| Doyayo | |
|---|---|
| Dowayo | |
| Region | Cameroon |
Native speakers | (15,000 cited 1994)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | dow |
| Glottolog | doya1240 |
| Person | Doowaayɔ |
|---|---|
| Language | Dooya̰a̰yɔ |
Doyayo (ethnonym:Dowayo) is a language of theDuru branch ofAdamawa languages spoken inCameroon.
Doyayo (Dooya̰a̰yɔ 'man's mouth'; alternatively Doowaaya̰a̰yɔ 'man's child's mouth') is spoken by theDowayo (or Doowaayɔ 'man's child') ethnic group.
According toALCAM (2012), Doayo, which has 18,000 speakers, is the main language of the northern part ofPoli commune (inFaro department, Northern Region).[2]
Taara is spoken in the mountains west ofPoli, andMarka in the plains further northwest inTcheboa commune,Bénoué department.[2]
The termNamchi, which means "crushed ones" or "those who crush [millet for us]" inFulfulde, is a cover term that refers not only to the Doayo, but also its neighborsDuupa andDugun (the latter two are bothDii languages).[2]
Joseph Greenberg's "Sewe" is in fact a variety of the Doayo language documented by Griaule. The name comes from the informant's village, Sewe.[2]
Doyayo dialects are:[3]
(Note that there are two distinct Tɛ̰ɛ̰rɛ dialects.)
Blench (2004) considers the Sewe dialect to be a separate language, no more closely related to Dowayo than to Koma and Vere.
