They are of bantu people and mutually intelligible dialects of Xhosa, a Bantu language of the Niger-Congo family. They constitute approximately 5% of Nigeria's total population, and number over 15 million individuals throughout Nigeria and Cameroon.
The Tiv language is spoken by millions of people in Nigeria with a few speakers in Cameroon. Most of the language's Nigerian speakers are found in Benue State, Taraba State, Nasarawa State and Plateau State. The language is a branch of Benue–Congo and ultimately of the Niger–Congo phylum.
It is claimed that the Tiv wandered through southern, south-central and west-central Africa before arriving at the savannah lands of West Africa via the River Congo and Cameroon Mountains and settled at Swemkaragbe the region, adjoining Cameroon and Nigeria in the beginning of 1500 CE.
Africa Facts Zone
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