Rigwe language
# Rigwe language

The Rigwe language, Nkarigwe, is a Plateau language of Nigeria spoken by the Irigwe people mainly found in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Rigwe has highly complex phonology. The presence of the lateral fricative /ɬ/ in Rigwe, unusual among Plateau languages, suggests that there used to be West Chadic languages in the area with this phoneme.

## Phonology

Rigwe phonology:

Rigwe Consonants :

| | | Bilabial | Bilabial | Bilabial | Labiodental | Labiodental | Dental | Dental | Alveolar | Alveolar | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Palato-alveolar | (Alveolo-)Palatal | (Alveolo-)Palatal | (Alveolo-)Palatal | (Alveolo-)Palatal | Velar | Velar | Velar | Labial–velar/ Glottal | Labial–velar/ Glottal | Labial–velar/ Glottal |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | | plain | pl. | lb. | plain | pal. | plain | pl. | plain | pl. | lb. | plain | lb. | plain | pl. | lb. | glo. | plain | lb. | glo. | plain | pal | glo. |
| Nasal | voiced | m | mʲ | mʷ | ɱ | | | | n | | | | | ɲ, ɲː | | ɲʷ | | ŋ | ŋʷ, ŋʷʲ | | ŋ͡m | | |
| Stop | voiceless | p | pʲ | | | | | | t | | | | | c | cʲ | cʷ | ˀc | k | kʷ | ˀk | k͡p | | ˀkp |
| Stop | voiced | b, ˀb | bʲ | | | | | | d | | | | | ɟ | ɟʲ | ɟʷ | | ɡ | ɡʷ | ˀɡʷ | ɡ͡b | | ˀɡb |
| Fricative | voiceless | | | | f | fʲ | | | s, ˀs | | | ʃ | ʃʷ, ˀʃʷ | | | | | | | | h | hʲ | |
| Fricative | voiced | | | | v | vʲ | ð | ðʲ | z | | | ʒ | ʒʷ | | | | | | | | | | |
| Affricate | voiceless | ps | | | | | | | ts | tsʲ | | t̠ʃ | t̠ʃʷ | tɕ | tɕʷ | | | | | | | | |
| Affricate | voiced | | | | | | | | | | | d̠ʒ | d̠ʒʷ | | | | | | | | | | |
| Approximant | voiceless | | | | | | | | ɬ | | | | | | | j̊ʷ | | | | | w | | |
| Approximant | voiced | | | | | | | | l | | | | | j | | jʷ | ˀj | | | | ʍ | ʍʲ | ˀʍ, ˀʍʲ |
| Tap | Tap | | | | | | | | ɾ | ɾʲ | ɾʷ | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Trill | Trill | ʙ | | | | | | | r | rʲ | rʷ | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Rigwe Vowels :

| | Front | Front | Central | Central | Back | Back |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Oral | Nasal | Oral | Nasal | Oral | Nasal |
| Close | i | ĩ | | | u | ũ |
| Close-mid | e | ẽ | | | o | õ |
| Open | ɛ | ɛ̃ | a | ã | ɔ | ɔ̃ |

Rigwe Tones :

| | Toneme |
| - | - |
| High | ˦ |
| Mid | ˧ |
| Mid-low | ˨ |
| Low | ˩ |
