Alternation of Lenis and Fortis Consonants in Ẹ̀dó and Ésàn as Indicators of a Dynamic Sound Change in Ẹdo

Ọmọzuwa Victor Ẹdosa; Ikhinmwi Gladys Amẹzẹ

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18

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Alternation of Lenis and Fortis Consonants in Ẹ̀dó and Ésàn as Indicators of a Dynamic Sound Change in Ẹdo

Ọmọzuwa Victor Ẹdosa, Ikhinmwi Gladys Amẹzẹ

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 10, Issue 1)

Received: 4 February 2022 Accepted: 22 February 2022 Published: 28 February 2022

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Abstract

Ẹdo and Esan belong to the group of genetically related languages referred to as the Ẹdoid group of languages, which in turn belongs, along with other Nigerian languages such as Yoruba, Igbo, Nupe, Idoma, and Izọn, to the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The similarities between the speech forms of Ẹdo and Esan compared to the other Ẹdoid languages are evidenced in the high number of cognate sets based on a lexical statistical analysis. This naturally implies that the behaviour of sound segments in any of the two languages could serve as indicators of any evolutionary trend in any of the two languages. It is observed that the phonetically weak consonants [ɱ, n, ɹ] in Ẹdo lexical items alternate with their corresponding strong counterparts [m and l] in similar lexical items in Esan. The relative stability of the strong forms in contemporary Esan language seems to give credence to the claim of a dynamic sound change observable in contemporary Ẹdo language where the proto bilabial stops /b/, and /m/; the alveolar lateral stop, /l/, evolved into the relatively weak bilabial oral and labiodental nasal approximants, [β] and [ɱ] respectively, and the alveolar lateral approximant [ɹ], which is currently being outrightly deleted in any position of the words in which it occurs, thus following the evolution pattern /l/ > [ɹ] > [ø]. The over bearing influence of the English language and the Nigerian pidgin, the two languages that have taken over practically all Ẹdo homes, and the non-teaching of the language in the Ẹdo State educational system have been identified as catalysts to the endangerment of the Ẹdo language that may go into extinction in the very near future if drastic measures aimed at reversing the trend are not urgently and diligently applied.

Published in	International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18
Page(s)	53-58
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Linguistic Relatedness, Lexico-statistics, Language Endangerment, Stop, Approximant, Evolution, Alternation, Catalyst

