UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA
DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND AFRICAN
LANGUAGES.
COURSE CODE : LIN 311
COURSE TITLE : DOCUMENTRY LINGUISTICS
PROJECT TITLE: PHONOLOGICAL PROCESS OF GADE LANGUAGE
NAMES MATRIC NO
1. FATAI AYOMIDE FAUZIYAT 21/202lin/268
2. TOLULOPE OLAIFA 21/202LIN/269
3. DANIEL MOSES DAMILARE 21/202LIN/270
4. OBIAJUNWA FAVOUR OBIOMA 21/202lin/271
5. OKORO GODWIN OYIMAFU 21/207BAF/272
6. ADEMUWAGUN AYOMIDE COMFORT 21/202LIN/272
7. ABDULSALAM ABDULRAHIM KEHINDE 21/202LIN/273.
8. STEPHEN ULIMUNYIE ADUNG 21/202LIN/274
9. NAFISAT OMOTARA BAKARE. 21/202LIN/276.
10. AJADI ALIMAT ADEOLA 21/202LIN/278
11. OLAJIDE OLUWABUSAYO PROMISE 21/202LIN/279
12. OKPANACHI TALATU FLOURISH 21/202lin/281
13. SHITTU TOLIAT ADEDAMOLA. 21/202LIN/282
CONTENT:
1. INTRODUCTION
2. ORIGIN OF GADE SPEAKER
3. HISTORICAL REFRENCE
4. SPEECH SOUND IN GEDE LANGUAGE
5. CONSTRASTIVE SPEECH SOUND
6. PHONOLOGICAL PROCESS
7. PHONEMIC ANALYSIS
8. FIELD RESEARCH REPORT
9. META DATA
10. CONCLUSION
GADE OR BABYE LANGUAGE
INTRODUCTION:
NAME OF TRIBE: Gade or Babye
LANGUAGE: Gade Language
LOCATION: F.C.T Abuja Municipal Area Council and Kuje LGA , Nasarawa
State at Nasarawa town, Toto LGA, and New Karshi in Karu LGA, Niger state,
and some part of Kaduna State, Abuja.
LANGUAGE FAMILY: Niger Congo
Atlantic- Congo
Volta-Niger
Noi
Nupoid
Ebira-Gade
Gade
Native Speakers: EST... 72,000 (2000) (The exact number of Gade speakers is
not widely documented, but estimates suggest there are tens of thousands of
speakers. The Gade language is predominantly spoken by the Gade ethnic group,
who are primarily farmers and traders.)
ORIGIN OF GADE PEOPLE
Gade belongs to Gadoid/Babyoid according to G.T Obadiah, 2023. Gade was a
coded military name of Gad. They are anciently called "Bàbyè" which means
"humanity" or a "generic love within a group". They are nicknamed as Gadites, or
simply the Bàbyè.
The word "Gade" originated from the distorted version of Ngade, which means 'I
said'. It was corrupted by the Hausa speakers who wanted to differentiate between
Gade and Mazugawe. Gade's people can be traced to a farming tribe called
Adakpu.
The Gade people, also known as Babye people, are one of the ethnic groups in
Nigeria. Gade's men are known for farming and hunting while women are known
for basket weaving and clothes making.
HISTORICALLY:
The Babye, popularly known as Gade people, can be traced back to their first
ancestors called Adakpu.
Adakpu migrated from the Congo-Niger Basin through Sudan to Kano area in
search of farmland, in the year 1068 AD. They settled in the Gadawur area, present
Jigawa State, with their leader Gakingakuma during the reign of Tsamiya, the then
Emir of Kano, till 1075 AD when Tsamiya was succeeded by Bagaudu. In the
course of their migration, they joined other Kwararafa lineage such as Jukuns,
Igala, Alago, Afo, Korn and Egburra.
When the Gade leader, Gakingakuma, died, it led to the mass exodus of the people
from Kano to the Doma area in the present Nasarawa State.
Gade is actually a corruption of the word Ngade meaning, "I said", a name adopted
because the Hausa people wanted to distinguish between Gade and Maguzawa.
Within themselves, they are known as Babye. The group can further be split into
the Gazargawa, Zadawa, Sheme, Gadawa and Tokarawa tribes.
