Nigeria is a diverse place filled with various tribal groups and indigenous languages. Buzz Nigeria reports that this West African country holds the third position on the list of nations with the most languages. These include Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa.
Over the years, these languages have managed to travel outside the country. This is due to several reasons like the trans-Atlantic slave trade, immigration, and cattle grazing.
Due to the effect of the Trans – Atlantic Slave Trade that occurred in the 18th century, sons and daughters of the Yoruba kingdom spread around the world and have impacted in one way or the other to uplift the tribe’s culture and tradition.
Yoruba, a language from the Southwestern part of Nigeria, is one of the most widely spoken languages heard in other parts of Africa, North America, United Kingdom and Europe.
Here are all the foreign countries where the Yoruba language is spoken:
1. El Salvador
El Salvador is a North America country, that cherishes the Yoruba language a lot. This country has been home to a lot of Yoruba culture since Yoruba slaves began to be concentrated in the country.
They practice exactly what is done in Yoruba land. They worship Sango, God of Thunder (Xango), Iyemoja, God of Water (Lemanja) and other Yoruba Traditional practice.
2. Brazil
Brazil happens to be one of the countries that is home to the posterity of the victims of the then slave trade. Many Yoruba indigenes were transported to the south and north America as slaves. Many of them today have a love for their source have traced it back to Nigeria to continue its practices.
Ooni Ogunwusi in 2018 found his way to the authority of the Brazil republic and has made the country assign the Yoruba Language as an official language of the country. Brazil has the largest number of Yoruba indigenes abroad.
Other parts of the world where Yoruba is spoken include Togo, Benin Republic, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, The Gambia, North America, the UK, Europe and the Caribbean Islands.
According to Wikipedia, Yoruba is the most widely spoken language outside Nigeria and Africa. It’s been estimated that there are over 40 million Yoruba primary and secondary language speakers across the globe.
Yoruba people are believed to have settled in Ile-Ife thousands of years ago led by Oduduwa.
