Ekoid languages

The ekoid languages ( Ekoid for short ) form a sub-unit of the southern bantoid languages , a branch of the Benue-Congo languages , which in turn belong to the Niger-Congo .

The eight ekoid languages ​​are spoken by around 250,000 people in Southeast Nigeria and West Cameroon . The most important language is the Ejagham (or Ekoi ) with 120,000 speakers, after which the group is named.

Position of the Ekoid within the Niger-Congo

• Niger-Congo > Volta-Congo> Benue-Congo> East-Benue-Congo> Bantoid-Cross> Bantoid> South-Bantoid> Ekoid

Individual languages

• Ekoid
  • Ejagham (Ekoi) (120k)
  • Ekajuk (30 thousand), Nkem-Nkum (35 thousand), Nde-Nsele-Nta (20 thousand)
  • Abanyom (Bakor) (15 thousand), Efutop (10 thousand), Ndoe (7 thousand), Nnam (3 thousand)

Some researchers add the southern bantoid Mbe (language code mfo ) to the Ekoid languages.

See also

• Niger Congo Languages
• Volta Congo languages
• Benue Congo languages
• East Benue Congo languages
• Bantoid languages

literature

• Joseph Greenberg: The Languages ​​of Africa. Mouton, The Hague and Indiana University Center, Bloomington 1963.
• Bernd Heine and others (ed.): The languages ​​of Africa. Buske, Hamburg 1981.
• Bernd Heine and Derek Nurse (eds.): African Languages. An Introduction. Cambridge University Press 2000.
  In it: Kay Williamson and Roger Blench: Niger-Congo.
• John Bendor-Samuel (Ed.): The Niger-Congo Languages: A Classification and Description of Africa's Largest Language Family. University Press of America, Lanham, New York, London 1989.
  Therein: John R. Watters and Jacqueline Leroy: Southern Bantoid.
• Patrick Bennett and Jan Sterk: South Central Niger-Congo: A Reclassification. Studies in African Linguistics. 1977.

Web links

• Ernst Kausen, The Classification of the Benue-Congo Languages ​​within the Niger-Congo. (DOC; 232 kB)