Central Ibibio is the major

dialect cluster A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...

of the Cross River branch of Benue–Congo. Efik proper has national status in

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 of G ...

and is the literary standard of the

Efik language Efik (''Usem Efịk'') is the indigenous language of the Efik people, who are situated in the present-day Cross River state and Akwa Ibom state of Nigeria, as well as in the North-West of Cameroon. The Efik language is mutually intelligible wit ...

s, though Ibibio proper has more native speakers.

Varieties

Efik-Ibibio is a

spoken by about 10 million people of

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 ...

and

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

s of

, making it the sixth largest language cluster in Nigeria after Hausa,

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba consti ...

, Igbo,

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

and Kanuri. The major Efik-Ibibio languages are: * Anaang (5 million speakers, 2018 estimate) * Ibibio (10 million speakers, including L2 speakers, 2018 estimate) *

Efik Efik may refer to: * Efik people, an ethnic group located primarily in southeastern Nigeria * Efik language, the language of the Efik people *Efik mythology, the mythological beliefs of the Efik people *Efik religion, the traditional religion of t ...

(3 million speakers, 2018 estimate. Efik also has about 2 million second-language speakers.) Minor varieties, according to Williamson and Blench, are: * Ekit (200,000 speakers), with dialect Etebi * Efai (7,000 speakers) * Ibuoro (20,000 speakers), with dialects Ibuoro proper, Ito, Itu Mbon Uzo and Nkari * Eki (5,000 speakers) * Idere (5,000 speakers) * Ukwa (100 speakers) These arguably constitute a single language, though '' Ethnologue'' considers them to be separate.

Notes

References

{{Cross River languages Languages of Nigeria Ibibio Lower Cross River languages

Varieties

See also

Notes

References