Tiv
Niger-Congo
Tiv is the principal language of the Tiv ethnic group, the largest non-Hausa-Fulani population of central Nigeria, with ~5 million speakers concentrated in Benue State around Gboko and Makurdi. Linguistically, Tiv belongs to the Tivoid subgroup of Bantoid (sister branch to the Bantu languages), but most other Tivoid languages are in Cameroon, making Tiv geographically isolated within its subgroup. Tiv has classical Niger-Congo features: noun-class system (~10 classes), tonal (3 tones with downstep), and SVO constituent order. The Abraham 1940 Tiv-English Dictionary remains a foundational reference. Tiv has a strong literary tradition since the 1930s, with major works including the Tiv New Testament (1936) and the Tiv-language newspaper "Tion".
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Tiv
Water
mngerem
/mŋɡɛɾɛm/
Fire
usu
/usu/
Sun
iyange
/ijaŋɡe/
Moon
uwer
/uwɛɾ/
Mother
ngo
/ŋɡo/
Father
ter
/tɛɾ/
Eat
yan
/jan/
Drink
mba
/mba/
Love
dooshima
/doːʃima/
Heart
ishima
/iʃima/
Tree
kon
/kon/
House
ya
/ja/
Dog
iyou
/ijou/
Cat
anyam
/aɲam/
Hand
ave
/ave/
Eye
ishe
/iʃe/
Hello
m sugh
/m suɣ/
Thank you
m sugh u
/m suɣ u/
One
mom
/mom/
Good
dedoo
/dedoː/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo languages
| Meaning | Tiv | Kimbundu | Kikongo | Talysh | Vietnamese (Chữ Nôm) | Beja | Aymara |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mngerem /mŋɡɛɾɛm/ | menha /meɲa/ | maza /maza/ | ov /ov/ | 渃 /nɨək/ | yam /jam/ | uma /uma/ |
| Fire | usu /usu/ | tubia /tubja/ | tiya /tija/ | tasə /tasə/ | 𤏬 /lɨə/ | neʼaat /neʔaːt/ | nina /nina/ |
| Sun | iyange /ijaŋɡe/ | muanya /mwaɲa/ | ntangu /ntaŋɡu/ | rüj /ɾyʒ/ | 𩈘𡗶 /mət tɤj/ | yint /jint/ | inti /inti/ |
| Moon | uwer /uwɛɾ/ | ngonde /ŋɡonde/ | ngonda /ŋɡonda/ | ümüj /ymyʒ/ | 𩈘𢁑 /mət taŋ/ | tirig /tiɾiɡ/ | phaxsi /pʰaχsi/ |
| Mother | ngo /ŋɡo/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | muə /muə/ | 𡞕 /mɛ/ | indee /iːndeː/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | ter /tɛɾ/ | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ | pıə /pɯə/ | 𤙗 /ɓo/ | baab /baːb/ | tata /tata/ |
| Eat | yan /jan/ | kudya /kudja/ | ku dia /ku dja/ | hardə /haɾdə/ | 𫗒 /an/ | tame /tame/ | manqʼaña /manqʼaɲa/ |
| Drink | mba /mba/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | ku nua /ku nua/ | peşomə /peʃomə/ | 㕵 /uəŋ/ | gwaʼa /ɡʷaʕa/ | umaña /umaɲa/ |
| Love | dooshima /doːʃima/ | henda /henda/ | zola /zola/ | hışt /hɯʃt/ | 𢞅 /iəw/ | kima /kima/ | munasiña /munasiɲa/ |
| Heart | ishima /iʃima/ | muxima /muʃima/ | ntima /ntima/ | zırə /zɯɾə/ | 𢣐𢞂 /t͡ɕaj tim/ | ginʼa /ɡinʕa/ | chuyma /tʃujma/ |
| Tree | kon /kon/ | mukune /mukune/ | nti /nti/ | dor /doɾ/ | 𣘃 /kəj/ | hindeb /hindeb/ | quqa /quqa/ |
| House | ya /ja/ | inzo /inzo/ | nzo /nzo/ | ka /ka/ | 茹 /ɲaː/ | gaw /ɡaw/ | uta /uta/ |
| Dog | iyou /ijou/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | səg /səɡ/ | 𤝞 /t͡ɕɔ/ | yas /jas/ | anu /anu/ |
| Cat | anyam /aɲam/ | kasalu /kasalu/ | nyau /ɲau/ | pışi /pɯʃi/ | 猫 /mɛw/ | kabsoot /kabsoːt/ | phisi /pʰisi/ |
| Hand | ave /ave/ | lukwaku /lukwaku/ | koko /koko/ | dast /dast/ | 𡬶 /taj/ | ay /aj/ | ampara /ampaɾa/ |
| Eye | ishe /iʃe/ | dixi /diʃi/ | disu /disu/ | çəş /tʃəʃ/ | 𥄫 /mak/ | liili /liːli/ | nayra /najɾa/ |
| Hello | m sugh /m suɣ/ | kiebi /kiebi/ | mboté /mbote/ | xəyrli ruj /xəjɾli ɾuʒ/ | 吀嘲 /sin t͡ɕaːw/ | salaam /salaːm/ | kamisaki /kamisaki/ |
| Thank you | m sugh u /m suɣ u/ | kishukutu /kiʃukutu/ | matondo /matondo/ | minnətdar /minnətdaɾ/ | 感恩 /kaːm əːn/ | baraʼoo /baɾaʕoː/ | yuspagara /juspaɣaɾa/ |
| One | mom /mom/ | -moxi /moʃi/ | mosi /mosi/ | i /i/ | 𠬠 /mot/ | gaal /ɡaːl/ | maya /maja/ |
| Good | dedoo /dedoː/ | kiá /kja/ | mbote /mbote/ | çoki /tʃoki/ | 卒 /tot/ | dabaab /dabaːb/ | suma /suma/ |
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