The Basa
languages
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The Basa languages are spoken in a wide swathe of Central Nigeria. Apart from the Hausa and Fulɓe, the Basa people may be
the single most widespread group in the whole of Nigeria. The history of their
dispersal remains to be written, but it is clear that heir movement into the Benue Valley
is relatively recent and may be a response to early nineteenth century
slave-raiding. However, none of these scattered groups have any knowledge of
the existence of the others, and no oral traditions relating to these migrations
have yet been recorded. A curious paradox of this expansion is that it is only
the outlying groups who have retained Basa language and culture. In what is
presumably the heartland, backing on Kambari country, the Basa have virtually
completely lost their language, and now speak only Hausa. Most Basa communities
are known as ‘Basawa’ but in some places Basa refuse to answer to this name
today.
The Basa languages should
probably should be treated as a language cluster. Following this research,
there are probably seven groups as follows;
Basa-Kontagora
Basa-Gumna
Kɔrɔmba (formerly Basa-Gurmana)
Basa-Gurara
Basa-Kwali
Basa-Benue (formerly
Bassa-Kwomu)
Basa-Makurdi
A new version of the Basa-Benue dictionary can be
downloaded here
Figure
1 shows the likely subgrouping of
the Basa languages;
Figure 1. The Basa languages
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