In Ubang, a farming community in southern Nigeria Cross River state precisely. Ubang is a Bendi language of Nigeria. It is notable for having male and female forms which means men and women speak different languages. They view this unique difference as "a blessing from God", but as more young people leave for greener pastures and the English language becomes more popular, there are concerns it won't survive as reported by the BBC's reporter Yemisi Adegoke.
He holds up a yam and asks his daughter what it is called.
"It's 'irui'," she says, without hesitating.
But in Ubang's "male language" the word for yam, one of Nigeria's staple foods, is "itong".
It is not clear exactly what proportion of words are different in the two languages and there is no pattern, such as whether the words are commonly used, related or linked to traditional roles for men or women.
"It's almost like two different lexicons," says anthropologist Chi Chi Undie, who has studied the community.
"There are a lot of words that men and women share in common, then there are others which are totally different depending on your sex. They don't sound alike, they don't have the same letters, they are completely different words."
She says the differences are far greater than, for example, British and American versions of English. However, both men and women are able to understand each other perfectly - or as well as anywhere else in the world.
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