Yorùbá (native name èdè Yorùbá, 'the Yorùbá language') is a Niger–Congo language spoken in West Africa by approximately 20 million speakers.[1] The native tongue of the Yoruba people, it is spoken, among other languages, inNigeria, Benin, and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas. It is most closely related to the Itsekiri language spoken in the Niger-Delta and Igala spoken in central Nigeria. It is more widely related to other Nigerian Niger–Congo languages including Edo, Igbo and Nupe.