Where are Ijo-Defaka languages spoken?

These languages are spoken in the delta of the Niger river, to the South of Nigeria.

Total number of speakers (estimates)

Approximately 1 600 000, according to SIL’s website ethnologue.com.

Classification

This group has 10 languages.

Ijo Family

East

Ibani

Kalabari

Nembe

Nkoroo

Orika

West

Izon (dialect cluster)

Inland Ijo

Akita (alternative name: okordia)
Biseni
Oruma

Isolate:

Defaka

Comments on the classification:

We are following Dimmendaal on the one hand, and Blench on the other, for the internal classification.

These languages are often regarded as belonging to the Niger-Congo group, as a branch of the Atlantic languages. According to Dimmendaal (2008), however, the linguistic proofs for this belonging are insufficient and he prefers to place them in an independent group, for now at least.

Are Ijo-Defaka languages endangered?

Defaka is the only endangered language of the group, according to UNESCO’s atlas of endangered languages, it is considered as “critically endangered” (level 4 on a scale of 5). It has only about 200 speakers left, all very old, the younger generations have shifted to Nkoroo.

Other languages of the group might be endangered, but we have no precise information on their vitality.

Sources

Gerrit Dimmendaal, 2008. “Language Ecology and Linguistic Diversity on the African Continent”, Language and Linguistics Compass 2/5:842

Brench : http://www.rogerblench.info/Language%20data/Niger-Congo/Ijoid/Ijoid%20page.htm

Kay Williamson & Roger Blench “Niger-Congo”, in Heine, Bernd and Nurse, Derek (eds) African Languages – An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University press (2000)