Today, the Gade can be found majorly in the North Central region of Nigeria. In
the FCT, the Gade settlements include Yanga, Kurudu, Anguwa Gade
Gwagwalada, Anguwan Gade Dobi, Anguwan Gade Tungan Maje, and Anguwan
Gade Dabi and Sabo. REF. ADAOBI ONYEAKAGBU.
SPEECH SOUNDS IN GEDE LANGUAGE ARE AS FOLLOW :-
Alphabet :
ABCDEƎFGHIJKLMNŊOPRSTUVWYZ
Vowel Sounds:
1. Vowels:
- /i/ - [bi] meaning - tooth
- /ɪ/ - [bɪlɪ] meaning - goat
- /e/ - [dɛlɛ] meaning - house
- /ɛ/ - [fɛsɛ] meaning - fire
- /a/ - [kar] meaning - head
- /o/ - [do] meaning - rope
- /u/ - [kulu] meaning - dog
2. Consonants:
- /p/ - [pat] meaning - rock
- /b/ - [banome] meaning - they
- /t/ - [ita] meaning - three
- /d/ - [dudu] meaning - all
- /k/ - [kasa] meaning - to speak
- /g/ - [gunaki] meaning - bird
- /ɓ/ - [ɓaga] meaning - to run
- /ɗ/ - [ɗari] meaning - tree
- /tʃ/ - [tʃama] meaning - to eat
- /dʒ/ - [dʒara] meaning - market
- /f/ - [ifa] meaning - two
- /s/ - [suna] meaning - name
- /ʃ/ - [ʃanu] meaning - meat
- /h/ - [haɗa] meaning - work
- /m/ - [uma] meaning - mother
- /n/ - [ino] meaning - four
- /ɲ/ - [ɲawa] meaning road
- /ŋ/ - [ŋaji] meaning - to sleep
- /l/ - [lafiya] meaning - health
- /ɹ/ - [ɹana] meaning - sun
- /j/ - [jeka] meaning - some
- /w/ - [ubuwa] meaning – snake
CONSTRASTIVE SPEECH SOUNDS IN GADE LANGUAGE ARE AS
FOLLOWS:
1.) Voicing: Gade has contrastive voicing. For instance, the voiceless stops /p, t, k/
and the voiced stops /b, d, g/ are contrastive in Gade.
2.) Nasalization: Gade has contrastive nasalization. For instance, the vowels /a, i,
u/ can be nasalized in certain contexts, resulting in a contrastive nasal quality.
3.) Consonant Length: Gade has contrastive consonant length. For instance, the
consonants /l, r/ can be either short or long, resulting in a contrastive length
distinction.
4.) Place of Articulation: Gade has contrastive places of articulation. For instance,
the consonants /p, b/ are articulated at different places in the mouth, resulting in a
contrastive place of articulation distinction.
5.) Manner of Articulation: Gade has contrastive manners of articulation such as
stops, fricatives, and approximants. For instance, the consonants /p, f, l/ are
articulated in different manners, resulting in contrastive manners of articulation.
6.) Tones: Gade has three contrastive tones: high, low, and falling. For instance,
the words "tà" meaning "father," "tá" meaning "mouth," and "tâ" meaning "speak"
all have different tones, which results in contrastive meaning.
THE PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES INVOLVED IN GADE
LANGUAGE:
1.) Nasalization: Some vowels become nasalized when followed by a nasal
consonant.
Example:
- "kãna" (to look) - the vowel /a/ is nasalized due to the following nasal /n/.
2.) Tone Change: Tones can change based on the adjacent tones.
Example:
- High tone followed by high tone may become a rising tone: "bá bá" -> "bá̄ ".
3.) Coalescence: Gade has coalescence processes where two sounds merge into a
single sound. For instance, the word "jàáráá" meaning "hand" becomes "járá" in
certain contexts.
4.) Epenthesis: Gade has epenthesis processes where sounds are added to words.
For instance, the word "nàíbò" meaning "nothing" becomes "nàáibò" in certain
contexts.
5.) Assimilation: Gade has assimilation processes where sounds become more
similar to each other. For instance, the word "kìrìbì" meaning "to guard" becomes
"gìrìbì" when followed by a vowel.
