Ogoni languages
Encyclopedia
The Ogoni languages, or Kegboid languages, are the five languages of the Ogoni people
of Rivers State
, Nigeria.
They fall into two clusters, with a limited degree of mutual intelligibility between members of each cluster. However, the Ogoni think of them as separate languages.
The Eastern languages are Khana
and Tẹẹ
, with a quarter million or so speakers, and Gokana
, with about half that number. The Western languages are Eleme, with about 70,000 speakers, and Baan, with about a tenth that number.
Ogoni people
Ogoni people are one of the many indigenous peoples in the region of southeast Nigeria. They share common oil related environmental problem with the Ijaw people of Niger Delta, but Ogonis are not listed in the list of people historically belonging to Niger Delta...
of Rivers State
Rivers State
Rivers State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria. Its capital is Port Harcourt. It is bounded on the South by the Atlantic Ocean, to the North by Imo, Abia and Anambra States, to the East by Akwa Ibom State and to the West by Bayelsa and Delta states...
, Nigeria.
They fall into two clusters, with a limited degree of mutual intelligibility between members of each cluster. However, the Ogoni think of them as separate languages.
The Eastern languages are Khana
Khana language
Khana , or Ogoni proper, is the prestige variety of the Ogoni languages. It is the lingua franca of speakers of the East Ogoni languages....
and Tẹẹ
Tee language
Tẹẹ, or Tai, is the language of the Tai tribe of the Ogoni nation of Nigeria. It is to a limited degree mutually intelligible with Khana, the main Ogoni language, but its speakers consider it to be a separate language.-Phonology:...
, with a quarter million or so speakers, and Gokana
Gokana language
Gokana is an Ogoni language spoken by some 130,000 people in Rivers State, Nigeria.-References:***Brosnahan, L. F. "Outlines of the Phonology of the Gokana Dialect of Ogoni" Journal of West African Languages 1: pp. 43–48...
, with about half that number. The Western languages are Eleme, with about 70,000 speakers, and Baan, with about a tenth that number.