Phonological Analysis of Ebira Language

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 General Introduction

This research work focuses on the ‘’phonological analysis of Ebira language’’ a

language with over one million speakers majorly found in Kogi State, Nigeria. Ebira

people are an ethnolinguistic group of Nigeria. Many native speakers of Ebira can be

found in Kogi State. They can also be found in Kwara State, Nasarawa State, Federal

Capital Territory, Abuja and Edo State.

Phonology is that branch of linguistics that studies the organization of speech

sounds in human language (Yusuf, 2007, p 38). Phonology can also be referred to as the

function, behavior and organization of sounds in the system of a language. The basic

concept of study in phonology is phoneme which is the smallest unit of speech.

Phonemes are combined to make up words.

Phonological analysis simply means the analysis of phonemes which includes the

identification, description and classification of sounds in a language. It can also be

referred to as the analysis of the way sounds are organized in a language.

As an introductory chapter, an attempt would be made at discussing the general

background of Ebira, the historical background, the socio-cultural profile, the

sociolinguistics profile of the people, the genetic classification of the language as well as

geographical location of Ebira. The scope and organization of study, theoretical

framework, data collection together with data analysis shall also be discussed.

1.1 General Background of the Language

Ebira is one of the three main ethnic groups (Igala, Ebira and Okun) located at

the central senatorial district of Kogi State (not far from the Niger-Benue confluence in

Nigeria) which is popularly called the confluence state because the confluence of River

Niger and River Benue is at its capital, Lokoja which is the first administrative capital of

the Modern-Day Nigeria. Ninety percent of the Ebira speakers are monolingual. Ebira

people can not only be found in Kogi State but also in Kwara State, Nasarawa State,

federal capital territory ,Abuja and Edo State. Ebira Tao is the largest of the several Ebira

groups (The Ebira Tao of Kogi state, the Ebira Ehi of Kwara State, the Ebir Igu of Ebira

Koto of Kogi state, the Ebira Agatu of Benue state, the Ebira Panda or Ebira Toto or

Umasha of Nasarawa state, the Ebira Mozum of Bassa local government area of Kogi

state very close to Okene, the Ebira Etuno of Igarra District of Ako Edo local government

area, Edo state, Abaji in the federal capital territory and few others). Ebira Tao is the

largest of the groups. Thus, in Kogi state,the Ebira people spread in five local

government Areas which are: Adavi, Okene, Okehi, Ajaokuta and Ogori-magongo.

Okene is said to be the administrative centre of the Ebira speaking people in Kogi

state.Thus, using the name of the most popular town of the land, we may refer to them as

Ebira okene. The Ebira Okene occupy the hilly stretch of land southwest of the Niger-

Benue confluence area and share boundaries with the Yoruba-speaking people of Akoko,

Owe and Ijumu to the west, the various Akoko Edo people to the south and south west,

the Hausa, Nupe and Ebira groups at Lokoja to the North and the River Niger to the east.

Ebira has alternate names which are Igbira, Igbirra, Igbarra, Ibara, Egbira, Egbura,

Katawa, Kotokori and Kwotto. Ebira language has dialects which includes Igara (Etuno),

Koto (Bira, Biri, Egu, Igu, Ika ,Panda) and Okene (Himi Ihima). The term “Ebira” liter

ally means “BEHAVIOUR with ETHICS and HOSPITALITY as compliment. The word

“Ebira” can also refers to as the people themselves, their language and their geographical

location. The Ebira people are Republican by nature, outspoken, and very hard working

agrarian Nupoid-speaking ethno-linguistic group. The paramount ruler of the people is

called OHINOYI of Ebira land..

Recent in-depth research indicates that the Ebira have been part and parcel of what

is now generally known as central Nigeria since 4000 BC (Ohiore 1988). The Ebira zone

is also prominent in the pre-historic civilization of The Iron Age generally characterized

by the central Nigeria as epitomized by Nok culture. Recently, the iron-working site of

the Ife-Ijumu (kogi state) has been dated to 260 B.C. Thus, it could be deducted that the

Ebira as a group existed for a long time in locations within central Nigeria not far from

where they are located presently (Ohiore 1988,Williamson 1967 and Beneth 1972).

Image of an Ebira woman in her Traditional attire

Image of an Ebira man

1.2 Historical Background of Ebira

Historically, Ebira has two sources, which are the ora source and the written source.

The oral source

The Ebira, through oral tradition, trace their descent to Wukari (in the present

Taraba state) where they were a constituent part of Kwararafa confederation. In about

1680 AD, they (along with the Idoma and Igala) migrated out of Wukari a chieftaincy

dispute. The Ebira later split into various groups and settled in different locations

between 1680 and 1750 AD. The Ebira Tao first sojourned with the Igalas at Idah but

later crossed the River-Niger and settled at Ebira Opete located at the vicinity of Upake

in Ajaokuta local government area. The father of the Ebira Tao who led them to this

premier settlement in the Ebiraland is “ITAAZI”. Itaazi had five sons who all later

migrated from Ebira Opete and were the founders of the various districts in Ebiraland.

The children and the districts they founded are: Adaviruku/Ohizi (Adavi), Ododo

(Okehi), Obaji (Eyika), Uga (Okengwe) and Ochuga/Onotu (Ihima). His daughter named

Ohunene settled in Eganyi district. Members of the various clans in Ebiraland are

descendants of the children of Itaazi.

Ohizi had five children who are progenitos of the five traditional Adavi clans

named after them.These are: Upopo-uvete(Apasi),Uka,Idu(Aniku),Adeyika and Uhami.

