Volta–Niger languages
The Volta–Niger family of languages, also known as West Benue–Congo or East Kwa, is one of the branches of the Niger–Congo language family, with perhaps 70 million speakers. Among these are the most important languages of southern Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and southeast Ghana: Yoruba, Igbo, Bini, and Gbe.
| Volta–Niger | |
|---|---|
| West Benue–Congo or East Kwa | |
| Geographic distribution | West Africa, from Eastern Ghana to central Nigeria |
| Linguistic classification | Niger–Congo?
|
| Subdivisions |
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| Glottolog | None |
Map cut-out of Volta-Niger family of languages area, with most of the languages bounded by the Volta river, in modern-day Ghana, and the Niger river, found in modern-day Nigeria | |
These languages have variously been placed within the Kwa or Benue–Congo families or, starting in the 1970s, combined with them altogether. Williamson & Blench (2000) separate the languages here called Volta-Niger from the others. Güldemann (2018) fails to see clear criteria for dividing the languages into two or three families and maintains the broad grouping and name of Benue-Kwa for all them.
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