Edo language
Edoid language spoken in Nigeria
Edo | |
---|---|
Bini | |
Ẹ̀dó | |
Native to | Nigeria |
Region | Edo State |
Ethnicity | Edo people |
Native speakers
|
2 million (2020) [1] |
Latin | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 |
bin
|
ISO 639-3 |
bin
|
Glottolog |
bini1246
|
Location of Edo speakers in Nigeria.
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Edo / ˈ ɛ d oʊ / [2] (with diacritics, Ẹ̀dó ), colloquially called Bini (Benin), is a language spoken in Edo State , Nigeria . It is the native language of the Edo people and was the primary language of the Benin Empire and its predecessor, Igodomigodo .
Distribution
Most of the Edo language-speakers live in Edo State , Nigeria . A smaller number of speakers are also found in Delta State and Ondo State and in other parts of Nigeria.
Edo is an Edoid language . This languages are also spoken in Rivers State and Bayelsa State , Nigeria.
Phonology
Vowels
There are seven vowels, /i e ɛ a ɔ o u/ , all of which may be long or nasal, and three tones.
Consonants
Edo has a rather average consonant inventory for an Edoid language . It maintains only a single phonemic nasal, /m/ , but has 13 oral consonants, /r, l, ʋ, j, w/ and the 8 stops , which have nasal allophones such as [n, ɲ, ŋʷ] , and nasalized allophones [ʋ̃, j̃, w̃] before nasal vowels.
Labial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio-velar | Glottal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | ||||||
Plosive |
p
b
[pm bm] |
t
d
[tn dn] |
k
ɡ
[kŋ ɡŋ] |
k͡p
ɡ͡b
[k͡pŋ͡m ɡ͡bŋ͡m] |
|||
Fricative | f v | s z | x ɣ | ɦ | |||
Trill | r | ||||||
Close approximant | ɹ̝̊ ɹ̝ | ||||||
Open approximant |
ʋ
[ʋ̃] |
l
[n] |
j
[ɲ] [j̃] |
w
[ŋʷ] [w̃] |
The three rhotics have been described as voiced and voiceless trills as well as a lax English-type approximant. However, Ladefoged [3] [ page needed ] found all three to be approximants, with the voiced–voiceless pair being raised (without being fricatives) and perhaps at a slightly different place of articulation compared to the third but not trills.
Phonotactics
Syllable structure is simple, being maximally CVV, where VV is either a long vowel or /i, u/ plus a different oral or nasal vowel.
Orthography
The Edo alphabet has separate letters for the nasalised allophones of /ʋ/ and /l/ , mw and n :
A | B | D | E | Ẹ | F | G | Gb | Gh | H | I | K | Kh | Kp | L | M | Mw | N | O | Ọ | P | R | Rh | Rr | S | T | U | V | Vb | W | Y | Z |
/a/ | /b/ | /d/ | /e/ | /ɛ/ | /f/ | /ɡ/ | /ɓˠ/ | /ɣ/ | /ɦ/ | /i/ | /k/ | /x/ | /kp/ | /l/ | /m/ | /ʋ/ | /l/ | /o/ | /ɔ/ | /p/ | /r/ | /ɹ̝̊/ | /ɹ̝/ | /s/ | /t/ | /u/ | /v/ | /ʋ/ | /w/ | /j/ | /z/ |
Long vowels are written by doubling the letter. Nasal vowels may be written with a final -n or with an initial nasal consonant. Tone may be written with acute accent, grave accent, and unmarked, or with a final -h (-nh with a nasal vowel).
See also
References
- ↑ Edo at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ↑ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student's Handbook , Edinburgh
- ↑ Ladefoged, Peter ; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages . Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-631-19815-4 .
- Emovon, Joshua A. (1979). A phonological study of Edo (Bini), with special reference to the verbal phrase. University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies (United Kingdom)
External links
- Edo Language Dictionary Online
- Hans Melzian's Edo-English Dictionary
- Rebecca Agheyisi's Edo-English Dictionary
- Centre for Edo Studies
- PanAfrican L10n page on Edo (Bini)
- Edo/Africa names dictionary{source Edoworld}
- Bini (Edo) wordlists and recordings at the UCLA Phonetics Archive
- Bini (Edo) Market Days Calender [ sic ] on Naija local
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