Ebira | |
---|---|
Native to | Nigeria |
Region | Kogi state, Nassarawa state, FCT, Kwara state, Niger State, Benue state, Edo state, Ondo State |
Ethnicity | Ebira |
Native speakers | 2.2 million (2020) [1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
igb |
Glottolog |
ebir1243 |
Ebira (pronounced as /eh 'be ra/; also known as Igbira, Egbura, or Okene [2]) is a Niger-Congo language. It is spoken by around 2 million people in North central Nigeria. It is the most divergent Nupoid language. [2]
The majority of speakers are in Kogi State in the Central part of that state; constituting the second largest ethnic group according to national population commission census 2006 Nasarawa State in Toto Local Government Area, where the name is usually spelt Egbura; Edo State in the Town of Igarra, where the language is usually known as Etuno; and in the Federal Capital Territory in the Town of Abaji. It is also spoken in Lapai ( Niger State), Makurdi ( Benue State and Kwara State and some are also found in Ondo State ( Akoko).
Varieties of Ebira are: [2]
Blench (2019) lists Okene, Etuno (Tụnọ), and Koto. [3]
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t | t͡ɕ | k | |
voiced | b | d | d͡ʑ | ɡ | ||
Fricative | voiceless | s | ( ʃ) | h | ||
voiced | v | z | ( ʒ) | |||
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
Tap | ɾ | |||||
Approximant | w | ( l) | j |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i | u | |
Near-close | ɪ | ʊ | |
Close-mid | e | o | |
Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
Open | a |