The Izon languages (), otherwise known as the Ịjọ languages, are the languages spoken by the Izon people in southern Nigeria. Classification The Ijo languages were traditionally considered a distinct branch of the Niger–Congo family (perhaps along with Defaka in a group called Ijoid). They are notable for their subject–object–verb basic word order, which is otherwise an unusual feature in Niger–Congo, shared only by such distant potential branches as Mande and Dogon. Like Mande and Dogon, Ijoid lacks even traces of the noun class system considered characteristic of Niger–Congo. This motivated Joseph Greenberg, in his initial classification of Niger–Congo, to describe them as having split early from that family. However, owing to the lack of these features, Linguist Gerrit Dimmendaal doubts their inclusion in Niger–Congo altogether and considers the Ijoid languages to be an independent family. The following internal classification is based on Jenewari (1989) and Williamson & Blench (2000). East Nkoroo Kalabari (Bonny/Ibani, Okrika/Kirike) Bille (Touma, Krikama, Jikeama) Southeast Ijo Nembe Akassa West (or Central) Izon Inland Ijo Biseni Akita (Okordia) Oruma Blench (2019) moves Southeast Ijo into the West (or Central) branch. East Nkoroo Kalabari (Bonny/Ibani, Okrika/Kirike) Bille West (or Central) Southeast Ijo Nembe Akassa Izon–Inland Ijo Izon Inland Ijo Biseni Akita (Okordia) Oruma Names and locations Below is a list of Ijaw language names, populations, and locations from Blench (2019). In the diaspora Berbice Creole Dutch, an extinct creole spoken in Guyana, had a lexicon based partly on an Ịjọ language, perhaps the ancestor of Kalabari (Kouwenberg 1994). Education and media In June 2013, the Izon Fie instructional book and audio CDs were launched at a ceremony attended by officials of the government of Bayelsa State. The Niger Delta University is working to expand the range of books available in the Ijo language. Translations of poetry and the Call of the River Nun by Gabriel Okara are underway. See also List of Proto-Ijaw reconstructions (Wiktionary) References Bibliography Freemann, R. A., and Kay Williamson. 1967. Ịjọ proverbs. Research Notes (Ibadan) 1:1-11. Kouwenberg, Silvia 1994. A grammar of Berbice Dutch Creole. (Mouton Grammar Library 12). Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Lee, J. D., and Kay Williamson. 1990. A lexicostatistic classification of Ịjọ dialects. Research in African Languages and Linguistics 1:1.1-10. Williamson, Kay. 1963. The syntax of verbs of motion in Ịjọ. J. African Languages 2.150-154. Williamson, Kay. 1966. Ịjọ dialects in the Polyglotta Africana. Sierra Leone Language Review 5.