6.) Elision: Gade has elision processes where sounds are omitted. For instance, the
word "kígààrì" meaning "large" becomes "gààrì" in certain contexts.
PHONEMIC ANALYSIS OF GADE LANGUAGE
1. Minimal pairs:
Minimal pairs are pairs of words that differ by only one phoneme, and that
difference changes the meaning of the words. Here are some examples in Gade:
- /kasa/ (to speak) vs. /kɛrɛ/ (to look)
- /baba/ (father) vs. /bɔbi/ (to write)
- /tatu/ (three) vs. /taɗa/ (to forgive)
2. Free variation:
Free variation occurs when two or more sounds can be used interchangeably in a
particular phonetic environment without changing the meaning of the word. In
Gade, an example might be the pronunciation of the sound /ɛ/ and /e/. For instance:
- /fɛsɛ/ (fire) might also be pronounced as [fese], with /e/ instead of /ɛ/, without
changing the meaning.
3. Complementary distribution:
Complementary distribution refers to the situation where two sounds never occur
in the same phonetic environment; instead, each sound occurs in different contexts.
In Gade, an example could be the sounds /ŋ/ and /ɲ/:
- /ŋ/ might occur before back vowels like in /ŋaji/ (to sleep), while /ɲ/ might
occur before front vowels like in /ɲawa/ (road).
4. Analogous environment:
Analogous environments involve similar linguistic contexts where certain
phonetic processes or allophonic variations occur. In Gade, this might be seen in
the allophonic variation of the voiced alveolar approximant /ɹ/:
- In words like "ɹana" (sun) and "bɛɹɛ" (to fall), the sound /ɹ/ is pronounced
similarly in analogous phonetic environments, despite the specific phonetic
context.
FIELD RESEARCH REPORT
INTRODUCTION :
THEME: ORIGIN OF GADE PEOPLE AND WORD LIST
LOCATION: THE EMIR’S PALACE, AUGADANGEDE, KUJE, ABUJA.
( THE TOWN OF GADE’S PEOPLE AT KUJE, ABUJA.)
INFORMANT: MALLAM USMAN MUHAMMAD BAKO.
RESEARCHERS: TOLIAT SHITTU AND TOLULOPE OLAIFA
REPORT:
On April 23, 2024, myself Toliat Shittu and, Tolulope Olaifa, set out on a mission
to represent our group by gathering data on the fundamental vocabulary of the
Gade language using a Swedish wordlist. Our informant, Mallam Usman
Muhammad Bako, welcomed us warmly and expressed gratitude for our visit. He
provided us with a brief overview of the history of the Gade people and mentioned
that efforts are underway to develop the language, with sponsored documentation
aimed at ensuring accurate spelling, grammar, and a comprehensive linguistic
record.
According to Mallam Usman Muhammad Bello; The Origin of Gade-speaking
people dated back to the earliest speakers that gather in a place called Gadawur
which is now located in the modern state in Jigawa state today Presently.
The leader of Gade nation. The leader is called GAKUNGAKIMA that was during
the reign of TSamia the emir of Kano. When Badoda came to rule kano in 1075. It
make it a number of trader and tribes including Gadawa.
The Gadawa is now knows as Gade. The leader GAKUNGAKIMA was one of the
major factor that lead to the mass exador of gade from kano. The name Gade was a
conception of the word Ngade means "I seige" the hausa adopted the name to
differentiate between gade and maguzawa.
The Gade people called themselves Babe and the dialect is rebe or mabe..
The movement of diffrent tribes such as jukuns, alagos , igala, koro and Ebira,
brought gede people to doma at the present Nassarawa state today.
WORD LIST :
Here is the comparison between Swedish word list and Gade language to examine
their fundamental vocabulary.
