Arum New Testament — Alumu-Tesu New Testament (Nigeria)
Overview
The Arum New Testament is the complete New Testament (27 books) in the Arum (Alumu-Tesu) language of Nasarawa State, Nigeria, published by The Word for the World International and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 4425; abbreviation: ABT). The community's preferred name for their language is Arum — a unified term encompassing both the Alomoh (approximately 7 villages) and Tesu (approximately 1 village) dialect varieties, which differ only in intonation. The Word for the World lists the Arum NT as one of eight translations in their Nigerian language portfolio. Linguistically, Arum is remarkable for having lost the nominal affix system characteristic of Niger-Congo languages — an unusual feature that complicated its early classification.
Language and People
Arum (ISO 639-3: aab; full academic name: Alumu-Tesu; autonym: Arum; colonial Hausa exonym for Tesu variety: Chessu) is a Niger-Congo language: Niger-Congo → Atlantic-Congo → Volta-Congo → Benue-Congo → Plateau → Alumic. The Alumic sub-branch is a small, geographically isolated cluster; several related Alumic languages (Akpondoh, Babur, Nisam, Nigbo) are moribund or extinct, making Arum the most vital surviving member of this branch.
The Arum community inhabits Wamba Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, central Nigeria — along the Wamba–Fadan Karshi road in the Middle Belt region.
Estimated speakers: approximately 10,000–11,000 first-language speakers (SIL sociolinguistic survey, Blench 2019; Joshua Project). Language vitality: EGIDS 6a (vigorous). Earlier estimates cited ~7,000 (1999). Hausa is the dominant second language, especially among youth, but does not appear to be causing shift away from Arum.
Cultural Context
The Arum inhabit the Plateau region of central Nigeria's diverse Middle Belt, characterized by dozens of small ethnolinguistic communities on the Jos Plateau and surrounding terrain. Community members typically speak 3–5 languages (Arum + Hausa + neighboring community languages). The broader Alumic cluster's endangerment makes the Arum community's linguistic vitality notable, and the NT publication ensures long-term scriptural access in the heart language.
Publishing and Organizations
Published by The Word for the World International (TWFTW; twftw.org) in partnership with local Arum translation teams.