Itsekiri language
Spoken in
Niger - Congo
- Atlantic - Congo Volta - Niger Sm- Yeai Yoruboide languages Edekiri
Its
The Itsekiri language is a yoruboide language that is spoken by nearly 900,000 people in Nigeria as a native language and by some other as an additional language, especially in the Niger Delta and parts of the Nigerian states of Edo and Ondo.
Itsekiri is a major language of yoruboiden group of languages , which is itself a key member of the Volta - Niger - subfamily of the African country of Niger -Congo language family. The other key members of the group are yoruboiden Yoruba (22 million ) and Igala ( 1.8 million ), together with various Yoruba dialects, spoken in Benin and Togo. Itsekiri is most closely related to the southeastern Yorubadialekten and is very similar to the grammar, vocabulary and syntax. The Itsekiri language area is located at the southern end of a continuum of Yorubadialekten, ranging from the northern Yorubaländern Oyo and Offa to the western mouth of the Niger Delta. In many areas Standardyoruba and Itsekiri could be considered as official variants of the same language. Although Itsekiri and the southeastern Yorubadialekte up to a certain degree course, depending on how close they are, but use the mother tongue Itsekiri spokesman in contrast to speakers of other Yorubadialekte not Standardyoruba as a lingua franca. This is due to the historical isolation of the main part of the Itsekirisprecher in the Niger Delta of the continuum of Yoruba speakers and a centuries-long development of an independent and different socio- cultural- political Itsekiri identity. Nonetheless, can seen from a linguistic point of view both Itsekiri and Standardyoruba be (based on the Oyo dialect ) is considered as the two officially recognized standard formats of the Yoruba dialect cluster - one spoken by nearly one million people and the other of over 20 million.
Itsekiri is most closely related to Yoruba and Igala away with and combines elements of both languages. It has also been strongly influenced by Edo ( Bini ), influenced Portuguese and English and has loanwords ( a ijoide language) and Urhobo taken ( a edoide language ) from the neighboring Ijo languages . However, its basic structure, the grammar and the vocabulary is essential yoruboid, as their next of kin is the southeastern group of Yorubadialekte: Ijebu, Ilaje - Ikale, Ondo, Akure and Owo. While it resembles closest to these dialects, the Itsekiri but also contains elements of the northern Yorubadialekte, especially Ife and Oyo. Itsekiri has partly developed from the palace - Yorubadialekt, which was spoken in pre-colonial Kingdom of Benin - the Itsekiri monarchy has its roots in Benin Kingdom and a form of Palastyoruba has also influenced their development. The Itsekiri developed partly from an amalgam of languages of different groups that were present in the western Niger Delta at the time of formation of the Itsekiri nation in the early 15th century.
Today, the Yoruba, English, and especially the Nigerian Pidgin English exert a great influence on the development of the Itsekiri. Many Itsekiri are now bilingual in English or Pidgin English and also prefer those as everyday language.