Tula–Waja languages

Tula–Waja
Tula–Wiyaa
Geographic
distribution
northeastern Nigeria
Linguistic classificationNiger–Congo?
Subdivisions
Language codes
Glottologtula1250

The Tula–Waja, or Tula–Wiyaa languages are a branch of the provisional Savanna languages, closest to Kam (Nyingwom), spoken in northeastern Nigeria. They are spoken primarily in southeastern Gombe State and other neighbouring states.

They were labeled "G1" in Joseph Greenberg's Adamawa language-family proposal and later placed in a Waja–Jen branch of that family.

Guldemann (2018) observes significant internal lexical diversity within Tula-Waja, partly as a result of word tabooing accelerating lexical change. Although noun classes have been lost in Dadiya, Maa, and Yebu, Waja and Tula retain complex noun class systems. Kleinewillinghöfer (1996) also observes many morphological similarities between the Tula–Waja and Central Gur languages, a view shared by Bennett (1983) and Bennett & Sterk (1977).