Emai is a critically endangered language only spoken by some 30,000 people living in a cluster of 10 villages in Edo state in Nigeria. Before it breathes it last, if it ever comes to that, Schaefer and Egbokhare have meticulously provided us with a fascinating morphological, syntactic, and semantic description of its class marking system. Their analyses show clearly that Emai straddles two major systems: the Bantu and the Niger-Congo. Their book is a treasure trove of linguistic reconstruction materials that can illuminate class marking systems in other languages. Their explanations have shed some light on of class marking systems in Anyi, an Akan language spoken as far away as Cote d’Ivoire. This book is a must-read for anybody interested in the linguistic reconstruction of class marking systems in African languages.

- Ettien Koffi, St. Cloud State University,

A fascinating look at the reduced noun class marking in Emai, a non-canonical language of Benue-Congo spoken in Nigeria, by two of Africa’s leading scholars and Emai experts. The detailed description has implications for the morphological systems of Edoid, Benue-Congo, and even Niger-Congo.

- Tucker Childs, Portland State University,