Miship, or Chip, is an
Afro-Asiatic language spoken in
Plateau State,
Nigeria. Doka is a dialect.[1] Blench lists the two dialects Longmaar and Jiɓaam.[2]
The traditional occupation of Miship people is farming. The people call themselves as well as their abode, Miship while outsiders wrongly call them and also their abode, Chip. Oral tradition states that they migrated from
Kanem-Bornu to their present homeland with other tribes, Ngas, Mupun, and Mwaghavul.[4]
Most Miship names are unisex, so in order to differentiate a man from a woman, the contracted form is used i.e. the prefix Na is added to the root word of the woman's name and Da is added to the root word of the man's. For example, for a man and a woman both sharing:
1. Nandi, the man would be Danan, and the woman Nanan.
2. Denlong, the man would be Daden, and the woman Naden.
3. Shakaham = Dasha/Nasha.
Words
God - Naan / Nan
Father - Nda
Child - La
Girl - Larep
Boy - La/La wu mis
Wash - Vwang
Person - Gurum
Rain - Fuan/Fwan
Children - Jep
Food - Sih/ Gwom/Gom/Mun
Rice - Kapa
Acha - Kihzuk
Soup - Tok
Chicken - Koo
Dog - As
Goat - Ih
Meat - Lu
King - Long
Animal - Long/Lu
Wild animal - Lu dhem
Lu can be used to refer to meat from animals. For example, 'chicken' would be Lu Koo. It can also be used to refer to animal. For example, 'Lu' in the following statement stands for animal: 'Mme a lu dhe mme a gurum ma' = One (of the two) is not an animal while the other is human (direct translation).
Phrases
What is your name - Sihm gih a weeh? (male); Sihm yi a weeh? (female)
Good night - Naan yaghal kih mun/Mu foghot bhit/Naan ep mun