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
31 core words in Tiv
Water
mngerem
/mŋɡɛɾɛm/
Fire
usu
/usu/
Sun
iyange
/ijaŋɡe/
Moon
uwer
/uwɛɾ/
Star
ishan
/iˈʃan/
Mother
ngo
/ŋɡo/
Father
ter
/tɛɾ/
I
mo
/mɔ/
You
we
/we/
Name
iti
/iˈti/
Eye
ishe
/iʃe/
Hand
ave
/ave/
Heart
ishima
/iʃima/
Love
dooshima
/doːʃima/
Tree
kon
/kon/
House
ya
/ja/
Dog
iyou
/ijou/
Cat
anyam
/aɲam/
Eat
yan
/jan/
Drink
mba
/mba/
One
mom
/mom/
Two
uhar
/uˈhar/
Hello
m sugh
/m suɣ/
Thank you
m sugh u
/m suɣ u/
Good
dedoo
/dedoː/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo languages
| Meaning | Tiv | Kimbundu | Kikongo | Luba-Kasai | Aymara | Zulu | Lunda |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mngerem /mŋɡɛɾɛm/ | menha /meɲa/ | maza /maza/ | mâyi /maːji/ | uma /uma/ | amanzi /amanzi/ | meji /medʒi/ |
| Fire | usu /usu/ | tubia /tubja/ | tiya /tija/ | kapia /kapia/ | nina /nina/ | umlilo /umlilo/ | kesi /kesi/ |
| Sun | iyange /ijaŋɡe/ | muanya /mwaɲa/ | ntangu /ntaŋɡu/ | dîba /diːba/ | inti /inti/ | ilanga /ilaŋɡa/ | itaŋwa /itaŋwa/ |
| Moon | uwer /uwɛɾ/ | ngonde /ŋɡonde/ | ngonda /ŋɡonda/ | ngondo /ŋɡondo/ | phaxsi /pʰaχsi/ | inyanga /iɲaŋɡa/ | kakweji /kakwedʒi/ |
| Star | ishan /iˈʃan/ | tetembwa /teˈtembwa/ | mbwetete /mbwetete/ | mutoto /mutoto/ | warawara /waɾawaɾa/ | inkanyezi /iŋkaˈɲeːzi/ | katumbwa /katumbwa/ |
| Mother | ngo /ŋɡo/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mâmu /maːmu/ | mama /mama/ | umama /umama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | ter /tɛɾ/ | tata /tata/ | tata /tata/ | tâtu /taːtu/ | tata /tata/ | ubaba /uɓaɓa/ | tata /tata/ |
| I | mo /mɔ/ | eme /eme/ | mono /mono/ | meme /meme/ | naya /naja/ | mina /ˈmiːna/ | ami /ami/ |
| You | we /we/ | eie /eje/ | ngeye /ŋɡeje/ | wewe /wewe/ | juma /huma/ | wena /ˈweːna/ | eyi /eji/ |
| Name | iti /iˈti/ | dijina /diˈʒina/ | nkumbu /nkumbu/ | dîna /diːna/ | suti /suti/ | igama /iˈɡaːma/ | ijina /idʒina/ |
| Eye | ishe /iʃe/ | dixi /diʃi/ | disu /disu/ | dîsu /diːsu/ | nayra /najɾa/ | iso /iso/ | disu /disu/ |
| Hand | ave /ave/ | lukwaku /lukwaku/ | koko /koko/ | tshianza /tʃianza/ | ampara /ampaɾa/ | isandla /isandɮa/ | chikasa /tʃikasa/ |
| Heart | ishima /iʃima/ | muxima /muʃima/ | ntima /ntima/ | mucima /mutʃima/ | chuyma /tʃujma/ | inhliziyo /inɬizijo/ | muchima /mutʃima/ |
| Love | dooshima /doːʃima/ | henda /henda/ | zola /zola/ | dinanga /dinaŋɡa/ | munasiña /munasiɲa/ | uthando /utʰando/ | kukeŋa /kukeŋa/ |
| Tree | kon /kon/ | mukune /mukune/ | nti /nti/ | mutshi /mutʃi/ | quqa /quqa/ | isihlahla /isiɬaɬa/ | mutondu /mutondu/ |
| House | ya /ja/ | inzo /inzo/ | nzo /nzo/ | nzubu /nzubu/ | uta /uta/ | indlu /indɮu/ | itala /itala/ |
| Dog | iyou /ijou/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | anu /anu/ | inja /indʒa/ | kawa /kawa/ |
| Cat | anyam /aɲam/ | kasalu /kasalu/ | nyau /ɲau/ | nyao /ɲao/ | phisi /pʰisi/ | ikati /ikati/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | yan /jan/ | kudya /kudja/ | ku dia /ku dja/ | kudia /kudia/ | manqʼaña /manqʼaɲa/ | ukudla /ukuɮa/ | kudya /kudja/ |
| Drink | mba /mba/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | ku nua /ku nwa/ | kunua /kunua/ | umaña /umaɲa/ | ukuphuza /ukupʰuza/ | kunwa /kunwa/ |
| One | mom /mom/ | -moxi /moʃi/ | mosi /mosi/ | umue /umue/ | maya /maja/ | kunye /kuɲe/ | wumu /wumu/ |
| Two | uhar /uˈhar/ | -iadi /jaːdi/ | zole /zole/ | bibidi /bibidi/ | paya /paja/ | kubili /kuˈɓili/ | ayedi /ajedi/ |
| Hello | m sugh /m suɣ/ | kiebi /kiebi/ | mboté /mbote/ | moyo /mojo/ | kamisaki /kamisaki/ | sawubona /sawuɓona/ | mwani /mwani/ |
| Thank you | m sugh u /m suɣ u/ | kishukutu /kiʃukutu/ | matondo /matondo/ | tuasakidila /tuasakidila/ | yuspagara /juspaɣaɾa/ | ngiyabonga /ŋɡijaɓoŋɡa/ | nasakalili /nasakalili/ |
| Good | dedoo /dedoː/ | kiá /kja/ | mbote /mbote/ | bimpe /bimpe/ | suma /suma/ | kuhle /kuɬe/ | chachiwahi /tʃatʃiwahi/ |
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