Writing the sociolinguistics of Hyam, Blench treats Sait, and Dzar as distinct varieties, and notes that Yat and Ankung may be viewed as separate languages, however, Hayab (2016) presents a differing opinion arguing that it is Ankung, a language called Iduya, that is not mutually intelligible to Hyam.
Meanwhile, Hyam, which is spoken by the Ham people of Nigeria, popularly known as 'Jaba' in a recent study by Philip Hayab, a native of the area and a linguist who carried out in-depth research into the language, reveals that 'Jaba' has a Hausa etymology and is derogatory and should be discarded (John 2017).
James (1998) classified the Hyam dialects according to the following sub-groups he placed under the Ham or Northern Group of the Proto-Plateau Ethno-Linguistic Cluster: According to Hayab (2016:5-11), however, the Ham people, aside migratory past, a subject requiring keen study, could be said to speak the following: Hayab (2016:6) added that other varieties may also include: Further more, Hayab (2016:8) classified these dialects into four clusters, A-D, according to their levels of intelligibility.
Blench (2019) lists:[2] The Hyam Literacy Committee identifies the following 41/42 basic symbols in its orthography.
Short Vowels (Vawella̱ Sha̱kuup) Long Vowels (Vawella̱ Sha̱ceri) aa ee ii oo uu Hayab (2016:66) pinpoints, stating that "available data in Hyam by Koelle (1854: appendix, 2-188) and Meek (1931:120) reveals that the Ham contest in virtually a dissimilar way from what is obtained today."