Yoruba language

Yoruba (English pronunciation: /ˈjɒrʊbə/;Yor. èdè Yorùbá) is a language spoken in West Africa, mainly in Nigeria. The number of speakers of Yoruba is approaching 65 million. It is a pluricentric language spoken principally in Nigeria and Benin, with communities in other parts of Africa, Europe, and the Americas. A variety of the language, Lucumi, is the liturgical language of the Santería religion of the Caribbean. Yoruba is most closely related to the Itsekiri language (spoken in the Niger Delta) and to Igala (spoken in central Nigeria).

History

Yoruba is classified within the Edekiri languages, which together with Itsekiri and the isolate Igala form the Yoruboid group of languages within the Volta-Niger branch of the Niger-Congo family. The linguistic unity of the Niger-Congo family dates to deep prehistory, estimates ranging around 15 kya (the end of the Upper Paleolithic). In present-day Nigeria, it is estimated that there are over 40 million Yoruba primary and secondary language speakers and several other millions of speakers outside Nigeria making it the most widely spoken African language outside Africa.