References

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[2]	Aziza, R. O. (2008): Neutralization of contrast in the vowel system of Urhobo - a south-western Edoid language. Studies in African Linguistics, Volume 37, number 1; 1-19.
[3]	Bradbury, R. E. (1957): Benin Kingdom and Edo Speaking People of South-Western Nigeria. International West African Institute (Ethnographic Survey of West Africa, Part XIII), London.
[4]	Egharevba, J. U. (1953): A short history of Benin. Church Missionary Society Bookshop. Lagos.
[5]	Elugbe, B. O. (1979): Some tentative historical inferences from comparative Edoid studies. Kiabara: Journal of the Humanities. Volume 2, 82-101.
[6]	Elugbe, B. O. (1989): Comparative Edoid: Phonology and Lexicon. Delta Series No. 6. University of Port Harcourt Press. Port Harcourt.
[7]	Ejele, P. (1994): Liquid elisionin word final syllables in Esan. Journal of West African Languages, xxiv. No. 1. The West African Linguistics Society.
[8]	Ikoyo-Eweto, E. O. (2016): A proposed order of historical emergence of Esan speech communities. Dialectologia et Geolinguistica. https://doi.org/10.1515/dialect-2016-0008. Journal of the International Society for Dialectology and Geolinguistics.
[9]	Ikoyo-Eweto, E. O. (2017): Phonetic differences between Esan and selected Edoid languages. Journal of Linguistics, Language, and Culture. Volume 4; 65-85.
[10]	Ikoyo-Eweto, E. O. and Jamgbadi, (2012): Esan dialects. ‘IRORO’ Journal of Arts. Volume 12; 119-132.
[11]	Melzian, H. (1937) A Concise Dictionary of the Bini Language of Southern Nigeria. Paul Kegan. London.
[12]	Okojie, C. G. (1960): Ishan native laws and customs. John Okwesa and Co. Yaba. Lagos.
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[14]	Ọmọzuwa, V. E., (1996): Edo R-sounds: a spectrographic study. Beilage Zur Phonetik und Linguistik, 46, Miszellen IX: 205-237.
[15]	Ọmọzuwa, V. E. 2003: ‘Edo Language and Culture: The Impact of Migration –in search of a common Language.’ IRORO: Journal of Arts, Vol. 9; 246 -257 Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma.
[16]	Ọmọzuwa, V. E. 2010: Ẹdo Phonetics and Phonology. Ambik Press. Benin City’.
[17]	Ọmọzuwa, V. E. 2021: A Critical Review of Some Contentious Issues in the Phonetics and Phonology of Ẹdo, Igbo, and Yoruba. International Journal of Language and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 6, 2021, pp. 320-333. Doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210906.16.
[18]	Ọmọzuwa, V. E. and Ẹvbuọmwa, O. O. 2021: Ẹdo Orthography: The compelling need for harmonization and standardization. International Journal of Language and Linguistics. Vol. 9, No. 6, 2021, pp. 334-343. Doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210906.17.
[19]	Opoola, B. and Olaide, O. (2021): Vowel elision in Ikhin, an Edoid language in South-South Nigeria. Journal of Language Teaching and Research. Volume 12, number 3; 352-361.
[20]	Price, G. (1971): The French Language: present and past. Edward Arnold Publishers Ltd. London.
[21]	Schaefer, R. P. and Egbokhare, F. O. (eds) (1999): Oral Tradition Narratives of the Emai People. Lit Verlag. Munster. Hamburg-London.
[22]	Schaefer, R. P. and Egbokhare, F. O. (2015): Language Documentation and Endangerment. James Essegbey, Brent Henderson, and Fiona Mclaughlin (eds) [culture and language use 17], 253-276. John Benjamins Publishing Company. https:/doi.org/10.1075/clu.17.11 Sch.

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Ọmọzuwa Victor Ẹdosa, Ikhinmwi Gladys Amẹzẹ. (2022). Alternation of Lenis and Fortis Consonants in Ẹ̀dó and Ésàn as Indicators of a Dynamic Sound Change in Ẹdo. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 10(1), 53-58. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18

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Ọmọzuwa Victor Ẹdosa; Ikhinmwi Gladys Amẹzẹ. Alternation of Lenis and Fortis Consonants in Ẹ̀dó and Ésàn as Indicators of a Dynamic Sound Change in Ẹdo. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2022, 10(1), 53-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18

