Lower Cross River languages
Lower Cross River | |
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Lower Cross, Ibibioid | |
Geographic distribution | Nigeria; Roughly west of the Imo estuary to east of the Cross estuary. lower Benue–Congo
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Subdivisions |
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Glottolog | obol1242 |
The Lower Cross River languages form a branch of the
Efik-Ibibio cluster.[1]
- Obolo
- Lower Cross proper:
Additionally, Ethnologue lists several more languages within the Efik-Ibibio cluster. (See Ibibio-Efik languages.)
Forde and Jones (1950) considered Ibino and Oro to be Efik-Ibibio.
Names and locations
Below is a list of language names, populations, and locations from Blench (2019).[2]
Language | Branch | Dialects | Alternate spellings | Own name for language | Endonym (s) |
Other names (location-based) | Other names for language | Exonym (s) |
Speakers | Location(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ebughu | Ebughu | Ebughu | Oron | more than 5,000 (1988) | Akwa Ibom State, Mbo and Oron LGAs | ||||||
Enwang |
Enwang | Enwang | Oron (incorrectly) | estimated 50,000 plus (1988) | Akwa Ibom State, Mbo LGA | ||||||
Iko | Iko | Obolo (incorrectly included within Obolo) | Three villages: 5,000+ (1988) | Akwa Ibom State, Eastern Obolo LGA[3] | |||||||
Ilue | Idua | Ilue | 5,000 (1988); diminishing | Akwa Ibom State, Oron LGA | |||||||
Ọkọbọ | 11,200 (1945 F&J); 50,000 | Akwa Ibom State, Okobo LGA | |||||||||
Uda |
Uda | 10,000 plus (1988) | Akwa Ibom State, Mbo LGA | ||||||||
Ukwa | Cross River State, Akampka LGA | ||||||||||
Usaghade | Usakade(t) | Usaghade | Isangele | estimate 10,000 (1990) although mostly in Cameroon | Cross River State, Odukpani LGA; mainly in Cameroon, Isangele sub–division | ||||||
Idere | Idere | more than 5,000 (1988) | Akwa Ibom State, Itu LGA | no data | |||||||
Efai | Efai | Effiat (from Efik) | >5,000 (1988 est.) | Akwa Ibom State, Mbo LGA; Cameroon, Isangele sub–division | |||||||
Ọrọ | Oron | Ọrọ (Oro) | Ọrọ (Oro) | 319,000 (1963 per Kuperus) | Akwa Ibom State, Oron LGA | ||||||
Ito |
Ito | 5,000 plus (1988) | Akwa Ibom State, Akamkpa LGA | no data | |||||||
Eki | Eki | 5000 plus (1988) | Cross River State | no data | |||||||
Etebi |
Central | Etebi | Oron (incorrectly); Ekit (incorrectly) | estimate 15,000 (1989) | Akwa Ibom State, Uquo Ibeno LGA | ||||||
Itu Mbon Uzo |
Central | Itu Mbuzo | Itu Mbon Uzo | 5,000 plus (1988) | Akwa Ibom State, Ikono LGA | ||||||
Anaang | Central | Abak, Ikot Ekpene, Ukanafun | Annang, Anang, Anaŋ | 246,000 (F&J 1944-5): estimated 1,000,000 (1990) | Akwa Ibom State, Ikot Ekpene, Essien Udim, Abak, Ukanafun and Oruk–Anam LGAs | ||||||
Efik | Central | Calabar | 26,300 (1950 F&J),[4] 10,000 in Cameroon; 360,000 first language speakers; spoken as a second language by 1.3 million (UN 1960), 3.5 million (1986 UBS) diminishing | Cross River State, Calabar municipality, Odukpani and Akamkpa LGAs; and in Cameroon | |||||||
Ekit |
Central | Ekid, Eket | 22,000 (1952 W&B); estimated 200,000 (1989) | Akwa Ibom State, Eket and Uquo Ibeno LGAs | |||||||
Ibibio | Central | Nkari, Enyong, Central, Itak, Nsit etc. roughly according to clans | Ibibyo | 800,000 (1952) (may include Efik); 283,000 (1945 F&J); 2 million (1973 census); estimated 2.5 million (Ibibio proper 1990) | Akwa Ibom State, Ikono, Itu, Uyo, Etinan, Ekpe–Atai, Uruan, Nsit–Ubium, Onna, Mkpat Enin and Abasi LGAs | ||||||
Ibuoro | Central | Ibuoro | 5,000 plus (1988) | Akwa Ibom State, Itu and Ikono LGAs | |||||||
Obolo | West | From West to East: Ataba, Unyeada, Ngo, Okoroete, Ibot Obolo | Òbólò | Andoni | 22,400 (1944 F&J); 90,000 (1983 Aaron); 100,000 (Faraclas 1989) | Rivers State, Andoni LGA: western dialects; Akwa Ibom State, Eastern Obolo LGA: eastern dialects[5] | |||||
Ibinọ | West | Ibuno, Ibeno | 10,000 (Faraclas (1989) | Akwa Ibom State, Ibeno LGA[6] |
Reconstructions
Proto-Lower Cross River has been reconstructed by Connell (n.d.)[7]
See also
- List of Proto-Lower Cross River reconstructions (Wiktionary)
References
- ^ Essien, Okon (1990). A grammar of the Ibibio language. Ibadan, Nigeria: University Press Limited.
- ^ Blench, Roger (2019). An Atlas of Nigerian Languages (4th ed.). Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.
- ^ "Iko".
- ^ Forde, C.D. and G.I. Jones 1950. The Ibo and Ibibio speaking peoples of Southern Nigeria. Ethnographic Survey of Africa. Western Africa part III. International African Institute, London.
- ^ "Obolo".
- ^ "Ibino".
- ^ Connell, Bruce. n.d. Comparative Lower Cross wordlist.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 3.0 license.
Further reading
- Connell, Bruce. n.d. Comparative Lower Cross wordlist. Unpublished manuscript.