Higi language
- noun
- Many people in the Mandara mountains speak the Higi language as their mother tongue.
Examples
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Researchers recorded oral histories in the Higi language to help preserve local traditions.
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Linguists have documented the grammar of the Higi language in several academic publications.
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The Higi language is unique to the Adamawa region.
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Many people in Nigeria speak the Higi language.
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Many people in the Mandara mountains speak the Higi language as their mother tongue.
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Linguists have documented the grammar of the Higi language in several academic publications.
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Researchers recorded oral histories in the Higi language to help preserve local traditions.
Synonyms
A language spoken by people south of Lake Chad in northern Nigeria
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward compound of a proper name and the noun 'language' meaning 'the language called Higi'; if a learner knows both constituents they can derive the meaning. The pattern 'X language' is compositionally transparent and common across languages, so the MWE is immediately comprehensible to learners who know the name 'Higi' and the word 'language'.
Etymology
The name Higi language may come from the local Higi people who live south of Lake Chad in the Mandara mountains, and so it simply means the 'language' spoken by that group.