Eggon Language - Dialects

Dialects

Eggon is conventionally divided into twenty-five mutually comprehensible dialects. The only author to discuss dialects is Sibomana (1985) whose discussion focuses on Kagbu, which he states is the main dialect. He also cites data from the Nassarawa-Eggon dialect. The Benue–Congo Comparative Wordlist (1969, 1972) also gives data from two dialects.

A twenty-sixth variety is Madantara, spoken by a group of Eggon east of Nassarawa-Eggon. It is said to be impossible to understand without special learning and is sufficiently different from other lects to be effectively a new language. Its precise relationship to the other varieties of Eggon is unknown.