Two new language
services have been launched by the BBC World Service for Igbo and Yoruba
speakers in Nigeria and West and Central Africa. Their digital content
is mainly aimed at audiences who use mobile phones.
Igbo is primarily spoken in south-east Nigeria and Yoruba in the south-west, as well as in Benin and Togo.
The
BBC’s expansion in Nigeria – Africa’s most populous country where more
than 200 languages are spoken – began last year with BBC Pidgin, which
targets those who use the regional English-based lingua franca. It is
primarily an oral language, without a standard agreed written form.
The
BBC Igbo and Yoruba teams have also faced challenges to standardise
their written languages for modern audiences – and have sought advice
from academics.
From BBC news