Alumu is a Plateau language spoken by approximately 7,000 people in Nassarawa State, Nigeria. It has lost the nominal affix system characteristic of the Niger–Congo family.

Quick Facts Native to, Region ...
Alumu-Tesu
Native toNigeria
RegionNassarawa State
Native speakers
(7,000 cited 1999)[1]
Dialects
  • Alumu
  • Tesu
Language codes
ISO 639-3aab
Glottologalum1246
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Dialects

Two varieties, Alumu and Tesu, differ only in intonation.[1] Information for Alumu and Tesu is listed from Blench (2004).[2]

Alumu (or Arum), with 4,000 speakers, is spoken in the settlements of Arum-Kado (main settlement), Arum-Tsabo, Arum-Sarki, Arum-Tumara, Arum-Chugbu, Arum-Kurmi (Gbira), and Arum-Chine.

Tesu (Təsu) (Hausa: Chessu[3]), with just under 2,000 speakers, is spoken in the two villages of Chessu Sarki and Chessu Madaki, which are about one kilometre apart from each other on the Wamba - Fadan Karshi road.

Akpondu is also closely related (also Babur, Nisam and Nigbo) but moribund or extinct, and its classification as a separate language or as a shifting dialect or sociological group of related dialects is not clear.[4]

Phonology

More information Labial, Alveolar ...
Consonant phonemes[5]
  Labial Alveolar Palatal Labialized
palatal
Velar Labialized
velar
Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive p b t d k ɡ kp ɡb
Implosive ɓ ɗ
Fricative f v s z ʃ ʒ x h
Approximant l j ɥ w
Tap ɾ
Trill r
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More information Front, Central ...
Vowel phonemes[6]
  Front Central Back
Close i u
Near-Close ɪ ʊ
Close-Mid e o
Open-Mid ɛ ə ɔ
Open a
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It is unclear whether or not vowel nasality is phonemic in Alumu.[7]

References

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