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This site is a step-by-step way of helping you learn Tiv language. 

Tiv language is one of many Tivoid dialects of the Bantoid languages on Southern Congo. The Tiv people migrated to their present location in Benue State of Nigeria years before the exploration of Africa by the Europeans. The language is spoken by over five million citizens of Nigeria most of who reside in Benue State, Nigeria. Other Tiv speakers are found in the surrounding states of Taraba, Nasarawa, Cross River, and Plateau, and the country of Cameroons.

Tiv language is a tonal and nasal language with its unique word characteristics. Learners would encounter words that have the same spelling but different pronunciation and different meanings (heteronyms). For example, ya (eat) and ya (home); tor (pestle), tor (chief), tor (roof), and tor (a special mouse). The only way to understand the meaning of these words when they are used is by the way they are pronounced, and in what sense. Unlike English, French, Hausa, and many other languages, Tiv language has no gender variable pronouns such as he/she or him/her. However, the gender is often indicated by using the basic terms for man (nomso or) or woman (kwase). For example, the pronoun un can refer to a man and a cow, as in na un kwaghyan (give him/her/it food).

Though there may be challenges for those learning Tiv as adults or grown-ups, many Tiv language learners express the simplicity of its phrases and sentence strictures. For example, many simple commands consist of two letter words or two-word phrases such as va (come), ya (eat), de (stop), ma (drink), se (laugh), mough sha (stand up), tema nya (sit down), ya kwaghyan (eat food), va heen (come here), etc. TLL discusses the intricacies of Tiv language use and has suggested new Tiv words borrowed from English and other languages such as Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Pidgin English, and Arabic.