Which Language did Yoruba originate from?

Question

Yoruba is a Kwa language in the Niger - congo family in the Afro-Asiatic phyllum but I'd really like to know which language it originated from as this will shed more light on the still controversial origin of the Yoruba who constitute about 1/3 of Nigeria's over 120 million population.

oops! sorry, Niger-kordofania and not Afro-asiatic slip of hand. The origin the Yoruba is controversial in that some people believe that the world started in Ile-Ife, the spiritual capital of Yorubaland while some historians have attempted to trace the origin of the Yoruba to ancient Arabia, Egypt or Phoenica. All linguistic evidence are disagree. So guys lets hear your opinion. It counts.

Answer 1

Yoruba is NOT a Kwa language. Yoruba is part of the Defoid group of Benue-Congo, which is a part of Atlantic-Congo and, ultimately, of Niger-Congo. Yoruba evolved out of the common ancestor of the Defoid languages, which evolved out of the common ancestor of the Benue-Congo languages, which evolved out of the common ancestor of the Niger-Congo languages. Before that, we cannot be sure what other language families are related to Niger-Congo because beyond 10,000 years ago, it is impossible to reconstruct relationships for various scientific reasons. The origin of the Yoruba language is NOT controversial.