Jarawa language (Nigeria)
Jarawa is the most populous of the Jarawan languages of northern Nigeria. It is a dialect cluster consisting of many varieties.
Phonology
- /β/ only appears as a marginal phoneme.
- only appears in non-word-initial syllables.
- Sounds /n, t, l, r/ can be heard as palatal or retroflex in word-final position. /k/ can also be heard as uvular in the same position, and may also alternate with or .
- Sounds /k͡x, ɡ͡ɣ/ can be heard as fricatives or in intervocalic position.
| Front | Central | Back | |
| Close | |||
| Near-close | |||
| Mid | |||
| Open |
- Sounds /ɛ, ɔ/ only appear after glides.
Dialects
Kantana may be a distinct language.
Blench lists these varieties as dialects of Jar.
- Zhar
- Ligri
- Kantana
- Bobar
- Gwak
- Dõõri
- Mbat
- Mbat-Galamkya