Ijoid languages

Ijoid languages
The smallest branch of the huge Niger-Congo language family.

The Ijoid languages are found in the relatively narrow coastal Niger River delta region of Nigeria. They consist of a language cluster, Ijo, which is spoken by about two million people, and the solitary Defaka, spoken by very few. The Ijo were among the first West Africans to have contact with Europeans, and the Ijo language is believed to be one of the first Nigerian languages written.

* * *

      the smallest branch of the Niger-Congo language family (Niger-Congo languages). It consists of a language cluster, Ijo (Ijaw), comprising seven other language clusters with a total of approximately two million speakers, and Defaka (Afakani), a solitary language spoken by very few. All these languages are found in the relatively narrow coastal Niger River delta region of Nigeria. The Ijo language cluster includes the languages of the Eastern Ijo, namely Kalabari, Okrika, and Ibani; the Brass Ijo, including Nembe and Akassa; Izon, including Bumo, Kolokuma, Mein, and Arogbo; Biseni; Okodia; Oruma; and Nkoroo.

      The Ijo were among the first West Africans to come into contact with Europeans; thus the Ijo language is believed to be one of the first Nigerian languages written. As a result of the slave trade, the Kalabari language was transplanted to eastern Guyana, where it was spoken for decades and later became the basis of a Dutch creole, Berbice, now nearly extinct.

John T. Bendor-Samuel
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ijoid languages — Infobox Language family name=Ijoid region=Southern Nigeria familycolor=Niger Congo child1=Ijo child2=Defaka The Ijoid languages are spoken by the Ịjọ (Ijaw) and Defaka (Afakani) peoples of the Niger Delta, who number about ten million. The most… …   Wikipedia

  • Languages of Nigeria — Linguistic map of Nigeria, Cameroon, and Benin …   Wikipedia

  • Ijoid — Das Ijoid bildet einen Primärzweig des Niger Kongo und ist eine kleine Familie von etwa 10 Sprachen, die von rund 1,7 Mio. Menschen im Niger Delta in Nigeria gesprochen werden. Es besteht einerseits aus dem Defaka, das nur noch 200 Sprecher hat,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ijoid-Sprachen — Die ijoiden Sprachen bilden einen Primärzweig des Niger Kongo und sind eine kleine Familie von etwa 10 Sprachen, die von rund 1,7 Mio. Menschen im Niger Delta in Nigeria gesprochen werden. Es besteht einerseits aus dem Defaka, das nur noch 200… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ijoid — noun A branch of Niger Congo languages, spoken in the Niger delta in Nigeria …   Wiktionary

  • Niger-Congo languages — Family of some 1,400 languages of Africa. All of these are considered to be distinct languages and not simply dialects. The named dialects of these languages number many thousands more, not to mention the variant names for those languages and… …   Universalium

  • Ijo languages — Infobox Language family name=Ijo region=Southern Nigeria familycolor=Niger Congo fam2=Atlantic Congo fam3=Ijoid children=Encompasses a total of 9 languages. iso2=ijoIjo is a group of languages spoken in southern Nigeria, by the Ijo people.See… …   Wikipedia

  • Niger–Congo languages — Niger–Congo Niger–Kordofanian (obsolete) Geographic distribution: Sub Saharan Africa Linguistic classification: one of the world s primary language families Subdivisions: Dogon …   Wikipedia

  • Niger-Congo languages — Infobox Language family name=Niger Congo altname=Niger Kordofanian (obsolete) region=Sub Saharan Africa familycolor=Niger Congo family=one of the world s primary language families child1=?? Bangi me child2=? Dogon child3=Ijoid child4=Mande child5 …   Wikipedia

  • Mande languages — Mande West Sudanic Ethnicity: Mandé peoples Geographic distribution: West Africa Linguistic classification: Niger–Congo? Mande …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”