Nigeria

Chadian Arabic

also: Shuwa Arabic, Baggara Arabic

Spoken across Chad and adjoining parts of Sudan, north-eastern Nigeria, and northern Cameroon. The main Sahelian Arabic variety, used as a lingua franca well beyond Arab communities.

Standard Yoruba

also: Èdè Yorùbá Òde

The Oyo-based standard of literary and broadcast Yoruba. One of the major languages of Nigeria, with substantial communities in Benin and Togo.

Lagos Yoruba

also: Èkó Yorùbá

The Yoruba of Lagos and the broader Èkó area. Heavily code-mixed with Nigerian English and Pidgin in everyday urban use.

Ife Yoruba

The Yoruba of Ile-Ife, the religious centre of Yoruba mythology. A southeastern Yoruba variety with distinct vowel inventory and tonal features.

Kano Hausa

also: Standard Hausa

The Kano-based standard of Hausa. A major lingua franca across the West African Sahel, used widely in Nigeria, Niger, and beyond.

Sokoto Hausa

also: Sakkwatanci

The Hausa of Sokoto in north-western Nigeria. Carries the historical prestige of the Sokoto Caliphate and a distinct lexicon of religious and political terms.

Igbo

A Volta-Niger language of south-eastern Nigeria. One of the three major languages of Nigeria, with a literary standard codified in the late 20th century from a heavily dialect-fragmented base.

Fulani

also: Fula, Fulfulde, Pulaar

An Atlantic Niger-Congo language spoken by Fulani (Peul) communities across the Sahel from Senegal to Sudan. One of the most geographically spread African languages, with 25-30 million speakers.

Kanuri

A Saharan Nilo-Saharan language and the historical court language of the Kanem-Bornu empire. Around 13 million speakers across north-eastern Nigeria, southern Niger, eastern Chad, and northern Cameroon.

Nigerian Pidgin

also: Naijá, Pidgin English

An English-based creole used as a lingua franca across Nigeria and the wider West African coast. Estimated 75-100 million speakers; rapidly expanding as a first language in urban Nigeria.