1.) I - Naamu - /naːmu/
2.) You - Yen - /jɛn/
3.) No word provided
4.) We - Neii - /neiː/
5.) You - Baanomehe - /baːnomehe/
6.) They - Baanome - /baːnome/
7.) This - Inbieme - /inbiɛme/
8.) That - Ibieye - /i.bi.jɛ/
9.) Here Indanneme - /indannɛme/
10.) There - Nabaa - /nabaː/
11.) Who - Ngo - /ŋɔ/
12.) What - Ngeete - /ŋeː.tɛ/
13.) Where - Fununu - /fununu/
14.) When - Etekino - /ɛtɛkino/
15.) How - Oyiiguna - /ɔjiːguna/
16.) Not - Ayira - /ajira/
17.) All - Dudu Kere - /dudu kɛrɛ/
18.) Many - Baagenge - /baː.gɛŋ.gɛ/
19.) Some - Yedika - /jɛdika/
20.) Few - Kwe - /kwɛ/
21.) Other - Eedika - /ɛdika/
22.) One - Ode or Inde - /odei ɔː inde/
23.) Two - Iba - /iba/
24.) Three - Ita - /ita/
25.) Four - Ino - /ino/
26.) Five - Ito - /ito/
27.) Big - Nopopo - /nopopo/
28.) Long - Jerpa - /jɛrpa/
29.) Wide - Oyaa - /ɔjaː/
30.) Thick - Otun - /ɔtun/
31.) Heavy - Hurenu - /hurɛnu/
32.) Small - Chukuli - /tʃukuli/
33.) Short - Ekira - /ɛkira/
34.) Narrow - Obugigi - /ɔbugigi/
35.) Thin - Chukuli - /tʃukuli/
36.) Woman - Neneni - /nɛnɛni/
37.) Man (Adult) - Ruroni - /ruroni/
38.) Man (Human) - Oyiapo - /ɔ.ja.po/
39.) Child - Inbikiki - /inbikiki/
40.) Wife - Yine - /jinɛ/
41.) Husband - Roro - /roro/
42.) Mother - Nma - /nma/
43.) Father - Ada - /ada/
44.) Animal - Feekano - /fɛːkano/
45.) Fish - Rugbetu - /rugbetu/
46.) Bird - Naaki - /naːki/
47.) Dog - Gebichi - /gɛbitʃi/
48.) Louse - Foko - /foko/
49.) Snake - Gwa - /gwa/
50.) Worm - Kuru - /kuru/
META DATA
1. Linguistic Analysis Texts:
- "Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology" by John Clark, Colin Yallop, and
Janet Fletcher.
- "An Introduction to Language" by Victoria Fromkin, Robert Rodman, and Nina
Hyams.
- "Phonology: Analysis and Theory" by Edmund Gussmann.
2. Gade Language Resources:
- Academic journals and articles in linguistics may occasionally feature studies
or analyses of lesser-known languages, including those spoken in Nigeria.
-This include linguistic studies or articles that mention Gade as part of broader
research on Nigerian languages or language families.
3. Online Resources:
- Online databases or linguistic archives may have recordings or documentation
of Gade language samples, which can provide valuable insights into its phonetics
and phonology. Includes Google, Wikipedia and AI database.
4. Field Research Report:
- Gade wordlist Data from the language competent speaker.
Location, The Emir’s Palace, Augadangede, Kuje, Abuja.
Informant; MALLAM USMAN MUHAMMAD BAKO.
(he informed to have worked in an education department but was later transferred
to the post of the palace secretary.)
Conclusion:
The Gade language, spoken in the FCT (Abuja) and other regions of Nigeria, is a
tonal language with a variety of consonant and vowel sounds. It has phonological
processes like nasalization and tone change that add complexity to its
pronunciation. Understanding these aspects is crucial for a comprehensive
contrastive analysis and phonological study of the language.
The modern Gade alphabet is made up of 45 letters, which includes only a 24 -
letter set of ISO basic latin alphabets minus Q, and X, which are not part of Ịsịpọ
of Rìbyẹ̀ (The 45 letter are called Ịsịpọ while the letter is called Gạsịpọ. The
Alphabet uses the dot above on the letter Ṅ, and the dot below Ạ, Ẹ, Ị, Ọ and
Ụ)".GT Obadiah, Gade Lexis and Structure, 2023[2]
The Gade Tonal Marks were released in 2023 following the guidelines of
2009/2012 by Lìbyè Language Development Team held at GSS Nasarawa,
Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The Gade-English Dictionary and Gade Phonetics are
scheduled to be released by 2024 respectively. All written and authored by GT
Obadiah.
