Bini

Bini is a language spoken in Nigeria. It is a member of the Edo language family and is closely related to Edo and Esan. There are about 2 million speakers of Bini. The language is also known as Edo, Benin, or Edoid. Bini is a tonal language, with two tones: high and low. The high tone is indicated by a grave accent (`), and the low tone is indicated by an acute accent (´). The tones are important in distinguishing meaning; for example, ma` meaning "mother", and ma´ meaning "tortoise". The Bini alphabet consists of 21 letters, including 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 16 consonants (b, d, g, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, w, y, z). There are no tones in written Bini. Bini is spoken in an area known as Benin City, in the south-central part of Nigeria. The majority of Bini speakers live in urban areas. The Bini language has been influenced by the languages of the people who have settled in the area, including the Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa.