Introduction

The Ashe language is spoken by about 40,000 people living in Nigeria. Its ISO 639-3 identification code is [ahs]. Others may sometimes refer to this language as Koro, Koron Ache, Azea, Ala, Koron Ala, or Koro Makama.

The specific location of this ethnic group is in the Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State and the Karu LGA of Nassarawa State. The classification of the language is Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Plateau, Western, Northwestern, Koro.

There are two dialects of the Ashe language:  one is associated with Ice and may be referred to as Icɛk, while the other is associated with Katugal and may be referred to at Itɔ̃ɔ̃.  The Ashe Language and Bible Translation Committee decided several years ago to base the Ashe writing system on the Itɔ̃ɔ̃ variety, so the spellings presented here and in all literature produced under this committee's authority reflect the pronunciation used by speakers of the Itɔ̃ɔ̃ dialect.

The main differences between the two dialects seem to be at the level of pronunciation, and they do not hinder communication.  These differences may be summarized as follows: