Kalabari is an
Ijo language of
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 ...
spoken in
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 ...
and
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 ...
by the
Awome people. Its three dialects are
mutually intelligible
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as an ...
. The Kalabari dialect (Kalabari proper) is one of the best-documented varieties of Ijo, and as such is frequently used as the prime example of Ijo in linguistic literature.
As of 2005, the language, "spoken by 258,000 people,
asendangered largely because of the massive relocation that has taken place in the area due to the development of Nigeria's oil industry in the
Port Harcourt region."
The Kalabari language became the basis of
Berbice
Berbice is a region along the Berbice River in Guyana, which was between 1627 and 1792 a colony of the Dutch West India Company and between 1792 to 1815 a colony of the Dutch state. After having been ceded to the United Kingdom of Great Britain ...
, a
Dutch Creole
A Dutch creole is a creole language that has been substantially influenced by the Dutch language.
Most Dutch-based creoles originated in Dutch colonies in the Americas and Southeast Asia, after the 17th century expansion of Dutch maritime powe ...
spoken in Eastern
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
.
Kalabari-language words have been proposed for some modern technical terms.
Dialects
Kalabari is spoken south of
Port Harcourt.
Ibani is spoken southeast of Port Harcourt, in the
Bonny local government area and in
Opobo
Opobo is a community in Rivers State, in the South South region of Nigeria. The kingdom was founded in 1870 by Jubo Jubogha, popularly known as JaJa, an Igbo man who owned slaves. The native language of Opobo is the Ibani language that is spoken ...
.
Kirike is spoken in Port Harcourt and the local government areas of
Okrika
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.
The average elevation of Okrika is 452 me ...
and
Ogu–Bolo
Ogu–Bolo (also spelled Ogu/Bolo) is a local government area (LGA) in Rivers State, Nigeria with headquarters in the town of Ogu. It is located on the Eastern Niger Delta.
It has an area of and a population of 74,683 as of the 2006 census. Mo ...
.
Writing system
See also
*
Defaka word list (Wiktionary)
References
External links
Kalabari - English Dictionary*
*
*
Languages of Nigeria
Ijoid languages
Indigenous languages of Rivers State
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