Variation in Onko Dialect of Yoruba

Abstract

This paper examined variation in Onko dialect using the family tree model and the corresponding comparative method as the theoretical tool. A wordlist of basic items and a designed frame technique were used to gather data for this study. The data were presented in tables and the analyses were done through descriptive statistics. The data were analyzed to determine variation at the phonological, syntactic and lexical levels. The study revealed differences between Standard Yoruba and Onko dialect as well as the variation therein. Two basic factors discovered to be responsible for variations in Onko are geography (distribution of Onko communities) and language contact. The paper established that Onko exhibits variations, which are however not significant enough to disrupt mutual intelligibility among the speakers, and thus all the varieties remain a single dialect.