Dikaka language

This article is about the Nigerian language. For other uses, see Mona language (disambiguation).

Dikaka or Cham, is one of the Savanna languages of Middle Belt, Nigeria. It is also known as Dijim–Bwilim, after its two dialects, Dijim and Bwilim. A tonal language, it has a whistled register. It is spoken in Gombe and southwestern parts of Adamawa State of Nigeria.

Dikaka
Cham
Dijim-Bwilim
Native to	Gombe State of Nigeria
Ethnicity	Dijim people
Native speakers	(25,000 cited 1998)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Waja–Kam Waja Cham–Mona Dikaka
Early forms	Dikaka Dijim
Dialects	Dijim (Cham, Cam) Bwilim (Mwana, Mona)
Writing system	Latin (Dijim alphabets)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	cfa
Glottolog	diji1241

Dialects

The two dialects are Dijim and Bwilim.^[2]

• Dijim [dijím], spoken in and around Kindiyo (currently Cham town)
• Bwilim [bwilím], spoken in and around Mɔna (Mwona, Mwana)

Another related dialect is spoken by former speakers of the Jalaa language in and around Loojaa settlement.

Phonology

It consists of 8 vowels and 17 consonants.

The vowels are: a, e, i, o, u, ǝ, ɨ, ʊ

The consonants are: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, w, y