| Damakawa | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Kebbi State |
| Ethnicity | 500–1,000 (2008)[1] |
| Extinct | 20th century[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | dam |
| Glottolog | dama1268 |
| ELP | Damakawa |
Damakawa is amoribundBenue–Congo language of northwestNigeria. The language has become extinct, there are no longer any speakers of the language, although the oldest people can remember a few words. Approximately 80 or so words and phrases were collected, with difficulty, in April 2008 (the language seems to have been unknown to linguists until then).[2]
The Damakawa have shifted to the nearby larger languageC'Lela, and it is likely that all, or almost all of them, also speak thelingua francaHausa. The Hausa name for the ethnic group is alsoDamakawa.[citation needed]
Based on such a small amount of data of uncertain reliability, it is hard to classify Damakawa precisely. It is probably best placed in theNorthwest Kainji branch ofBenue–Congo. The words that have been collected show similarities with bothC'Lela andKambari languages, and it may be that the Kambari words are loans or mis-rememberings.
The nearbyCicipu speakers call the Damakawa language 'Tidama'un'. In the trade languageHausa the expected name for the language would be Damakanci, given the people are called Damakawa. However Damakawa seems to be preferred by the Damakawa themselves, as far as can be ascertained.
The Damakawa people probably number about 500-1000, and live in three or four villages near Maganda in Sakaba Local Government Area,Kebbi State.