Kalabari language

Kalabari is an Ijo language of Nigeria spoken in Rivers State and Bayelsa State by the Awome people.[3] Its three dialects are mutually intelligible. The Kalabari dialect (Kalabari proper) is one of the best-documented varieties of Ijo, and as such is frequently used as the prime example of Ijo in linguistic literature.

Kalabari
Ibani–Kalabari–Kirike
Native toNigeria
RegionRivers State
EthnicityKalabari, Ibani
Native speakers
(570,000 cited 1989–1995)[1]
Dialects
  • Kalabari
  • Ibani (Bonny)
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
ijn – Kalabari
iby – Ibani
okr – Kirike
Glottologkaki1246
ELPKalabari
 Kirike[2]

As of 2005, the language, "spoken by 258,000 people, [was] endangered largely because of the massive relocation that has taken place in the area due to the development of Nigeria's oil industry in the Port Harcourt region."[4]

The Kalabari language became the basis of Berbice, a Dutch Creole spoken in Eastern Guyana.[5]

Kalabari-language words have been proposed for some modern technical terms.[6]

Dialects

Kalabari is spoken south of Port Harcourt.

Ibani is spoken southeast of Port Harcourt, in the Bonny local government area and in Opobo.

Kirike is spoken in Port Harcourt and the local government areas of Okrika and Ogu–Bolo.

Writing system
Ibani alphabet[7]
abḅde ẹfggbgh gwhiịj kkpkwlm nnwnyoọ prstu ụvwyz
Kirike alphabet[8]
abḅchd ḍeẹfg gbgwhiị jkkpkwl mnñnwny oọprs tuụvw yz

See also

References
  1. Kalabari at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Ibani at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Kirike at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Endangered Languages Project data for Kirike.
  3. "Kalahari Bibi: Introducing The Kalabari Language". Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  4. "2006 Funded Projects". Endangered Language Fund. Archived from the original on 2013-08-15. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  5. "Ijoid languages". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  6. Iyalla-Amadi, Priye E. (March 2012). "Lexicological Development of Kalabari Language in the Age of Technology: A Comparative Study of French and Kalabari" (PDF). The Journal of Pan African Studies. 5 (1): 154–163. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  7. Ngulube 2011a.
  8. Ngulube 2011b.

Works cited


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