🇳🇬 Language

Tiv

Evidence: Multiple sources

Tiv is the language of the Tiv people, spoken mainly in central Nigeria and also in Cameroon. It belongs to the Tivoid group of the Benue–Congo branch of Niger–Congo; its ISO 639-3 code is tiv.

Key facts
Type
Language
Belongs to
Tivoid
ISO 639-3
tiv
Glottocode
tivv1240
Vitality
EGIDS 3 (Wider communication), per Ethnologue 2025 as quoted by Glottolog
Overview

Paul Bohannan, in the Encyclopedia of World Cultures, describes a single Tiv language understood by all Tiv, with regional dialects that let listeners tell which area a speaker comes from.

Ethnologue (2025), as quoted by Glottolog, rates Tiv as a language of wider communication — level 3 on its EGIDS scale — and describes it as the de facto language of provincial identity in Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba and Cross River states, used in elementary education.

Use in Education

Used in elementary education (Ethnologue 2025, as quoted by Glottolog).

Connections
Other names
  • Munshi · exonym
    Older name for the language listed by Glottolog (via Multitree); not used by the Tiv.
Sources
  1. ISO 639-3 code: tiv — SIL International (ISO 639-3 Registration Authority) · link (accessed 24 Sep 2026)
    Supports: ISO 639-3 code tiv; individual living language
  2. Tiv (Glottocode tivv1240) — Glottolog (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology) · link (accessed 24 Sep 2026)
    Supports: Glottocode tivv1240; classification; spoken in Nigeria and Cameroon
  3. Tiv language — Wikipedia · link (accessed 24 Sep 2026)
    Supports: Classification; ISO and Glottolog codes
  4. Tiv — Paul Bohannan, Encyclopedia of World Cultures (Gale) · link (accessed 24 Sep 2026)
    Supports: Single Tiv language with regional dialects; Niger-Congo

Last updated 24 September 2026. Spotted an error or have a source to add? Tell us.

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