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Defoid languages

African Language Families

The Defoid languages are a proposed branch of the Benue-Congo language family. The name of the group derives from the fact that nearly all of the ethnic groups who speak member languages refer to the city of Ile Ife as their place of origin, combining ede (language) and Ife. It was first proposed by Capo in 1989, but evidence for it is still regarded as insufficient by Guldemann as of 2018.

Facts
Region
Nigeria, Benin, and Togo 1
Proto-Language Status
Proto-Defoid 1
Connections

Descends From

Why this is disputed. Defoid (Yoruboid, including Yoruba) is classified within Benue-Congo in current schemes, though the precise placement of the intermediate Volta-Niger grouping is not yet represented as its own entity in this atlas.

Sources
1. Defoid languages - Wikipedia
  • Infobox, Geographic distribution field
    Nigeria, Benin, and Togo
  • Infobox, Proto-language field
    Proto-Defoid
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