TerraverbaAn atlas of the world’s languages 简体中文 Open the atlas

Defaka

Defaka is an Ijoid language spoken in Nigeria. Glottolog rates it moribund.

See it on the globeOpen in the family tree

Defaka · 4.6°N 7.5°E

Defaka is an endangered and divergent Nigerian language of uncertain classification. It is spoken in the Opobo–Nkoro LGA of Rivers State, in the Defaka or Afakani ward of Nkọrọ town and Ịwọma Nkọrọ. The low number of Defaka speakers, coupled with the fact that other languages dominate the region where Defaka is spoken, edges the language near extinction on a year-to-year basis. It is generally classified in an Ijoid branch of the Niger–Congo family. However, the Ijoid proposal is problematic. Blench (2012) notes that "Defaka has numerous external cognates and might be an isolate or independent branch of Niger–Congo which has come under Ịjọ influence."

From Wikipedia · Defaka language · CC BY-SA 4.0

Words in Defaka

MeaningWordRomanization
personnom*
nameita*
eyeoyo*
earɓasi
nosenini*
toothnia*
tonguemEndou*
handka*
bloodasi*
bonembua*
skinikpa*
breastonuo*
watermbị́á
fireayom*
staripini*
rainsɔ̃ĩ
mountainanaa*
treeiboti*
leafjiriapa*
nightbi*
dogebere
fishtina*
lousemkpi*
onebgori*
twomaama*
threetáátó
drinkmbu*
seeEsE*
hearnaa*
dieeze*

* in the simplified ASJP transcription

Most similar languages

Vocabulary

Grammar

Vocabulary compares 40 basic words (ASJP); grammar compares 195 features (Grambank). Similar is not always related.

Nearby languages

Elsewhere

Something wrong here? Tell us

Glottolog · defa1248 · Wikipedia (English) · Ethnologue · afn