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Kogi is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to the southwest by Edo and Ondo states, to the southeast by the states of Anambra and Enugu, and to the east by Benue State. It is the only state in Nigeria to border ten other states. Named after the Hausa word for river (Kogi). Kogi State was formed from parts of Benue State, Niger State, and Kwara State on 27 August 1991. The state is nicknamed the "Confluence State" because the confluence of the River Niger and the River Benue occurs next to its capital, Lokoja.
Benue–Congo is a major branch of the Volta-Congo languages which covers most of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Yoruboid is a language family composed of the Igala group of dialects spoken in south central, and the Edekiri group spoken in a band across Togo, Ghana, Benin and southern, including the Itsekiri of Warri Kingdom.
The Ebira people are an ethnic-linguistic group of North central Nigeria. Most Ebira people are from Kogi State and Nasarawa State. Their language is usually classified as Nupoid and within the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Until the separation of Kogi State from Kwara State, Okene was seen as the administrative center of the Ebira-speaking people in Kogi state, located not far from the Niger-Benue confluence. Since the formation of the state, the Ebira Ta'o people are predominantly found in five local governments in Kogi state, namely Adavi, Ajaokuta, Okehi, Okene and Ogori/Magongo. They are also found in large numbers located in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Nasarawa in Toto LGA. Also, the Eganyi are found in Ajaokuta LGA. And the Etuno can be found in Igarra town of Agorimagongo, Okehi and Okene each with their administrative headquarters. Ebira Koto is found in Kogi and Koton Karfe LGA, Bassa LGA, Lokoja in Kogi and Abaji LGA in the Federal Capital Territory, Akoko-Edo LGA, Edo State.
There are over 520 native languages spoken in Nigeria. The official language is English, which was the language of Colonial Nigeria. The English-based creole Nigerian Pidgin – first used by the British and African slavers to facilitate the Atlantic slave trade in the late 17th century – is the most common lingua franca, spoken by over 60 million people.
Nupe is a Volta–Niger language of the Nupoid branch primarily spoken by the Nupe people of the North Central region of Nigeria. Its geographical distribution stretches and maintains preeminence in Niger State as well as Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory. Nupe is closely related to Kakanda in structure and vocabulary. There are at least two markedly different dialects of Nupe: Nupe central and Nupe Tako.
The Volta–Niger family of languages, also known as West Benue–Congo or East Kwa, is one of the branches of the Niger–Congo language family, with perhaps 70 million speakers. Among these are the most important languages of southern Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and southeast Ghana: Yoruba, Igbo, Bini, and Gbe.
The Kainji languages are a group of about 60 related languages spoken in west-central Nigeria. They form part of the Central Nigerian (Platoid) branch of Benue–Congo.
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, and Ebira languages, each with about 4 million speakers. Most Nupoid languages have 3 level tones.
Ukaan is a poorly described Niger–Congo language or dialect cluster of uncertain affiliation. Roger Blench suspects, based on wordlists, that it might be closest to the (East) Benue–Congo languages. Blench (2012) states that "noun-classes and concord make it look Benue-Congo, but evidence is weak."
Oko (ɔ̀kɔ́), also known as Ogori-Magongo and Oko-Eni-Osayin, is a dialect cluster spoken in Nigeria. It appears to form a branch of the "Nupe–Oko–Idoma" group of Niger–Congo languages. The language is spoken in and around the towns of Ogori and Magongo in southwestern Kogi State and Edo state borders.
The Dakoid languages are a branch of the Northern Bantoid languages spoken in Taraba and Adamawa states of eastern Nigeria.
The Basa language, disambiguated as Basa-Benue, and also called Abacha, Abatsa, ru-Basa, Rubassa, is a Kainji language spoken in central Nigeria, in the vicinity of Bassa, Ankpa, Nasarawa, Gurara, Kwali and Makurdi. Blench (2008) notes that Basa-Makurdi, Basa-Gurara and Basa-Kwali are separate varieties from Basa-Kwomu or Basa-Komo of Bassa, Ankpa and Nasarawa Local Government Areas and other Bassa speakers are Bassa Nge (also known as Bassa Nupe.
Daka is one of two languages spoken by the Chamba people in Nigeria, the other being Chamba Leko.
Eloyi, or Afu (Afo) or Ajiri, is a Plateau language of uncertain classification. It is spoken by the Eloyi people of Agatu LGA and Otukpo LGA of Benue State and Nassarawa State in Nigeria.
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.
The Kamuku languages are a branch of the Kainji languages spoken by the Kamuku people of Niger State, western Nigeria, mostly in Mariga and Rafi LGAs.
Bauchi is a cluster of Kainji languages spoken in Rafi, Nigeria LGA, Niger State, Nigeria.
Kakanda is a Nupoid language of Nigeria. Kakanda is spoken in and around Kupa and Eggan. There are scattered villages stretching from the Niger-Benue confluence to as far as Muregi. There are at least 10,000 people. It is most closely related to Gupa and Kupa, although there are also some similarities with Ebira.
The Okun people are the Yoruba speaking people found majorly in Kogi, but with settlements in Kwara, Ekiti, and Ondo states of Nigeria. Their dialects are generally classified in the Northeast Yoruba language (NEY) grouping. They are collectively called "Okun", which in Okun dialects could mean "Sorry", "Well-done", or as an all-encompassing greeting. Similarly, this form of greeting is also found among the Ekiti, Ijesha and Igbomina groups of Yoruba people.
References
- ↑ Ebira at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- 1 2 3 Blench, Roger. 2013. The Nupoid languages of west-central Nigeria: overview and comparative word list .
- ↑ Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
- ↑ Adive, John R. (1984). A descriptive study of the verbal piece in Ebira (a language of Kwara State of Nigeria). University of London.
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