The Izon languages (), otherwise known as the Ịjọ languages, are the languages spoken by the

Izon people Izon may refer to: People * Charles Izon (1872–1897), English football player * David Izon, also known as David Izonritei, heavyweight silver medallist * Dennis Izon (1907–1967), English football player * Noel Izon, Filipino filmmaker Places ...

in southern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Classification

The Ijo languages were traditionally considered a distinct branch of the Niger–Congo family (perhaps along with Defaka in a group called

Ijoid Ijoid is a proposed but undemonstrated group of languages linking the Ijaw languages (Ịjọ) with the endangered Defaka language. The similarities, however, may be due to Ijaw influence on Defaka. The Ijoid languages, or perhaps just Ijaw, are ...

). They are notable for their

subject–object–verb Subject ( la, subiectus "lying beneath") may refer to: Philosophy *'' Hypokeimenon'', or ''subiectum'', in metaphysics, the "internal", non-objective being of a thing **Subject (philosophy), a being that has subjective experiences, subjective con ...

basic word order, which is otherwise an unusual feature in Niger–Congo, shared only by such distant potential branches as

Mande Mande may refer to: * Mandé peoples of western Africa * Mande languages * Manding, a term covering a subgroup of Mande peoples, and sometimes used for one of them, Mandinka * Garo people of northeastern India and northern Bangladesh * Mande River ...

and Dogon. Like Mande and Dogon, Ijoid lacks even traces of the

noun class In linguistics, a noun class is a particular category of nouns. A noun may belong to a given class because of the characteristic features of its referent, such as gender, animacy, shape, but such designations are often clearly conventional. Some ...

system considered characteristic of Niger–Congo. This motivated

Joseph Greenberg Joseph Harold Greenberg (May 28, 1915 – May 7, 2001) was an American linguist, known mainly for his work concerning linguistic typology and the genetic classification of languages. Life Early life and education Joseph Greenberg was born on ...

, in his initial classification of Niger–Congo, to describe them as having split early from that family. However, owing to the lack of these features, Linguist Gerrit Dimmendaal doubts their inclusion in Niger–Congo altogether and considers the Ijoid languages to be an independent family. The following internal classification is based on Jenewari (1989) and Williamson & Blench (2000). *East **

Nkoroo Nkoroo is a town in the Bonny territory of Rivers State, Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa ...

** Kalabari (Bonny/Ibani, Okrika/Kirike) **Bille (Touma, Krikama, Jikeama) ** Southeast Ijo ***Nembe ***Akassa *West (or Central) ** Izon **Inland Ijo *** Biseni *** Akita (Okordia) *** Oruma Blench (2019) moves Southeast Ijo into the ''West'' (or ''Central'') branch. *East **

** Kalabari (Bonny/Ibani, Okrika/Kirike) **Bille *West (or Central) ** Southeast Ijo ***Nembe ***Akassa **Izon–Inland Ijo *** Izon ***Inland Ijo **** Biseni **** Akita (Okordia) **** Oruma

Names and locations

Below is a list of Ijaw language names, populations, and locations from Blench (2019).

In the diaspora

Berbice Creole Dutch Berbice Creole Dutch (also known as Berbice Dutch) is a now extinct Dutch creole language, once spoken in Berbice, a region along the Berbice River in Guyana. It had a lexicon largely based on Dutch and Eastern Ijo varieties from southern Niger ...

, an extinct creole spoken in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, had a lexicon based partly on an Ịjọ language, perhaps the ancestor of Kalabari (Kouwenberg 1994).

Education and media

In June 2013, the ''Izon Fie'' instructional book and audio CDs were launched at a ceremony attended by officials of the government of Bayelsa State. The

Niger Delta University Niger Delta University (NDU) is in Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State in the southern part of Nigeria. It was established in 2000. It is a Bayelsa state government-funded university. In 2002, It was established by Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha, then ...

is working to expand the range of books available in the Ijo language. Translations of poetry and the ''Call of the River Nun'' by

Gabriel Okara Gabriel Imomotimi Okara (24 April 1921 – 25 March 2019) was a Nigerian poet and novelist who was born in Bumoundi in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The first modernist poet of Anglophone Africa, he is best known for his early experimental ...

are underway.

References

Bibliography

*Freemann, R. A., and Kay Williamson. 1967. Ịjọ proverbs. Research Notes (Ibadan) 1:1-11. *Kouwenberg, Silvia 1994. ''A grammar of Berbice Dutch Creole''. (Mouton Grammar Library 12). Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. *Lee, J. D., and Kay Williamson. 1990. A lexicostatistic classification of Ịjọ dialects. Research in African Languages and Linguistics 1:1.1-10. * Williamson, Kay. 1963. The syntax of verbs of motion in Ịjọ. J. African Languages 2.150-154. *Williamson, Kay. 1966. Ịjọ dialects in the Polyglotta Africana. Sierra Leone Language Review 5. 122-133. *Williamson, Kay. 1969. 'Igbo' and 'Ịjọ', chapters 7 and 8 in: Twelve Nigerian Languages, ed. by E. Dunstan. Longmans. *Williamson, Kay. 1971. Animal names in Ịjọ. Afr. Notes 6, no. 2, 53-61. *Williamson, Kay. 1973. Some reduced vowel harmony systems. Research Notes 6:1-3. 145-169. *Williamson, Kay. 1977. Multivalued features for consonants. Language 53.843-871. *Williamson, Kay. 1978. From tone to pitch-accent: the case of Ịjọ. Kiabàrà 1:2.116-125. *Williamson, Kay. 1979. Consonant distribution in Ịjọ. In: Linguistic and literary studies presented to Archibald Hill, ed. E.C. Polome and W. Winter, 3.341-353. Lisse, Netherlands: Peter de Ridder Press. *Williamson, Kay. 1979. Medial consonants in Proto-Ịjọ. Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 1.73-94. *Williamson, Kay. 1987. Nasality in Ịjọ. In: Current trends in African linguistics, 4, ed. by David Odden, 397-415. *Williamson, Kay. 1989. Tone and accent in Ịjọ. In Pitch accent systems, ed. by Harry v.d. Hulst and Norval Smith, 253-278. Foris Publications. *Williamson, Kay. 2004. The language situation in the Niger Delta. Chapter 2 in: The development of Ịzọn language, edited by Martha L. Akpana, 9-13. *Williamson, Kay, and A. O. Timitimi. 1970. A note on number symbolism in Ịjọ. African Notes (Ibadan) 5:3. 9-16. *Williamson, Kay & Timitime, A.O. (197?) 'A note on Ijo number symbolism', ''African Notes'', 5, 3, 9-16. *Filatei, Akpodigha. 2006. The Ijaw Language Project. (Editor of www.ijawdictionary.com). www.ijawdictionary.com ;On specific languages *Williamson, Kay. 1962. (Republished by Bobbs-Merrill Reprints 1971.). Changes in the marriage system of the Okrika Ịjọ. Africa 32.53-60. *Orupabo, G. J., and Kay Williamson. 1980. Okrika. In West African language data sheets, Volume II, edited by M.E. Kropp Dakubu. Leiden: West African Linguistic Society and African Studies Centre.

External links

The Ijaw Dictionary Online
{{Authority control Languages of Nigeria * Indigenous languages of Rivers State Subject–object–verb languages