Edekiri languages

Edekiri
Geographic distribution	Togo, Benin and Nigeria
Linguistic classification	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta–Niger yeai Yoruboid Edekiri
Subdivisions	Ede Itsekiri Mokole Ulukwumi Yoruba
Language codes
Glottolog	`edek1238`

The Edekiri is a group of languages in the Volta-Niger branch of the Niger-Congo family.^[1] 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^[2]^[3]
Itsekiri^[2]
Lucumi language, which is spoken in Cuba^[2]
the Nago languages^[2]
the Yoruboid languages Ulukwumi and Mokole^[2]
Yoruba, with approximately 40 million speakers in Nigeria and several million more in the diaspora.

References

Bamidele, Oluwabukola Omolara (2019). The /h/ Phenomenon: Over Generalised or Confused? The Nigerian Yoruba-English Speakers as a Case Study (PhD thesis). University of West Virginia.
"Edekiri". Ethnologue. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
Frawley, William (2003). International Encyclopedia of Linguistics. Oxford University Press. p. 422.

See also

References