title: Rigwe language
text: # 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 | ˩ |
  