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There are over 520 native languages spoken in Nigeria. [1] [2] [3] The official language is English, [4] [5] which was the language of Colonial Nigeria.The English-based creole Nigerian Pidgin – first used by the British and African slavers to facilitate the Atlantic slave trade in the late 17th century [6] – is the most common lingua franca, spoken by over 60 million people.
The culture of Nigeria is shaped by Nigeria's multiple ethnic groups. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The country has 527 languages, [ 3 ] [ 4 ] seven of which are extinct. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] Nigeria also has over 1,150 dialects and ethnic groups.
The history of Nigeria can be traced to the earliest inhabitants whose date remains at least 13,000 BC through the early civilizations such as the Nok culture which began around 1500 BC. Numerous ancient African civilizations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of Nri , [ 1 ] the Benin Kingdom , [ 2 ] and ...
Several studies have shown the Edo language is the major African component that constitutes the foundation of the creoles of the Gulf of Guinea.
In Nigeria, English is acquired through formal education. [16] As English has been in contact with multiple different languages in Nigeria, Nigerian English has become much more prominent and is very similar to both American and British English, and it is often referred to as a group of different sub-varieties. [16]
The major languages spoken in Nigeria represent three major families of languages of Africa: the majority are Niger-Congo languages, such as Igbo, Yoruba, Ibibio, Ijaw, Fulfulde, Ogoni, and Edo. Kanuri , spoken in the northeast, primarily in Borno and Yobe State , is part of the Nilo-Saharan family, and Hausa is an Afroasiatic language.
The history of the Idoma people precedes the history of Benue State (created 1976) and the history of the Republic of Nigeria (created 1960). Oral tradition and dance is the primary method through which history has been passed in Idomaland and is considered a central cultural institution. From a young age, Idoma children usually learn from ...
Nigeria is distinguished from other African nations by the extent of its population's ties to the U.S. [162] [61] In addition to the large number of African Americans who trace their ancestry back to Nigeria, significant links of "culture and community" arise from the large Nigerian American community in the U.S., [162] which is known for being ...