Duli (Gewe, Gueve, Gey) is an extinct Adamawa language of northern Cameroon.
| Duli | |
|---|---|
| Duli-Gewe | |
| Region | northern Cameroon |
| Extinct | Latter half of the 20th century[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | duz |
| Glottolog | duli1241 |
Blench (2004) links Duli to the extinct Gey (Gewe) language; Glottolog states that Gey is undemonstrated as a distinct language.[2] Duli and Gewe (Gey) were closely related language varieties, and were probably dialects of the same language according to Kleinewillinghöfer (2015). They were spoken around the confluence of the Benue and Mayo-Kebbi Rivers, and are documented by a word list in Strümpell (1922/23).[3]
Although Boyd (1989:184)[4] had classified Duli as one of the Duru languages, Kleinewillinghöfer finds no evidence of it being a Duru language and treats it as a separate group within the Adamawa–Gur continuum.[5]
Distribution edit
Today, the Gey, who number about a 1,000 people in the east of Pitoa (Pitoa commune, Bénoué department, North Region), according to the ORSTOM population map of 1964. SIL (1982) estimates the ethnic population as 1,900. The Gey now recognize the Lamido of Tchéboa as their ruler, and they currently speak only Fulfulde.[6]
Duli is spoken near Pitoa (Pitoa commune) and Garoua (Bénoué department, North Region). Eldridge Mohammadou also notes that only a few Duli words had been collected. As a result, the language is essentially undocumented.[6]
References edit
- ^ Duli at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Gey". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ^ Strümpell, F. 1922/23. 'Wörterverzeichnis der Heidensprachen des Mandaragebirges', Zeitschrift für Eingeborenensprachen 13: 47-75, 109-149.
- ^ Boyd, Raymond. 1989. Adamawa-Ubangi. - in: Bendor-Samuel, John. (ed.) The Niger-Congo languages. Lanham - New York - London: Summer Institute of Linguistics; 178-215.
- ^ Kleinewillinghöfer, Ulrich. 2015. Duli – Gewe (Gueve, Gey). Adamawa Languages Project.
- ^ a b Binam Bikoi, Charles, ed. (2012). Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) [Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon]. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC) (in French). Vol. 1: Inventaire des langues. Yaoundé: CERDOTOLA. ISBN 9789956796069.
- Roger Blench, 2004. List of Adamawa languages (ms)