Tiv is a Tivoid language spoken in some states in North Central Nigeria, with some speakers in Cameroon. It had over 5 million speakers in 2020. The largest population of Tiv speakers are found in Benue state in Nigeria. The language is also widely spoken in the Nigerian states of Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Cross River, Adamawa, Kaduna, and Abuja. It is by far the largest of the Tivoid languages, a group of languages belonging to the Southern Bantoid languages Geographic distribution Tiv is widely spoken in the States of Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba, Cross Rivers, Adamawa, Kaduna, and Abuja. Other parts of Nigeria also speak Tiv. Benue state Tarkaa, Makurdi, Gwer East, Gwer west, Ukum, Logo, Konshisha, Gboko, Kwande, Vandeikya, Katsina Ala, Guma, Buruku, and Ushongo Local Government Areas. Nassarawa state Doma, Nasarawa, Lafia, Obi, Keana, and Awe Local Government Areas Plateau state Qua’an Pan and Shendam Local Government Areas Taraba state Bali, Donga, Ibi, Gassol, Takum, Gashaka, Kurmi and Wukari Local Government Areas Cross River state Yala, Bekwara, Obudu, and Obanliku Local Government Areas. Cameroon There are 1700 Tiv households with approximately 11,000 people at the south-western border of Cameroon, Manyu division, north east of Akwaya on the Nigerian border, and bordering the Iyom tribes of Cameroon. Their paramount ruler is Zaki Abaajul, who has the Tiv and Ulitsi as his subjects. The Cameronian Tiv are well educated and live in anglophone Cameroon as their ancestral land, while a few others live in the francophone region. They are mostly farmers but others work in the government. Dialects Tiv has no dialects. Tiv speakers can understand each other across their territory. However, accents (ham) exist. Phonology Vowels Vowel sounds are phonetically nasalized before nasal consonants. can be freely heard as or before a nasal consonant. Consonants is heard phonetically as , but is often voiced as . is heard in free variation in word-final positions. occurs in other dialects. Tone Tiv has three main tones (five if rising and falling are counted as separate tones instead of composites of existing tones). They are most importantly used in inflection. Accents The accents of Tiv are as follows: Ityoisha, spoken in the southeast, noted for its exaggerated palatalisation of vowels; Shitile, spoken by most Tiv east of the Katsina Ala River, apparently slower sounding than the other Tiv accents and slurs vowels into their neighbouring consonant; Iharev, which gives an exaggerated roll