| Doyayo | |
|---|---|
| Dowayo | |
| Region | Cameroon |
Native speakers | (15,000 cited 1994)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | dow |
| Glottolog | doya1240 |
| Person | Doo²waa²³yɔ¹ |
|---|---|
| Language | Doo²³ya̰a̰¹yɔ¹ |
Doyayo (ethnonym: Dowayo) is a language of the Duru branch of Adamawa languages spoken in Cameroon.
Doyayo (Doo²³ya̰a̰¹yɔ¹ 'man's mouth'; alternatively Doo²waa²³ya̰a̰¹yɔ¹ 'man's child's mouth') is spoken by the Dowayo (or Doo²waa²³yɔ¹ 'man's child') ethnic group.
According to ALCAM (2012), Doayo, which has 18,000 speakers, is the main language of the northern part of Poli commune (in Faro department, Northern Region).[2]
Taara is spoken in the mountains west of Poli, and Marka in the plains further northwest in Tcheboa commune, Bénoué department.[2]
The term Namchi, which means "crushed ones" or "those who crush [millet for us]" in Fulfulde, is a cover term that refers not only to the Doayo, but also its neighbors Duupa and Dugun (the latter two are both Dii 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.
