Yoruba language. Yoruba /ˈjɒrʊbə/[2] (natively èdè Yorùbá) is a Niger–Congo language spoken in West Africa. The number of speakers of Yoruba was estimated at around 20 million in the 1990s.[3] The native tongue of the Yoruba people is spoken, among other languages, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas. A variety of the language, Lucumi, is the liturgical language of the Santería religion of the Caribbean. It is most closely related to the Owo and Itsekiri language (spoken in the Niger-Delta) and Igala spoken in central Nigeria.[4] History[edit] Yoruba is classified within 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. The linguistic unity of the Niger-Congo family dates to deep prehistory, estimates ranging around 15 kya (the end of the Upper Paleolithic).[5] Varieties[edit] Literary Yoruba[edit] Writing system[edit] Vowels[edit]
SpeakYoruba - Learning Yoruba one word a time. Learn Yoruba Home Page. LEARN YORUBA IN FREE! IN "SPEAK YORUBA IN 24 HOURS" - LEARN YORUBA FREE. [General] The Americans who speak Yoruba. Yoruba Cultural Institute.