Edekiri languages
| Edekiri | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Togo, Benin and Nigeria |
| Linguistic classification | Niger–Congo?
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | edek1238 |
The Edekiri is a group of languages in the Volta-Niger branch of the Niger-Congo family. The Niger-Congo language family, and by extension the Edekiri languages, formed a cohesive linguistic unit as far back as the end of the Upper Paleolithic 11,000 years ago.
The group includes:
- the Ede dialect cluster, including Ife
- Itsekiri
- Lucumi language, which is spoken in Cuba
- the Nago languages
- the Yoruboid languages Ulukwumi and Mokole
- Yoruba, with approximately 40 million speakers in Nigeria and several million more in the diaspora.