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Ọmọzuwa Victor Ẹdosa, Ikhinmwi Gladys Amẹzẹ. Alternation of Lenis and Fortis Consonants in Ẹ̀dó and Ésàn as Indicators of a Dynamic Sound Change in Ẹdo. Int J Lang Linguist. 2022;10(1):53-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18,
  author = {Ọmọzuwa Victor Ẹdosa and Ikhinmwi Gladys Amẹzẹ},
  title = {Alternation of Lenis and Fortis Consonants in Ẹ̀dó and Ésàn as Indicators of a Dynamic Sound Change in Ẹdo},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {10},
  number = {1},
  pages = {53-58},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20221001.18},
  abstract = {Ẹdo and Esan belong to the group of genetically related languages referred to as the Ẹdoid group of languages, which in turn belongs, along with other Nigerian languages such as Yoruba, Igbo, Nupe, Idoma, and Izọn, to the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The similarities between the speech forms of Ẹdo and Esan compared to the other Ẹdoid languages are evidenced in the high number of cognate sets based on a lexical statistical analysis. This naturally implies that the behaviour of sound segments in any of the two languages could serve as indicators of any evolutionary trend in any of the two languages. It is observed that the phonetically weak consonants [ɱ, n, ɹ] in Ẹdo lexical items alternate with their corresponding strong counterparts [m and l] in similar lexical items in Esan. The relative stability of the strong forms in contemporary Esan language seems to give credence to the claim of a dynamic sound change observable in contemporary Ẹdo language where the proto bilabial stops /b/, and /m/; the alveolar lateral stop, /l/, evolved into the relatively weak bilabial oral and labiodental nasal approximants, [β] and [ɱ] respectively, and the alveolar lateral approximant [ɹ], which is currently being outrightly deleted in any position of the words in which it occurs, thus following the evolution pattern /l/ > [ɹ] > [ø]. The over bearing influence of the English language and the Nigerian pidgin, the two languages that have taken over practically all Ẹdo homes, and the non-teaching of the language in the Ẹdo State educational system have been identified as catalysts to the endangerment of the Ẹdo language that may go into extinction in the very near future if drastic measures aimed at reversing the trend are not urgently and diligently applied.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Alternation of Lenis and Fortis Consonants in Ẹ̀dó and Ésàn as Indicators of a Dynamic Sound Change in Ẹdo
AU  - Ọmọzuwa Victor Ẹdosa
AU  - Ikhinmwi Gladys Amẹzẹ
Y1  - 2022/02/28
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 53
EP  - 58
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18
AB  - Ẹdo and Esan belong to the group of genetically related languages referred to as the Ẹdoid group of languages, which in turn belongs, along with other Nigerian languages such as Yoruba, Igbo, Nupe, Idoma, and Izọn, to the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The similarities between the speech forms of Ẹdo and Esan compared to the other Ẹdoid languages are evidenced in the high number of cognate sets based on a lexical statistical analysis. This naturally implies that the behaviour of sound segments in any of the two languages could serve as indicators of any evolutionary trend in any of the two languages. It is observed that the phonetically weak consonants [ɱ, n, ɹ] in Ẹdo lexical items alternate with their corresponding strong counterparts [m and l] in similar lexical items in Esan. The relative stability of the strong forms in contemporary Esan language seems to give credence to the claim of a dynamic sound change observable in contemporary Ẹdo language where the proto bilabial stops /b/, and /m/; the alveolar lateral stop, /l/, evolved into the relatively weak bilabial oral and labiodental nasal approximants, [β] and [ɱ] respectively, and the alveolar lateral approximant [ɹ], which is currently being outrightly deleted in any position of the words in which it occurs, thus following the evolution pattern /l/ > [ɹ] > [ø]. The over bearing influence of the English language and the Nigerian pidgin, the two languages that have taken over practically all Ẹdo homes, and the non-teaching of the language in the Ẹdo State educational system have been identified as catalysts to the endangerment of the Ẹdo language that may go into extinction in the very near future if drastic measures aimed at reversing the trend are not urgently and diligently applied.
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Ọmọzuwa Victor Ẹdosa
Ikhinmwi Gladys Amẹzẹ

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Ọmọzuwa Victor Ẹdosa, Ikhinmwi Gladys Amẹzẹ. (2022). Alternation of Lenis and Fortis Consonants in Ẹ̀dó and Ésàn as Indicators of a Dynamic Sound Change in Ẹdo. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 10(1), 53-58. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18

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Ọmọzuwa Victor Ẹdosa; Ikhinmwi Gladys Amẹzẹ. Alternation of Lenis and Fortis Consonants in Ẹ̀dó and Ésàn as Indicators of a Dynamic Sound Change in Ẹdo. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2022, 10(1), 53-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18

