Pongu language

Pongu (Pangu), or Rin, is a Kainji language spoken in Nigeria. There are about 20,000 speakers. Their main centre is in Pangu Gari town of Niger State, about 20 kilometres southeast of Tegina.^[2]

Pongu
Rin
Tə-rĩ
Native to	Nigeria
Region	Niger State
Native speakers	30,000 (2003)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Kainji Shiroro Gurmana–Rin Pongu
Dialects	Rin Wəgə
Language codes
ISO 639-3	png
Glottolog	pong1250
ELP	Pongu

Pongu (Rin)
Person	Bwə-rĩ
People	A-rĩ
Language	Tə-rĩ

Clans

There are 8 Rin clans. They speak slightly different but mutually comprehensible dialects.^[2]

• Ca-su
• Ca-undu
• A-sebi
• Ca-gere = Ca-majere
• A-baba = U-bwɔbwɔ
• A-wusi = A-kwa
• A-zhiga
• A-waga = Awәgә

The Awәgә may have been a different ethnic group that was assimilated into the Rin group. Awәgә was a distinct language related to Rin, and used to be spoken in some villages to the east of Zungeru. However, today it is nearly extinct. Blench (2012) was able to record a semi-speaker in Dikko village, near Luwa town, Rafi LGA. Two fluent speakers were reported in Gidan Gambo, near Pongu Gari.^[2]

Bibliography

• Dettweiler, Stephen and Sonia Dettweiler (2002) 'Sociolinguistic survey of the Pongu people', SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2002-040

References

1. Pongu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Blench, Roger (2012). "The Kainji languages of northwestern and central Nigeria" (PDF). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.

Further reading

• Sociolinguistic survey of the Pongu people