Related Research Articles
The Ijaw people, otherwise known as the Ijo people, are an ethnic group found in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, with significant population clusters in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers. They also occupy Edo, Ondo, and small parts of Akwa Ibom. Many are found as migrant fishermen in camps as far west as Sierra Leone and as far east as Gabon. They account for about 1.8% of the Nigerian population according to CIA Factbook. The Ijaws are one of the most populous tribes inhabiting the Niger Delta region and the eighth largest ethnic group in Nigeria.
Defaka is an endangered and divergent Nigerian language of uncertain classification. It is spoken in the Opobo–Nkoro LGA of Rivers State, in the Defaka or Afakani ward of Nkọrọ town and Ịwọma Nkọrọ. The low number of Defaka speakers, coupled with the fact that other languages dominate the region where Defaka is spoken, edges the language near extinction on a year-to-year basis. It is generally classified in an Ijoid branch of the Niger–Congo family. However, the Ijoid proposal is problematic. Blench (2012) notes that "Defaka has numerous external cognates and might be an isolate or independent branch of Niger–Congo which has come under Ịjọ influence."
Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria. Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include Imo and Anambra to the north, Abia and Akwa Ibom to the east, and Bayelsa and Delta to the west.The State capital, Port Harcourt, is a metropolis that is considered to be the commercial center of the Nigerian oil industry.
Ijoid is a proposed but undemonstrated group of languages linking the Ijaw languages (Ịjọ) with the endangered Defaka language. The similarities, however, may be due to Ijaw influence on Defaka.
Okrika is an island in Rivers State, Nigeria, capital of the Local Government Area of the same name. The town is situated on an island south of Port Harcourt, making it a suburb of the much larger city.
Kay Williamson, born Ruth Margaret Williamson, was a linguist who specialised in the study of African languages, particularly those of the Niger Delta in Nigeria, where she lived for nearly fifty years. She has been called "The Mother of Nigerian Linguistics" and is also notable for proposing the Pan-Nigerian alphabet.
The Izonlanguages, otherwise known as the Ịjọ languages, are the languages spoken by the Izon people in southern Nigeria.
Dẹgẹma is an Edoid language spoken in two separate communities on Degema Island in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, by about 120,000 people, according to 1991 census figures. The two communities are Usokun-Degema and Degema Town in the Degema Local Government Area in Rivers State. Each community speaks a mutually intelligible variety of Dẹgẹma, known by the names of the communities speaking them: the Usokun variety and the Degema Town variety. Both varieties are similar in their phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic properties.
The Bille tribe of the Ijaw people lives in central Rivers State, Nigeria. Bille is one of the Ancient Ijaw Kingdoms in the Eastern Niger Delta region. The tribal seat is the town of Bille. Bille Town is the headquarters of the Ancient Bille Kingdom founded by Queen Ikpakiaba in the 9th century. It is a choice place for tourism because of its rich unadulterated culture of the Ijaw people. The people are friendly, accommodating and fun loving. Bille is one of the places on earth where the dignity of womanhood is upheld. Democracy is enshrined in its culture and therefore there is a practice of equal rights.
The Ibani tribe are an Ijaw ethnic group who live in the Bonny and Opobo areas of Rivers State, Nigeria, on the Atlantic coast. Bonny town is the tribal seat of the Ibani which is located on the bight of Bonny River. Ibani language is spoken predominantly by residents of Bonny and Opobo. Igbo is also widely spoken amongst the people.
Odual is a poorly studied Central Delta language spoken by the Odual community in the Abua–Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State and Ogbia LGA of Bayelsa State, Nigeria.
Eastern Obolo is a Local Government Area (LGA) in southern Nigeria, with its headquarters at Okoroete. It is a coastal local government area in Akwa-Ibom State under great tidal influence from the Bight of Bonny. Eastern Obolo LGA was mapped out of Ikot Abasi LGA by the Federal Government of Nigeria on 4 December 1996 with over 30,000 residents across a total area of approximately 17,000 km2. It comprises 16 villages, divided into two clans, namely Okoroete and Iko. It has ten political wards. All the villages in Eastern Obolo are of the Obolo ethnic group, there exist a common ancestral lineage which allows for peaceful coexistence and inter-relationship amongst them.
Kabba/Bunu is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Kabba on the A123 highway in the southwest of the area at7°49′43″N6°04′23″E.
Izon (Ịzọn), also known as (Central–Western) Ijo, Ijaw, Izo and Uzo, is the dominant Ijaw language, spoken by a majority of the Ijaw people of Nigeria.
Eleme is a language spoken by Eleme people in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Eleme is a Niger-Congo language spoken by approximately 40-50,000 speakers in Rivers State in southeast Nigeria. It belongs to the Ogonoid language group, within the Cross River branch of Benue-Congo. Eleme language was originally divided into two mutual dialects of Nchia and Odido. Nchia spoken in six communities of Agbonchia, Akpajo, Alesa, Aleto, Alode and Ogale, while Odido dialect was spoken at Ebubu, Ekporo, Eteo and Onne, today, both dialects have submerged, with a few varying pronunciations.
Yei Zhuang is a Northern Tai language complex spoken in Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan, China. Its speakers are also known as the Sha (沙族), a subgroup of the Zhuang.
Engenni (Ẹgẹnẹ) is an Edoid language of Nigeria.
Ozo-Mekuri Ndimele is an academic and is the former Vice chancellor of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education after being appointed by the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike on 23 November 2016.
Chinyere Ohiri-Aniche was a Nigerian linguist and academic. From 2016 until her death she was head of the National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN).
Eugene Chan is a linguist from Hong Kong who specializes in numeral systems of world languages. He is best known as the creator and curator of the Numeral Systems of the World's Languages database, which contains lists of numerals for over 5,000 of the world's languages. The database is currently the largest online collection of numerals in the world's languages.
References
- ↑ Kalabari at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Ibani at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Kirike at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ↑ Endangered Languages Project data for Kirike.
- ↑ "Kalahari Bibi: Introducing The Kalabari Language" . Retrieved 2013-06-15.
- ↑ "2006 Funded Projects". Endangered Language Fund. Archived from the original on 2013-08-15. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
- ↑ "Ijoid languages". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
- ↑ Iyalla-Amadi, Priye E. (March 2012). "Lexicological Development of Kalabari Language in the Age of Technology: A Comparative Study of French and Kalabari" (PDF). The Journal of Pan African Studies. 5 (1): 154–163. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
- ↑ Ngulube 2011a.
- ↑ Ngulube 2011b.
Works cited
- Ngulube, Isaac Eyi (2011a). "Ibani orthography". In Ozo-mekuri Ndimele (ed.). Orthographies of Nigerian Languages: Manual IX. Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC). pp. 69–88.
- Ngulube, Isaac Eyi (2011b). "Okrika orthography". In Ozo-mekuri Ndimele (ed.). Orthographies of Nigerian Languages: Manual X. Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC). pp. 98–119.