DIALECTAL VARIATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE IKERE AND IJEBU DIALECTS OF YORUBA LANGUAGE.

ABSTRACT

This work, Dialectal Variation: a case study of Ikere and Ijebu dialects of Yoruba language focuses on a comparative study of Ikere and Ijebu varieties of Yoruba language with a view to determining their linguistic status and also ascertain the level of mutual intelligibility between the two dialects. The implication for the study was that the Ikere and Ijebu languages are dialects of Yoruba language. The study concerned variations at the phonological level of both dialects. The theoretical frameworks employed for this work is the Parker and Riley’s(2005) theory of language variation .The phonological variations were described in terms of vocalic and consonantal variations, while theoretically Lexicostatistics was also used in calculating the differences and similarities between the dialects. The Ibadan word list of 400 basic items was the primary instrument for data collection. The informants engaged for this research work were competent speakers of the dialects with S.S.C.E as the minimum educational qualification. The informants were between the ages of 20 to 54 years. The data were collected through daily conversations and written notes which was then used for analysis. The work ascertained that Ikere and Ijebu are both dialects of the same language. Although consonants and vowels are used interchangeably in certain environments, yet they remain highly mutually intelligible. This study therefore serves as a resourceful material for future consultation on comparative works between Ikere and Ijebu dialects and also asserted that Ikere and Ijebu are dialects of the Yoruba language and not entirely different languages.