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ABSTRACT
This research compare the Yoruba language with two other languages (Igbomina and Ijesha) to determine their level of relatedness (similarities and differences) using the lexicostatistical method. The aim of the study is to provide us with a better understanding on the mutual intelligibility among the three languages. This study employs both the primary and secondary data. The primary data were inform of oral data which were collected from native speaker of the languages under study (Yoruba, Igbomina and Ijesha), these oral data were collected through an interview method using a four hundred wordlist, their responses were written down and also recorded. The secondary data were from published works such as journal, articles, online, textbooks etc. The theoretical framework adopted for this study is Lexicostatistics developed by Morris Swadesh (1952). It is a method of comparative linguistics that involves comparing the percentage of lexical cognates between languages to determine their relationship. It was discovered in the course of the data analysis that Igbomina is a variety of Yoruba language and is very much mutually intelligible, while Ijesha is a dialect of Yoruba language as most native speakers of Yoruba language hardly understand Ijesha.
