Yoruboid languages
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Yoruboid | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: |
Togo, Benin and south-western Nigeria |
| Genetic classification: |
Niger-Congo Atlantic-Congo Volta-Congo Benue-Congo Defoid Yoruboid |
| Subdivisions: |
|
Yoruboid is a group of languages comprised of Igala, a language spoken in central Nigeria, and the Edekiri group, the members of which are spoken in a band across Togo, Benin and southwestern Nigeria. The name Yoruboid derives from its most widely spoken member, Yoruba, which has more than 20 million speakers. Another well-known Yoruboid language is Itsekiri (Nigeria, 500,000 speakers). The Yoruboid group is a branch of Defoid, which itself is a branch of the Benue-Congo subfamily of the Niger-Congo language family.
All Yoruboid languages are tonal, with most of them having three level tones. Grammatically, they are isolating with a Subject Object Verb basic word order.
The Itsekiri's are a riverine Yoruboid people who live in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. They maintain a distinct identity separate from other Yoruboid people. Their neighbours are the Urhobos, The Ijaws, and the Mahin Ilaje, a Yoruba race.
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