Yoruba language
| Yoruba | |
|---|---|
| Èdè Yorùbá | |
| Pronunciation | [èdè jōɾùbá] |
| Native to | Benin · Nigeria · Togo |
| Region | Yorubaland |
| Ethnicity | Yoruba |
| Speakers | L1: 48 million (2023)[1] L2: 2.0 million (no date)[1] Total: 50 million (2023)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
Early form | Proto-Yoruboid
|
| Dialects |
|
| Latin (Yoruba alphabet) Arabic (Anjemi) Oduduwa script Yoruba Braille | |
| Official status | |
Official language in |
|
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | yo |
| ISO 639-2 | yor |
| ISO 639-3 | yor |
| Glottolog | yoru1245 |
| Linguasphere | 98-AAA-a |
| People | Ọmọ Yorùbá |
|---|---|
| Language | Èdè Yorùbá |
| Country | Ilẹ̀ Yorùbá |
Yoruba (US: /ˈjɔːrəbə/,[2] UK: /ˈjɒrʊbə/;[3] Yor. Èdè Yorùbá [èdè jōɾùbá]) is a Niger-Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo. It is spoken by the Yoruba people. Yoruba speakers number roughly 50 million,[4] including around 2 million second-language or L2 speakers.[1] As a pluricentric language, it is primarily spoken in a dialectal area spanning Nigeria, Benin, and Togo with smaller migrated communities in Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia.
Yoruba vocabulary is also used in African diaspora religions such as the Afro-Brazilian religions of Candomblé and Umbanda, the Caribbean religion of Santería in the form of the liturgical Lucumí language, and various Afro-American religions of North America. Among modern practitioners of these religions in the Americas, Yoruba is a liturgical language, as most of them are not fluent in it, yet they still use Yoruba words and phrases for songs or chants, which are rooted in cultural traditions. For such practitioners, the Yoruba lexicon is especially common for ritual purposes, and these modern manifestations have taken new forms that do not depend on vernacular fluency.[5][6][7][8]
As the principal Yoruboid language, Yoruba is most closely related to Itsekiri (spoken in the Niger Delta) and Igala (spoken in central Nigeria).
- ^ a b c d Yoruba language at Ethnologue (28th ed., 2025)
- ^ "Yoruba". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student's Handbook, Edinburgh
- ^ Yoruba language at Ethnologue (28th ed., 2025)
- ^ Valdés, Vanessa K. (2015-03-04). "Yoruba Traditions and African American Religious Nationalism by Tracey E. Hucks (review)". Callaloo. 38 (1): 234–237. doi:10.1353/cal.2015.0025. ISSN 1080-6512. S2CID 143058809.
- ^ Warner, Maureen (1971). "Trinidad Yoruba — Notes on Survivals". Caribbean Quarterly. 17 (2): 40–49. doi:10.1080/00086495.1971.11829073. ISSN 0008-6495. JSTOR 40653205.
- ^ "History of Oyotunji". Oyotunji. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ^ Nigeria, Know (2017-04-13). "The Oyotunji Village: a Mini Yoruba Empire in the USA". Inspire Afrika. Retrieved 2020-10-13.