| Kainji | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: |
Kainji Lake, Nigeria |
| Linguistic classification: | Niger–Congo
|
| Subdivisions: |
East
West
|
The sixty or so Kainji languages are spoken by about 900 000 people in Nigeria. Four of the largest are Tsuvadi (150 000), Cishingini and Tsishingini (100 000 each)—all from the Kambari branch; and Clela (= C'lela, Lela) (100 000), of the Duka branch.
The primary division of the family is into eastern and western clades. The eastern branch has not been well reconstructed. According to Ethnologue (2009),[1] the constituent branches are:
| East Kainji |
|
|||||||||||||||
At the time of the British conquest, several of these languages were in the process of shifting from duodecimal to decimal systems. These include Janji (Jera), Kahugu and Gure (Gbiri–Niragu, Kauru), and Piti.[1]
The western clade has been better researched. Both it and its subbranches have been partially reconstructed. The structure of the family (Blench 1988, reproduced in Heine & Nurse 2000) is as follows; the named branches have reconstructions:
| West Kainji |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* This branch (less a couple of the Pongu languages) is traditionally called Kamuku, but was not reconstructed by Blench.