Lexical and Phonological Variation in the Ìbọ̀lọ̀ Dialect of Yoruba: Consequences for Yoruba Dialect Classification

The lexical and phonological differences between the Ìbọ̀lọ̀ language and Yoruba are discussed in this paper, and this is aimed at explaining why it fits in the Yoruba dialect continuum. Though it takes an intermediate place between the Ekiti and Oyo dialects, Ìbọ̀lọ̀ is still under-studied and, therefore, inconsistently represented in Yoruba dialectology. Data was obtained using a descriptive and comparative linguistic design, and native speakers were interviewed using structured wordlists, phonological elicitation and audio-recorded natural speech. Lexical comparison showed the preservation of archaic forms (e.g., jàn, àgò), and local showings (e.g., fọ̀rọ̀, ǹkọ́), suggesting that there was a tendency to maintain and innovate in the dialect. Phonological analysis revealed segmental (including vowel raising and dentalisation of consonants), suprasegmental (including tonal variation and intonation patterns) and phonological processes (such as assimilation, elision and reduction). The results indicate that Ìbọ̀lọ̀ meets with and diverges from neighbouring dialects, and hence it is a transitional dialect. The results of the research are beneficial to Yoruba dialectology because it enhances the classification of dialects, submits evidence to support Dialect Continuum Theory, and supplies resources pertinent to educational planning and language preservation programmes. It is advisable to conduct more sociolinguistic studies and acoustic phonetic studies and evolve the Ìbọ̀lọ̀ lexical and textual corpus to aid in the thorough language documentation.