Defoid languages
From Free net encyclopedia
{{Infobox Language family |name=Defoid |region=Togo, Benin and south-western Nigeria |familycolor=Niger-Congo |fam2=Atlantic-Congo |fam3=Volta-Congo |fam4=Benue-Congo |child1=Akokoid |child2=Yoruboid }}
The Defoid languages constitute a branch of the Benue-Congo language family, and the name of the language family derives from the fact that nearly all of the ethnic groups who speak member languages refer to the city of Ilé Ifè as their place of origin - Defoid = èdè ('language')+ ifè (Ife) + oid. The Defoid language group consists of two branches, Yoruboid and Akokoid.
By far the most important member of this family in terms of number of speakers is Yoruba, with approximately 30 million speakers in Nigeria, Benin, Togo and elsewhere. Other important languages in the group are Igala and Itsekiri, the latter of which shares substantial intelligibility with certain dialects of Yoruba spoken in Nigeria's Ondo state.