Misplaced Pages

Kalabari language

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Ijo language spoken in Nigeria ‹ The template Infobox language is being considered for merging. ›
Kalabari
Ibani–Kalabari–Kirike
Native toNigeria
RegionRivers State
EthnicityKalabari, Ibani
Native speakers(570,000 cited 1989–1995)
Language familyNiger–Congo?
Dialects
  • Kalabari
  • Ibani (Bonny)
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
ijn – Kalabari
iby – Ibani
okr – Kirike
Glottologkaki1246
ELPKalabari
 Kirike

Kalabari is an Ijo language of Nigeria spoken in Rivers State and Bayelsa State by the Awome people. Its three dialects are mutually intelligible. The Kalabari dialect (Kalabari proper) is one of the best-documented varieties of Ijo, and as such is frequently used as the prime example of Ijo in linguistic literature.

As of 2005, the language, "spoken by 258,000 people, endangered largely because of the massive relocation that has taken place in the area due to the development of Nigeria's oil industry in the Port Harcourt region."

Berbice Creole Dutch, a recently extinct Dutch Creole formerly spoken in Eastern Guyana, was spoken by descendants of Kalabari speakers. The African element in Berbice Dutch is predominantly Kalabari in origin.

Kalabari-language words have been proposed for some modern technical terms.

Dialects

Kalabari is spoken south of Port Harcourt.

Ibani is spoken southeast of Port Harcourt, in the Bonny local government area and in Opobo.

Kirike is spoken in Port Harcourt and the local government areas of Okrika and Ogu–Bolo.

Writing system

Ibani alphabet
a b d e f g gb gh gw h i j k kp kw l m n nw ny o p r s t u v w y z
Kirike alphabet
a b ch d e f g gb gw h i j k kp kw l m n ñ nw ny o p r s t u v w y z

See also

References

  1. Kalabari at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Ibani at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Kirike at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Endangered Languages Project data for Kirike.
  3. "Kalahari Bibi: Introducing The Kalabari Language". Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  4. "2006 Funded Projects". Endangered Language Fund. Archived from the original on 2013-08-15. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  5. "Ijoid languages". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  6. Iyalla-Amadi, Priye E. (March 2012). "Lexicological Development of Kalabari Language in the Age of Technology: A Comparative Study of French and Kalabari" (PDF). The Journal of Pan African Studies. 5 (1): 154–163. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  7. Ngulube 2011a.
  8. Ngulube 2011b.

Works cited

External links

Languages of Nigeria
Official languages
National languages
Recognised languages
Indigenous languages
Indigenous languages (grouped by Nigerian state)
Adamawa
Akwa Ibom
Bauchi
Bayelsa
Benue
Borno
Cross River
Delta
Edo
Gombe
Jigawa
Kaduna
Kano
Kebbi
Kogi
Kwara
Nasarawa
Niger
Ondo
Plateau
Rivers
Taraba
Yobe
Sign languages
Immigrant languages
Scripts
Ijoid languages
Ijaw languages
East
West
Other languages


This article about Ijoid languages is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories: