak Kiong (all in the 70s), leaving the language critically endangered/nearly extinct.

Kiong
Kayon
Akoiyang
Native to	Nigeria
Region	Cross River State
Ethnicity	570 Akayon (no date)[1]
Native speakers	8 (2010)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Cross River Upper Cross Kiong–Korop Kiong
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kkm
Glottolog	kion1242
ELP	Kiong

Phonology

Consonants^[2]

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Labiovelar
Plosive	b	t d		k	kp
Fricative	f	s		x
Nasal	m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Approximant	w	r	j

• /b/ is unvoiced [p] word-finally.
• /x/ can be heard as [h~ʁ].
• /ŋ/ is labialized [ŋʷ] syllable-initially.

Vowels^[2]

	Front	Central	Back
High	i iː		u uː
Mid-high	e eː		o oː
Mid-low			ɔ ɔː
Low		a aː

Kiong also has four tones;^[2] high, low, rising, and falling.