Urhobo is a South-Western Edoid language[2] spoken by the Urhobo people of southern Nigeria.[3][4] It is from the Delta and Bayelsa States.[5]
Urhobo | |
---|---|
Native to | Nigeria |
Region | Delta State, Edo State |
Ethnicity | Urhobo people |
Native speakers | 1.1 million (2020)[1] |
Niger–Congo?
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | urh |
Glottolog | urho1239 |
Urhobo has a rather reduced system of sound inventory compared to proto-Edoid. The inventory of Urhobo consists of seven vowels; which form two harmonic sets,[6] /i e ɛ a o ɔ u/ and /ĩ ẽ ɛ̃ ã ɔ̃ õ ũ/.[7]
It has a conservative consonant inventory for an Edoid language. It maintains three nasals, and only five oral consonants, /ɾ, l, β̞, j, w/, have nasal allophones before nasal vowels.[6]
Labial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio-velar | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | (n) | ɲ | ŋ͡m | |||
Plosive | p b | t d | d͡ʒ | kʲ ɡʲ | k ɡ | k͡p ɡ͡b | |
Fricative | ɸ | f v | s | ʃ | (ç ʝ) | x ɣ | |
Trill | r̥ r | ||||||
Flap | (ɾ̥ ɾ) | ||||||
Lateral | l ~ n | ||||||
Approximant | β̞ [β̞̃ ] | (ɹ̥ ɹ) [ɹ̃] | j [j̃] | (ɰ ɰ̥) | w [w̃] |
According to Anthony Ukere, Urhobo has two tones, a high tone and a low tone. These can also combine to form rising and falling tones.[8]
Urhobo has the SVO constituent order type as illustrated with the example below:
Òtítí
Otiti
ò
3SG
chó
steal.PST
ọhọ
hen
ná
DET
‘Otiti stole the hen.’
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