Tarok language

Tarok
Yergam
Native toNigeria
RegionPlateau State, Taraba State
EthnicityTarok
Native speakers
(300,000 cited 1998)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3yer
Glottologtaro1263

Tarok is a regionally important Plateau language in the Langtang area of southeast Plateau State, Nigeria, where it serves as a local lingua franca. Blench (2004) estimates around 150,000 speakers.[2]

Names for other languages

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As the local lingua franca, the Tarok feature prominently in the local ethnic composition of southeast Plateau State. Many Tarok clans can also trace their ancestries back to Chadic-speaking peoples, pointing to a long history of Chadic peoples assimilating into Tarok society. Some Tarok names for neighbouring languages according to Longtau (2004):[3]

Language Classification Tarok name
Ngas West Chadic A.3 Dúk
Boghom West Chadic B.3 Burom
Duguri Jarawan Duguri
Goemai West Chadic A.3 Lar
Jukun-Wase Jukunoid Jor
Kanam West Chadic B.3 ? (not known by Tarok)
Kantana Jarawan Kantana
Tel West Chadic A.3 Dwal
Pe Tarokoid Pe
Tal West Chadic A.3 Tal
Sur Tarokoid (not known by Tarok)
Yangkam Tarokoid Yangkam
Yiwom West Chadic A.3 Zhan
Zaar West Chadic B.3 Zhim

Writing system

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Tarok alphabet
a b ɓ c d ɗ e ǝ f gb
gh i j k kp l m n ny ŋ o
p r s sh t u v w y z zh

References

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  1. ^ Tarok at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Blench, Roger. 2004. Tarok and related languages of east-central Nigeria.
  3. ^ Longtau, Selbut (25–26 March 2004). Some Historical Inferences from Lexical Borrowings and Traditions of Origins in the Tarokoid/Chadic Interface. International Symposium on Endangered Languages in Contact: Nigeria’s Plateau Languages. Hamburg: Asien-Afrika-Institut, Universität Hamburg.