Ngas language

Ngas, or Angas, is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Plateau State, Nigeria. The language has two dialects: Hill Angas and Plain Angas. Ngas is one of the major languages in Plateau State. The 1952 census puts it as the largest ethnic group in Plateau State. Retired General Yakubu Gowon is a prominent Nigerian who is of Ngas ethnicity.

Neighbouring languages

Bəlnəŋ is an A3 West Chadic language closely related to Angas. It is spoken by about 500 people in the single village of Langung, which is surrounded by Tal villages in the east and Miship villages in the west.

Speakers of Sur, a Plateau language, are surrounded by Ngas speakers, but Sur nevertheless continues to be a well-maintained language.

The Ngas language has also undergone extensive influence from Tarok.

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	Template:IPAlink Template:IPA link		Template:IPAlink Template:IPA link
Close-mid	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPA link Template:IPA link	Template:IPAlink
Open-mid	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link
Open		Template:IPAlink Template:IPA link

• Sounds /ɛ, ɔ/ are only heard as short equivalents of /eː, oː/, which are only heard as long.

Consonants

		Labial			Alveolar		Palato- alveolar		Palatal		Velar			Glottal
		plain	lab.	pal.	plain	lab.	plain	lab.	plain	lab.	plain	lab.	pal.
Nasal		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink			Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
Stop/ Affricate	voiceless	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink			Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink
	voiced	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink			Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	vd. prenasal	Template:IPAlink			Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink				Template:IPAlink
	vl. prenasal	Template:IPAlink					Template:IPAlink				Template:IPAlink
	implosive	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink						Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
Fricative	voiceless	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink						Template:IPAlink
	voiced	Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink		Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink			Template:IPAlink
	vl. prenasal						Template:IPAlink
	vd. prenasal						Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
Approximant		Template:IPAlink			Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink			Template:IPAlink
Trill	voiced				Template:IPAlink	Template:IPAlink
	prenasal				Template:IPAlink

Writing system

Ngas alphabetTemplate:Sfn

a

b

ɓ

c

d

ɗ

dy

e

ǝ

f

g

h

ḥ

i

j

k

l

m

n

ṇ

ny

o

p

r

s

sh

t

u

v

w

y

z

ẓ

ʼ

Further reading

• Donald A. Burquest. 1971. A Preliminary Study of Angas Phonology. Zaria: Institute of Linguistics.
• Donald A. Burquest. 1973. A Grammar of Angas. University of California at Los Angeles, PhD dissertation.

External links

• Litafin Addua: The Book of Common Prayer in the Angas Language (1921) digitized by Richard Mammana

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