The Ijaw languages (), also spelled Ịjọ, are the languages spoken by over 14 million
Ijaw people
The Ijaw people, also known as the Izon people, are an ethnic group found in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria, with primary Population, population clusters in Bayelsa State, Bayelsa, Delta State, Delta, and Rivers State, Rivers. They also have ...
in
Nigeria
Nigeria, 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 Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
.
Classification
The Ijo languages were traditionally considered a distinct branch of the
Niger–Congo family (perhaps along with
Defaka in a group called
Ijoid). They are notable for their
subject–object–verb basic word order, which is otherwise an unusual feature in Niger–Congo, shared only by such distant potential branches as
Mande and
Dogon. Like Mande and Dogon, Ijoid lacks even traces of the
noun class
In linguistics, a noun class is a particular category of nouns. A noun may belong to a given class because of the characteristic features of its referent, such as gender, animacy, shape, but such designations are often clearly conventional. Some ...
system considered characteristic of Niger–Congo. This motivated
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 M ...
, in his initial classification of Niger–Congo, to describe them as having split early from that family. However, owing to the lack of these features, linguist Gerrit Dimmendaal doubts their inclusion in Niger–Congo altogether and considers the Ijoid languages to be an independent family.
The ijoid languages can be classified into three main linguistic groups, Eastern Ijo, Western Ijo and Central Ijo, with the
Central Izon (Ijaw) language being the most common.
* Ijoid
** Eastern Ijo
***
Nkoroo
***
Kalabari (Kalabari)
*** Bille (Touma, Krikama, Jikeama)
*** Ibani, Obolo, Wakirike
*** Southeast Ijo/Central Ijo
****
Nembe
****
Akassa
** Central Ijo/Inland Ijo
***
Central Izon
**** Furupaga, Finima, Engeni, Arogbo, Burutu, Patani, Oboro etc
***
Biseni
**** Akinima, Engeni, Egbema, Mbiama
***
Akita (Okordia)
*** Ogbia (
Ogbia,
Anyama, Abureni)
*** Abua/Odual, Apoi, Arogbo etc
***
Oruma
** Western Ijo
*** Furupagha, Apoi, Olodiama, Arogbo etc
Names and locations
Below is a list of some Ijaw language names, groups, and locations.
In the diaspora
Berbice Creole Dutch
Berbice Creole Dutch (also known as Berbice Dutch) is a now extinct Dutch creole language, once spoken in Berbice, a region along the Berbice River in Guyana. It had a lexicon largely based on Dutch and Eastern Ijo varieties from southern Nig ...
, an extinct creole spoken in
Guyana
Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
, had a lexicon based partly on an Ịjọ language, perhaps the ancestor of
Kalabari.
Education and media
In June 2013, the ''Izon Fie'' instructional book and audio CDs were launched at a ceremony attended by officials of the government of
Bayelsa State
Bayelsa is a state in the South South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. The capital, Yenag ...
. The
Niger Delta University is working to expand the range of books available in the Ijo language. Translations of poetry and the ''Call of the River Nun'' by
Gabriel Okara are underway.
See also
*
List of Proto-Ijaw reconstructions (Wiktionary)
References
Bibliography
*Freemann, R. A., and Kay Williamson. 1967. Ịjọ proverbs. Research Notes (Ibadan) 1:1-11.
*Kouwenberg, Silvia 1994. ''A grammar of Berbice Dutch Creole''. (Mouton Grammar Library 12). Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
*Lee, J. D., and Kay Williamson. 1990. A lexicostatistic classification of Ịjọ dialects. Research in African Languages and Linguistics 1:1.1-10.
*
Williamson, Kay. 1963. The syntax of verbs of motion in Ịjọ. J. African Languages 2.150-154.
*Williamson, Kay. 1966. Ịjọ dialects in the Polyglotta Africana. Sierra Leone Language Review 5. 122-133.
*Williamson, Kay. 1969. 'Igbo' and 'Ịjọ', chapters 7 and 8 in: Twelve Nigerian Languages, ed. by E. Dunstan. Longmans.
*Williamson, Kay. 1971. Animal names in Ịjọ. Afr. Notes 6, no. 2, 53-61.
*Williamson, Kay. 1973. Some reduced vowel harmony systems. Research Notes 6:1-3. 145-169.
*Williamson, Kay. 1977. Multivalued features for consonants. Language 53.843-871.
*Williamson, Kay. 1978. From tone to pitch-accent: the case of Ịjọ. Kiabàrà 1:2.116-125.
*Williamson, Kay. 1979. Consonant distribution in Ịjọ. In: Linguistic and literary studies presented to Archibald Hill, ed. E.C. Polome and W. Winter, 3.341-353. Lisse, Netherlands: Peter de Ridder Press.
*Williamson, Kay. 1979. Medial consonants in Proto-Ịjọ. Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 1.73-94.
*Williamson, Kay. 1987. Nasality in Ịjọ. In: Current trends in African linguistics, 4, ed. by David Odden, 397-415.
*Williamson, Kay. 1989. Tone and accent in Ịjọ. In Pitch accent systems, ed. by Harry v.d. Hulst and Norval Smith, 253-278. Foris Publications.
*Williamson, Kay. 2004. The language situation in the Niger Delta. Chapter 2 in: The development of Ịzọn language, edited by Martha L. Akpana, 9-13.
*Williamson, Kay, and A. O. Timitimi. 1970. A note on number symbolism in Ịjọ. African Notes (Ibadan) 5:3. 9-16.
*Williamson, Kay & Timitime, A.O. (197?) 'A note on Ijo number symbolism', ''African Notes'', 5, 3, 9-16.
*Filatei, Akpodigha. 2006. The Ijaw Language Project. (Editor of www.ijawdictionary.com). www.ijawdictionary.com
;On specific languages
*Williamson, Kay. 1962. (Republished by Bobbs-Merrill Reprints 1971.). Changes in the marriage system of the Okrika Ịjọ. Africa 32.53-60.
*Orupabo, G. J., and Kay Williamson. 1980. Okrika. In West African language data sheets, Volume II, edited by M.E. Kropp Dakubu. Leiden: West African Linguistic Society and
African Studies Centre.
External links
The Ijaw Dictionary Online
{{Authority control
Languages of Nigeria
*
Indigenous languages of Rivers State
Subject–object–verb languages