Ekpeye language

Ekpeye
Ekpeye
ẹkpeye
Native to	Nigeria
Region	Rivers State
Ethnicity	Ekpeye people
Native speakers	226,000[citation needed]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta–Niger yeai Igboid Ekpeye; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ekp
Glottolog	ekpe1253

Ekpeye language is one of many Igbo dialects spoken in Rivers State, Nigeria. According to Roger Blench, Ekpeye is classified as an Igboid language.^[3] The Ogba and Ikwerre dialects are closely related to Ekpeye.

Writing system

Ekpeye alphabet^[1]
a	b	bh	ch	d	dh	e	ẹ	g	gb	gw	h	i	ị	j	k	kp	kw
l	m	n	nw	ny	o	ọ	p	s	sh	t	u	ụ	w	wh	y	z	zh

Phonology

Vowels

Ekpeye has nine vowel phonemes:

Vowels of Ekpeye
	Front	Back
Close	i	u
Near-close	ɪ	ʊ
Close-mid	e	o
Open-mid	ɛ	ɔ
Open	a

The language has no long nasal vowels, no contrast between oral and nasal vowels, and no allophonic variants. The vowels carry tones, as Ekpeye is a tonal language. Ekpeye exhibits active synchronic vowel harmony.^[1]

Distribution

Rivers State: Ahoada East, Ahoada West, and Ogba–Egbema–Ndoni LGAs.
Imo State: Ohaji/Egbema LGA

References

1 2 3 Ngulube, Isaac (2011). "Ekpeye Orthography". Orthographies of Nigerian Languages. IX. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
↑ Ekpeye at Ethnologue (21st ed., 2018)
↑ Blench, R. (2013). "A dictionary of Ekpeye : an Igboid language of Southern Nigeria" (PDF). Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.

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[Ngulube-1] 1 2 3 Ngulube, Isaac (2011). "Ekpeye Orthography". Orthographies of Nigerian Languages. IX. Retrieved 19 December 2023.

[e21-2] Ekpeye at Ethnologue (21st ed., 2018)

[3] Blench, R. (2013). "A dictionary of Ekpeye : an Igboid language of Southern Nigeria" (PDF). Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.

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