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AMA Style

Ọmọzuwa Victor Ẹdosa, Ikhinmwi Gladys Amẹzẹ. Alternation of Lenis and Fortis Consonants in Ẹ̀dó and Ésàn as Indicators of a Dynamic Sound Change in Ẹdo. Int J Lang Linguist. 2022;10(1):53-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18,
  author = {Ọmọzuwa Victor Ẹdosa and Ikhinmwi Gladys Amẹzẹ},
  title = {Alternation of Lenis and Fortis Consonants in Ẹ̀dó and Ésàn as Indicators of a Dynamic Sound Change in Ẹdo},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {10},
  number = {1},
  pages = {53-58},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20221001.18},
  abstract = {Ẹdo and Esan belong to the group of genetically related languages referred to as the Ẹdoid group of languages, which in turn belongs, along with other Nigerian languages such as Yoruba, Igbo, Nupe, Idoma, and Izọn, to the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The similarities between the speech forms of Ẹdo and Esan compared to the other Ẹdoid languages are evidenced in the high number of cognate sets based on a lexical statistical analysis. This naturally implies that the behaviour of sound segments in any of the two languages could serve as indicators of any evolutionary trend in any of the two languages. It is observed that the phonetically weak consonants [ɱ, n, ɹ] in Ẹdo lexical items alternate with their corresponding strong counterparts [m and l] in similar lexical items in Esan. The relative stability of the strong forms in contemporary Esan language seems to give credence to the claim of a dynamic sound change observable in contemporary Ẹdo language where the proto bilabial stops /b/, and /m/; the alveolar lateral stop, /l/, evolved into the relatively weak bilabial oral and labiodental nasal approximants, [β] and [ɱ] respectively, and the alveolar lateral approximant [ɹ], which is currently being outrightly deleted in any position of the words in which it occurs, thus following the evolution pattern /l/ > [ɹ] > [ø]. The over bearing influence of the English language and the Nigerian pidgin, the two languages that have taken over practically all Ẹdo homes, and the non-teaching of the language in the Ẹdo State educational system have been identified as catalysts to the endangerment of the Ẹdo language that may go into extinction in the very near future if drastic measures aimed at reversing the trend are not urgently and diligently applied.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Alternation of Lenis and Fortis Consonants in Ẹ̀dó and Ésàn as Indicators of a Dynamic Sound Change in Ẹdo
AU  - Ọmọzuwa Victor Ẹdosa
AU  - Ikhinmwi Gladys Amẹzẹ
Y1  - 2022/02/28
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 53
EP  - 58
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.18
AB  - Ẹdo and Esan belong to the group of genetically related languages referred to as the Ẹdoid group of languages, which in turn belongs, along with other Nigerian languages such as Yoruba, Igbo, Nupe, Idoma, and Izọn, to the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The similarities between the speech forms of Ẹdo and Esan compared to the other Ẹdoid languages are evidenced in the high number of cognate sets based on a lexical statistical analysis. This naturally implies that the behaviour of sound segments in any of the two languages could serve as indicators of any evolutionary trend in any of the two languages. It is observed that the phonetically weak consonants [ɱ, n, ɹ] in Ẹdo lexical items alternate with their corresponding strong counterparts [m and l] in similar lexical items in Esan. The relative stability of the strong forms in contemporary Esan language seems to give credence to the claim of a dynamic sound change observable in contemporary Ẹdo language where the proto bilabial stops /b/, and /m/; the alveolar lateral stop, /l/, evolved into the relatively weak bilabial oral and labiodental nasal approximants, [β] and [ɱ] respectively, and the alveolar lateral approximant [ɹ], which is currently being outrightly deleted in any position of the words in which it occurs, thus following the evolution pattern /l/ > [ɹ] > [ø]. The over bearing influence of the English language and the Nigerian pidgin, the two languages that have taken over practically all Ẹdo homes, and the non-teaching of the language in the Ẹdo State educational system have been identified as catalysts to the endangerment of the Ẹdo language that may go into extinction in the very near future if drastic measures aimed at reversing the trend are not urgently and diligently applied.
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
ER  -

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