Psikyɛ dialect explained

Psikye
States:Cameroon, Nigeria
Region:Far North Province, Adamawa State
Ethnicity:Kapsiki
Speakers:52,500
Date:1982–1992
Ref:e21
Familycolor:Afro-Asiatic
Fam2:Chadic
Fam3:Biu–Mandara
Fam4:Bura–Higi
Fam5:Higi (A.3)
Fam6:Kamwe
Iso3:kvj
Glotto:psik1239
Glottorefname:Psikye
People:Kapsiki
Language:Margi

Psikye (Psikya, Kapsiki) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in northern Cameroon and eastern Nigeria. Varieties include Psikyɛ and Zləngə. Blench (2006) classifies it as a dialect of Kamwe.[1]

Names

In Cameroon, Psikya speakers use the name Margi to refer to their own language and its three varieties. The prefix ka-, in Kapsiki 'people', marks the plural ethnonym. It is called Higi in Nigeria.[2]

Dialects

Psikyá covers the entire southwestern part of the arrondissement of Mokolo and Mogodé (department of Mayo-Tsanaga, Far North Region, Cameroon) along the Nigerian border, in the settlements of Roumzou, Mogode, and Roumsiki. The Sara people refer to them as Kamu.[2]

Zléŋé and Wula are spoken in only two neighborhoods in the border village of Oula in Cameroon.[2]

Writing system

A Psikyɛ spelling was developed by the Biblical Alliance of Cameroon and is used in the translation of the Bible into Psikyɛ, Ghena ta Shala, published in 1988. This uses several additional letters including in particular .

Notes

Notes and References

  1. Blench, 2006. The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List (ms)
  2. Book: Binam Bikoi. Charles. 2012. Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM). Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon. 1: Inventaire des langues. fr. Yaoundé. CERDOTOLA. Atlas linguistique de l'Afrique centrale (ALAC). 9789956796069.