Bacama language

Bacama
Native to Nigeria
Region Adamawa State, Kaduna State
Native speakers
(150,000 cited 1992)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 bcy
Glottolog baca1246[2]

Bacama (Bachama) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Nigeria in Adamawa State, principally in the Numan and Guyuk Local Government Areas, and in Kaduna State northeast of Kaduna town. Dialects are Mulyen, Opalo, and Wa-Duku. Bacama is used as a trade language.[1] It is often considered the same language as Bata.

Numerals

Bacama has a decimal/quinary number system, with both 5 and 10 as bases:[3]

12345678910
hidokpemwakinfwottuftukoltakatukolukpefwofwotdombi hidobau

8 is 4-4, 6 and 7 are based on adding to 5, and 9 means '(10) less 1'.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Bacama at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Bacama". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. Matsushita, 'Decimal vs. Duodecimal'


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