Goemai language

PUR:purpose

SG:singular

DEF:definite

ADVZ:adverbializer

S:subject (intransitive and transitive) pronoun

IDEOPH:ideophone

O:object pronoun

CONS:consequence clause

PAST.REM:remote past

DIM:diminutive

GEN:genitive

INSIDE:inside

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Goemai (also Ankwe) is an Afro-Asiatic (Chadic, West Chadic A) language spoken in the Great Muri Plains region of Plateau State in central Nigeria, between the Jos Plateau and Benue River. Goemai is also the name of the ethnic group of speakers of the Goemai language. The name 'Ankwe' has been used to refer to the people, especially in older literature and to outsiders. As of 2020, it is estimated that there are around 380,000 Goemai speakers.

Classification

Genetically, Goemai has been consistently classified as a member of the Afro-Asiatic language family in the West Chadic A language sub-family. There have been attempts to apply more specific genetic classifications to Goemai beyond its membership in the West Chadic A language family, but these attempts have not reached a consensus. Hellwig posits that Goemai is further included in the Angas-Gerka, Angas-Goemai, and Southern Angas-Goemai subfamilies,

Phonology

Vowels

Goemai has eleven vowel phonemes which can be grouped by length; four short vowels and seven long vowels. Orthographically, long vowels are represented by doubling the vowel symbol.