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Yoruba

Other Niger-Congo Languages

Yoruba is an Atlantic-Congo language spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo.

Facts
ISO 639-3 Code
yor 2
Speaker Count
50,000,000 2
Ethnologue total figure, 2023.
Status
Living 2
Wikipedia article on Yoruba: a currently spoken living language with an active native-speaker population; checked 2026-09-27.
Attested From (Year)
from 1601 3
Region
Yorubaland (primarily South West Nigeria, Benin, and Togo; also Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Gambia) 2
Classification
Language Kind
Safe 1
Official Status
National Language (Symbolic, Not Sole Official) 2
Connections

In Family

Niger-Congo, Language Families
Source Wikipedia: Yoruba Language

Written In

Latin Script, Scripts
In the Other Atlases

Cases Where Used

The Caribbean

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

West Africa

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

West Africa and the Caribbean

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Yorubaland

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Yoruba

Also in Society and Culture Atlas: used in this subject.

Source Wikipedia: YorubaLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 3
Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
The Yoruba people ( YORR-uub-ə; Yoruba: Ìran Yorùbá, Ọmọ Odùduwà, Ọmọ Káàárọ̀-oòjíire) are a West African ethnic group who inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo, a region collectively called Yorubaland.

Located In

Nigeria

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is located.

Found In

Africa

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Wikipedia: Yoruba LanguageLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 2
Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
Yoruba (; Yor. Èdè Yorùbá [èdè jōɾùbá]) is an Atlantic–Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo.
Yorubaland

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Glottolog: Yoruba (Glottolog languoid yoru1245)
GlottologEndangerment, AES status
Quote, Endangerment, AES status
AES status: not endangered
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: Yoruba Language
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    Yoruba ... is an Atlantic-Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo.
  • Infobox, ISO 639-3
    yor
  • Infobox: speakers2
    L2: million (no date) Total: million (2023)
  • Lead section
    As a pluricentric language, it is primarily spoken in a dialectal area spanning Nigeria, Benin, and Togo with smaller migrated communities in Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Gambia.
  • Infobox, Official language in
    national status
  • In Family: Niger-Congo, Article text
    Yoruba is classified among the Edekiri languages, which together with Itsekiri and the isolate Igala form the Yoruboid group of languages within the Volta-Niger branch of the Niger-Congo family.
View the Source
3. Omniglot: Yoruba language, alphabet and pronunciation
OmniglotLanguage at a glance
Quote, Language at a glance
First written : 17th century AD
View the Source
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