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Dialectal Variation
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1.1ORIGIN AND LANGUAGE OF THE YORUBA PEOPLE
The
Yoruba people have different accounts of their origin but they all
relate to the same ancestor, “Oduduwaâ€. One account is that he migrated
from what is called Mecca because of his belief in deities which caused
him to be expelled from his abode, and to settle in Ile-Ife and start a
dynasty which was further expanded by his seven sons. Another school of
taught is of the view that Oduduwa was sent by God to create the human
race, but his first descent was at Ile-Ife where he proceeded with his
mission.
According to the CIA World Fact Book (2013), the Yoruba
diaspora consists of two groupings.One of them includes relatively
recent immigrants, the majority which moved outside the shores of Africa
and the other includesthose within Africa. It also states that the
Yoruba language is one of the 12 Edekiri languages of the Yoruboid group
that also includes Igala, Edo, Ebira amongst others. The Yoruba
language has numerous varieties spoken in Nigeria and other parts of the
world where it is spoken. Aside from Nigeria it is spoken in Benin,
Togo, Ghana, Brazil and by immigrant in the United Kingdom and other
parts of the world.
Yoruba is a tonal language comprising of three
(3) basic tones : high, mid and low tones but these tones may interact
producing rising or falling tones.
1.1.1 Ikere Variety And People.
According
to the World Gazette (2013) Ikere-Ekiti, also known as Ikere is a city
in Ekiti state of Nigeria. Ikere is a variety of the Yoruba language
spoken by the Ekitipeople that differ from other varieties of the
language.
The Ikere peopleare aboriginal, culturally homogeneous and
highly intellectual Yoruboid speaking people that form a sub-group of a
larger ethnic group in West Africa particularly in Nigeria.(Nigerian
Muse : 2006)
The difference noticeable in the Ikere language are
informed by their spatial locations especially the boarder community to
the state.
The Ekiti people settle in nucleus urban patterns, well
linked within networks of roads. The state “Ekiti†from whichIkere is a
tribe, means “mound†and is derived from the rugged mountainous feature
of the state. The Ikere people are well known for their diverse quality
of traditional arts, poetry and witty sayings.
An Ekiti man can be
identified in Bùbá (round neck shirt) and sòkòtò (trousers). While the
woman’s dress is Bùbá (blouse) and ìró (wrapper). Generally, any Ikere
person can be identified by their facial marks which is a
quarter-of-an-inch horizontal line, called “Pele Ekitiâ€.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]This is a work on dialectal variation focusing on a comparative study between Ikere and Ijebu of the Yoruba language, as spoken by the people of Ekiti and Ogun state respectively, with a view to determining the linguistic status of both varieties. It is limited to only these varieties as they are the main focus of the study. The Ibadan word list of 400 basic items was the primary instrument for data collection, and informants were used. ... Continue reading---
