🇳🇬 Language

Cicipu

Evidence: Well documented

Cicipu is a language of Niger State, according to Roger Blench's Atlas of Nigerian Languages (2020), which classifies it as Kainji (Western Kainji: Kambari cluster).

Type
Language
Belongs to
Kainji
Glottocode
cici1237

Cicipu is a language of Niger State, according to Roger Blench's Atlas of Nigerian Languages (2020), which classifies it as Kainji (Western Kainji: Kambari cluster). The Atlas places it in Sakaba LGA of Kebbi State, in Mariga and Rafi LGAs of Niger State, and in Birnin Gwari LGA of Kaduna State. Other names include Acipa, Achipa, Achipawa. Speaker figures in the Atlas: 3,600 (1949). Its own name is Cicipu, and the Atlas lists seven dialects, among them Kumbashi and Tikula.

  • Achipa · alternative
    Blench's Atlas (2020), field 2.A: name based on location.
  • Achipawa · alternative
    Blench's Atlas (2020), field 2.A: name based on location.
  • Acipa · alternative
    Blench's Atlas (2020), field 2.A: name based on location.
  • Cipu · spelling variant
    The Atlas's head name.
  1. An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (2020 edition) — Roger Blench, Kay Williamson Educational Foundation / McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, 2020 · Academic source · link (accessed 24 Sep 2026)
    Supports: Cicipu: location, classification, other names, speakers
  2. Glottolog language index (resourcemap) — Glottolog · Academic source · link (accessed 26 Sep 2026)
    Supports: Glottocode cici1237
How evidence is graded
  • Verified: Supported by an official source, or by two or more independent sources that agree.
  • Well documented: Supported by credible sources, but not yet independently confirmed.
  • Reported: Found in a credible source; further corroboration is welcome.
  • Needs corroboration: The evidence is thin or incomplete; more sources are being sought.
  • Disputed: Credible sources or community accounts disagree; the differing accounts are noted.
  • Uncertain: There is not yet enough information to classify this responsibly.

Sources are marked official, academic, reference, community or general web. Sources that copy each other count as one. Oral traditions are recorded as traditions, not as proven fact.

Archive ID: LANG-CICIPU · Last updated 7 October 2026. Spotted an error or have a source to add? Tell us.

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