Edo ( English:, West African English: ; Ẹ̀dó), colloquially and often referred to as Bini, is the language spoken by the Edo ethnic group in Edo State, Nigeria. Benin is not a language but, rather, the name of the capital city, and the name of the Kingdom. Edo language is the native tongue of the Edo people and was the primary language of the Benin Empire and its predecessor, Igodomigodo for thousands of years. Edo language is the majority language spoken in Edo State, particularly in Benin City, and the surrounding local governments and senatorial districts in the Southern parts of the State. While everyone from the state are referred to as Edolites, but the Edo speaking people are known as the Edos.

Distribution

Most of the Edo language-speakers live in the Southern parts of Edo State, Nigeria.The current state: Edo State derives its name from the Edo speaking people of the state. A smaller number of Edo speakers are also found in Delta State and Ondo State and in other parts of Nigeria. Edo is an Edoid language. This languages are also spoken in Rivers State and Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

Phonology

Vowels

There are seven vowels,, all of which may be long or nasal, and three tones.

Consonants

Edo has a rather average consonant inventory for an Edoid language. It maintains only a single phonemic nasal,, but has 13 oral consonants, and the 8 stops, which have nasal allophones such as , and nasalized allophones before nasal vowels. The three rhotics have been described as voiced and voiceless trills as well as a lax English-type approximant. However, Ladefoged found all three to be approximants, with the voiced–voiceless pair being raised (without being fricatives) and perhaps at a slightly different place of articulation compared to the third but not trills.

Phonotactics

Syllable structure is simple, being maximally CVV, where VV is either a long vowel or plus a different oral or nasal vowel.

Orthography

The Edo alphabet has separate letters for the nasalised allophones of and, mw and n: Long vowels are written by doubling the letter. Nasal vowels may be written with a final -n or with an initial nasal consonant. Tone may be written with acute accent, grave accent, and unmarked, or with a final -h (-nh with a nasal vowel).