Is Olukumi a Distinct Language: A Syntactic Exposition

• Fatai Toyin KAREEM, Ph.D

  Kwara State University Malete

  Author

• Abdulwaheed Abiodun ABDURAHMAN, Ph.D.

  Author

This paper examines the syntactic properties such as word order, negation, focus construction, relativization and pronoun system with the aim of determining the genetic relatedness between Olukumi and Yoruba. It was found in the study that the two speech forms operate SVO word order typology in a simple clause or sentence. Also, it was discovered that there are striking similarities in the phonological forms and syntactic distributions between Olukumi and Yoruba pronoun systems. However, the latter does not attest second and third person plural object pronoun and second person long pronoun. Furthermore, the study reveal that negation, focusing and relativization are carried out in the same manner in Olukumi and Yoruba aside the differences in the negators and relative markers.Based on the Syntactic evidence gathered, the paper concludes that Olukumi is a dialect of Yoruba spoken outside Yoruba Community 

• PDF