Tso language

Tso
nyi tsó
Native toeastern Nigeria
Native speakers
(16,000 cited 1992)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3ldp
Glottologtsoo1241
Tsó
Peopletsó-bó
Languagenyi tsó

Tso (Tsóbó, Lotsu, Cibbo) is one of the Savanna languages of eastern Nigeria.

Dialects

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The language is known as nyi tsó, while the people are known as Tsobo [tsó-bó]. The ethnic subgroups are,[2]

  • Bərbou
  • Swaabou
  • Gusobu

A subsection of the Gusobu may also live in Luzoo settlement.

Each ethnic subgroup speaks a different Tso dialect. The Swaabou and Gusobu reportedly have trouble understanding each other. Tso lexical diversity is partly due to the tradition of word tabooing.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Tso at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b Kleinewillinghöfer, Ulrich. 2014. The languages of the Tula – Waja Group. Adamawa Languages Project.