The Cross River or Delta–Cross languages are a branch of the Benue–Congo language family spoken in south-easternmost

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, with some speakers in south-westernmost

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. The branch was first formulated by

Joseph Greenberg Joseph Harold Greenberg (May 28, 1915 – May 7, 2001) was an American linguist, known mainly for his work concerning linguistic typology and the genetic classification of languages. Life Early life and education Joseph Greenberg was born on ...

; it is one of the few of his branches of Niger–Congo that has withstood the test of time. Greenberg's ''Cross River'' family originally included the

Bendi languages The Bendi languages are a small group of languages spoken in Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria. Bokyi language, Bokyi is one of the Bendi languages having some speakers in Cameroon. Once counted among the Cross River languages, they may be ...

''.'' The

were soon seen to be very different and thus were made a separate branch of Cross River, while the other languages were united under the branch ''Delta–Cross.'' However, the inclusion of Bendi in Cross River at all is doubtful, and it has been tentatively reassigned to the

Southern Bantoid Southern Bantoid (or South Bantoid) is a branch of the Bantoid language family. It consists of the Bantu languages along with several small branches and isolates of eastern Nigeria and west-central Cameroon (though the affiliation of some branc ...

family, making the terms ''Cross River'' and ''Delta–Cross'' now synonymous.

Demographics

In Nigeria, this languages are spoken in

Cross River State ) , image_map = Nigeria - Cross River.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location of Cross River State in Nigeria , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint ...

Akwa Ibom state Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe ...

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

Bayelsa State Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yenag ...

Ebonyi State Ebonyi State ( ig, Ȯra Ebonyi) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by Benue State, Enugu State to the west, Cross River State to the east and southeast, and Abia State to the southwe ...

and

Benue State Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is th ...

. People in Bayelsa State are ethnic

Ijaw people The Izon people or Izon Otu, otherwise known as the Ijaw people due to the historic mispronunciation of the name ''Izon'', are an ethnic group majorly found in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, with significant population clusters in Bayelsa, in Delta ...

. The

Ibibio language Ibibio is the native language of the Ibibio people of Nigeria, belonging to the Ibibio-Efik dialect cluster of the Cross River languages. The name ''Ibibio'' is sometimes used for the entire dialect cluster. In pre-colonial times, it was written ...

is also spoken in

Abia State Abia State ( ig, Ȯha Abia) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, it is bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Enugu, and Ebonyi, Imo State to the west, Cross River State to the east, Akwa Ibom State to the ...

Languages

There are four primary branches of Cross River: * Central Delta, 8 languages, the most populous being

Ogbia Ogbia is a Local Government Area of Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Ogbia in the south of the area at . It has an area of 695 km and a population of 179,926. It is well known for its hi ...

with 100,000 speakers *

Ogoni The Ogonis are a people in the Rivers South East senatorial district of Rivers State, in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria. They number just over 2 million and live in a homeland which they also refer to as Ogoniland. They share common ...

, 5 languages, with Ogoni proper (

Khana Khana may refer to: * Khana language Places * Khana, Arghakhanchi, a village in Arghakhanchi district, Nepal *Khana, Nigeria, a Local Government Area in Rivers State *Khana Junction in Bardhaman district, West Bengal, India *Kingdom of Khana in Ba ...

) having 200,000 speakers * Upper Cross River, 22 languages, the most populous being Lokaa with 120,000 speakers * Lower Cross River, 23 languages, the most populous being

(3.5 million speakers)

Branches and locations

Below is a list of major Cross River branches and their primary locations (centres of diversity) in southeast Nigeria based on Blench (2019).

Internal classification

Roger Blench Roger Marsh Blench (born August 1, 1953) is a British linguist, ethnomusicologist and development anthropologist. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and is based in Cambridge, England. He researches, publishes, and works ...

(2008: 4)Blench, Roger. 2008.
The Ogoni languages: comparative word list and historical reconstructions
'. classifies the Cross River languages as follows. ;Cross River *? Bendi (Yakoro, Bendi, Alege, Bumaji, Bokyi, etc.) *Delta-Cross **

Upper Cross Upper may refer to: * Shoe#Shoe construction, Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film titl ...

***Core ****North-South (Koring, Kukele, Kohumono, Agwagwune, etc.) ****East-West (Ikom, Mbembe, Legbo, etc.) ***Ukpet-Ehom ***Agoi, Doko, Iyongiyong ***Kiong, Korop ** Lower Cross ***East (Efik, Ibibio, Anaang, Efiat, etc.) ***Central (Enwang, Uda) ***West (Ebughu, Oro, Usakade, Obolo, etc.) **

***Eleme; Baan (Ogoi) ***Gokana; Tẹẹ (Tai); Kana ** Central Delta ***Abuan, Odual ***Kugbo, Ogbia, etc. Although Blench (2004) tentatively included the

as possibly being a Cross River outlier branch, the Bendi languages are generally classified as

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

ComparaLex
database with Cross River word lists
Journal of West African Languages: Cross River Languages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross River Languages Benue–Congo languages