Volta–Niger languages

Volta–Niger
West Benue–Congo
East Kwa
Geographic
distribution		 West Africa, from Eastern Ghana to central Nigeria
Linguistic classification Niger–Congo
Subdivisions
  • Akpes
  • Ayere–Ahan
  • Gbe
  • yeai (= Defoid+)
  • noi
  • ? Ukaan
Glottolog None
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Some important branches of the Volta–Niger and Benue–Congo families are concentrated in Nigeria, Cameroon, and Benin.

The Volta–Niger family of languages, also known as West Benue–Congo or East Kwa, is one of the branches of the Niger–Congo language family, with perhaps 50 million speakers. Among these are the most important languages of southern Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and southeast Ghana: Yoruba, Igbo, Bini, Fon, and Ewe.

These languages have variously been placed within the Kwa or Benue–Congo families, but Williamson & Blench (2000) separate them from both. The boundaries between the various branches of Volta–Niger are rather vague, suggesting diversification of a dialect continuum rather than a clear split of families, which suggest a close origin

The constituent groups of the Volta–Niger family, along with the most important languages in terms of number of speakers, are as follows (with number of languages for each branch in parentheses):

Volta–Niger  

 

Akpes (1)

 
 

Ayere–Ahan (2)

 
 

Gbe (21: Fon [2 million], Ewe [3 million])

 
   yeai  

 

Yoruboid (Igala [1 million], Yorùbá [22 million], Itsekiri [800,000])

 
 

Edoid (27: Edo [Bini, 1 million])

 
 

Akoko (1)

 
 

Igboid (7: Igbo [18 million])

 
 
  noi 

 

Nupoid (12: Ebira [1 million], Nupe [1 million])

 
 

Oko (1)

 
 

Idomoid (9: Idoma [600,000])

 
 
 

? Ukaan (1)

 
 

The Yoruboid languages and Akoko were once linked as the Defoid branch, but more recently they, Edoid, and Igboid have been suggested to be primary branches of an as-yet unnamed group, often abbreviated yeai. Similarly, Oko, Nupoid, and Idomoid are often grouped together under the acronym noi. Ukaan is an Atlantic–Congo language, but it is unclear if it belongs to the Volta–Niger family; Blench suspects it is closer to Benue–Congo.

See also

  • Systematic graphic of the Niger–Congo languages with numbers of speakers

References

  • Wolf, Paul Polydoor de (1971) The Noun Class System of Proto-Benue–Congo (Thesis, Leiden University). The Hague/Paris: Mouton.
  • Williamson, Kay (1989) 'Benue–Congo Overview', pp. 248–274 in Bendor-Samuel, John & Rhonda L. Hartell (eds.) The Niger–Congo Languages — A classification and description of Africa's largest language family. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America.
  • Williamson & Blench (2000) 'Niger–Congo', in Heine & Nurse, African Languages
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