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The Edoid languages are some two-to-three dozen languages spoken in Southern Nigeria, predominantly in the former Bendel State. The name Edoid derives from its most widely spoken member, Edo, the language of Benin City, which has 25 million native and secondary speakers.
The forty or so Plateau languages are a tentative group of Benue–Congo languages spoken by 3.5 million people on the Jos Plateau and in adjacent areas in central Nigeria. The original formulation included the Jukunoid and Kainji languages, and later the Dakoid languages; Jukunoid and Kainji now form a parent branch of Plateau called Central Nigerian (Platoid).
Yoruboid is a 'megagroup' of 14 related language clades, composed of the Igala group, of related dialects spoken in central Nigeria, and the Edekiri group, the members of which are spoken in a band across Togo, Ghana, Benin and southwestern Nigeria.
There are over 525 native languages spoken in Nigeria. The official language of Nigeria is English, the former language of colonial British Nigeria. As reported in 2003, Nigerian English and Nigerian Pidgin were spoken as a second language by 60 million people in Nigeria. Communication in the English language is much more popular in the country's urban communities than it is in the rural areas, due to globalization.
Chakato is a West Chadic language spoken in Plateau State, Nigeria. It was identified by Roger Blench in 2016. It is spoken by about 500 people in one village, Dokan Tofa, which is located on the Jos-Shendam road in Plateau State. Blench (2017) suggests that Chakato may be related to spurious records of the Jorto language. Chakato speakers claim that their language is closely related to Goemai.
The Angas, Angas–Sura, or Central West Chadic languages are a branch of West Chadic languages spoken in Plateau State, north-central Nigeria.
The Cross River or Delta–Cross languages are a branch of the Benue–Congo language family spoken in south-easternmost Nigeria, with some speakers in south-westernmost Cameroon. The branch was first formulated by Joseph Greenberg; it is one of the few of his branches of Niger–Congo that has withstood the test of time.
Ebira is a Niger-Congo language. It is spoken by around a million people in Kogi State, North central Nigeria. It is the most divergent Nupoid language.
The Nupoid languages are a branch of Volta–Niger spoken in west-central Nigeria, particularly in southeastern Niger State and northern Kogi State. They include the Nupe, Gbagyi and Ebira languages, each with about 3 million speakers.
The Idomoid languages are spoken primarily in Benue State of east-central Nigeria and surrounding regions. Idoma itself is an official language spoken by nearly four million people which the subgroups of Igede, uffia,otukpo,orokam etc.
The four Beromic languages are a branch of the Plateau family spoken in central Nigeria. Berom has 1 million speakers.
The four scattered and poorly attested Alumic languages form a branch of the Plateau languages of central Nigeria.
The Ayere–Ahan languages are a pair of languages of southwestern Nigeria, Ayere and Àhàn, that form an independent branch of the Volta–Niger languages. These languages are spoken in the border region of Kogi State and Ondo State, Nigeria.
Odual is a poorly studied Central Delta language spoken by the Odual community in the Abua–Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria.
Zeem, or Chaari, is an endangered Chadic dialect cluster of Nigeria, whose speakers are shifting to Hausa. Dyarim is closely related.
Alumu is a Plateau language spoken by approximately 7,000 people in Nassarawa State, Nigeria. It has lost the nominal affix system characteristic of the Niger–Congo family.
Ahwai, also called the Ndunic languages, is a Plateau language cluster spoken to the southwest of Fadan Karshi in Sanga LGA, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Most villages are located at the foot of the Ahwai Mountains in Kaduna State.
Ogbia is the most spoken Central Delta language of Nigeria. It is spoken by over 200,000 people.
Oʼchiʼchiʼ (Ọchịchị) is a recently discovered and presumably extinct Central Delta language of Nigeria. Its first published reference was in 2002. It was spoken by a few elders in the villages of Ikwewengwo and Umuebulu in the Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The Ron, Ronic or Ron–Fyer languages, group A.4 of the West Chadic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family, are spoken in Plateau State, north-central Nigeria.
References
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Central Delta". Glottolog 3.0 . Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ↑ Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
- Blench, Roger. 2008. The Central Delta languages: comparative word list and historical reconstructions.