A migrant group from Eganyi known as Ezi-Onogu clan is also found in Adavi. The sons

of Ododo who are the ancestors of Okehi clans were Okohi Oviri and

Enwgukonyai.Obaji the founder of Eika has ten children named Ohiaga, Iyewe, Avassa,

Ehemi, Anchi, Epoto, Egiri, Ubobo, Ogu and Eyire. Uga of Okengwe had two sons

whose children constitute the present Okovi and Agada group of clans. Due to a sizeable

concentration of other Ebira clans in Okengwe district, they formed a socio-political

coalition known as Ada-ehi. Ochuga had six children and their descendants make up the

six clans in Ihima. These are Emani, Oha/Idu, Ohueta, Ure, Ohongwa and Odunmi. The

seventh clan is Akuta who migrated from Okengwe. Though,Itaazi’s daughter named

ohunene was the founder of Eganyi, not all the clans there are descended from her.

Eganyi clans are Ede, Esugu, Eheda, Ogu,Onoko,Idu, Anavapa and Ogodo. The Aningere

who are skilled craftmen are found in all districts. They are however more concentrated

in Okengwe and Adavi districts.

The written source of Ebira origin

The attempt to trace the actual origin of the people of Ebira has not been easy.

The early works in this direction are full of conflicts and contradictions. What is however

certain among the scholars is that the various ethnic groups race which collectively

constitute the six linguistic groups of the Ebira race are said to have migrated at different

times before the first world war (1914-1918) to their present settlement which are

respectively located in Benue among the igalla extraction of Itobe and Ajaokuta, Kwara

and Kogi among the dominant Ebira Tao and Ebira Koto stocks of Okene, Ajaokouta,

Adavi, Okehi, Kotonkarfe and Lokoja local government areas and Edo among the Igallas

in the present day Edo state of Nigeria and also in places such as Nasarawa and Federal

capital territory.

Records have it that the early history of Ebiras dated back to the sixteenth century

(circa 1500) when the defunct Kwararafa kingdom was a flouring empire that engage in

fierce wars of ethnic conquest with the Usman Dabfodio fame and the war moguls of the

El Kanemi kingdom of the Borno empire. This war later proved to be decisive in shaping

the present identities and destinies of the minorities pagan tribes that constitute the then

Jukuns, Idoma, Tiv, Anagas, Ebira, Igala and Igala sub-ethnic stock that made up the then

Kwararafa kingdom of these minority ethnic groups who were largely pagans before

conversion by the muslim and Christian missionaries. They were pagans because by the

tradition of the ancestors, they neither embrace islam and Christianity. It is of interest to

mention that this war of attrition among the natives of these dominant kingdoms was the

order of the day before the advent of the British colonialists.

Resenting the central administrative authority of the Jukuns in the Wukari area of

the Kwararafa kingdom, the Ebiras like the other disparate ethnic groups, migrated under

their leader whose actual name remain unknown up till date, though one account has it

that he was called EBIRA. They migrated frequently and at different times from one

unsuitable spot to another as an expression of their resettlement against tyrannical rule,

among other reasons, they did so in order to free themselves from the resented bondage

and clutches of the Jukuns and headed southward before the end of the sixteenth century

(16 C). In the course of this ethnic war of independence within and among the constituent

natives of the Kwararafa kingdom, the six ethnic groups and their fellow travelers moved

extensively in different directions south of the Sahara.

In the course of this migration in search of local rule and independence, as well

as suitable farmer land, the Ebiras shared common experience and agonies with their

Igalla, Idoma, Tiv, Umasha, Ebira Panda, Angas and Igarra (Ebira Etuno) brothers and

sisters of the kwararafa stock who fled for new founded land in north and south of the

rivers Niger and Benue. Like war afflicted refugees, they collectively fled and moved

southwards towards the fertile bank of River Niger and Benue and the wet savannah

lands where pastures and aquatic life were rich and the topography identical to that which

they left behind in their original Kwararafa empire. In this way, some of the migrants

settled at different spot, first among the Tiv and Idomas of Benue State, then among the

Angas and Nasarawa State. This early group of migrants was left behind by the Ebira

Koto and the Ebira Tao people of Kogi state.

In the Edo state, the igarras were the Ebira extractions who fled to the Kwararafa

kingdom and after crossing the River Niger together , left their kith and kins who were

the Ebira Tao in Okene, Adavi, Ajaokuta, and Okehi Local Government areas of Kogi

state. Thus, each of the six Ebira sub groups derives its language from a corruption of the

same Ebira mother tongue with slight variation in accent, diction and etiology. Those of

them not contented with the geography and traditional occupation of the new settlement

migrated further south to Okene in the present day Kogi State and Igarra in Edo State.

The route followed by the different Ebira migrant groups probably commenced from

Wukari, Ibi and Lunga in Gongola state and then proceeded through Lafia to Nasarawa

and Toto. They took off again from Nasarawa and Toto and proceeded to the banks of

River Niger and Konton Karfe, Lokoja, Itobe and Ajaokuta from where it branched off

the Ebira-Okene (Tao) dialectical groups while it terminated at igarra in Edo State for the

Igarra speaking group whose mother tongues is a corruption of the original Ebira

Kwararafa race.

These distinctive settlement patterns are found among the Jukuns of the Gongola,

the Ebira Pandas among the Idomas of Benue State and the Ebira Koto of Kontokarfe in

Lokoja as well as the Ebira Tao in Okene, Adavi, Eika and Okehi Local Government of

Kogi State and the Ebira-Igarra of Edo State.

(http:/kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.nl/2014/03ebira- people-most- outspoken-

talented.html?m=1)

1.3 The Socio-Cultural Profile of Ebira Language

This section will take a look at the socio-cultural profile of the Ebira people. As

established in human society, the Ebira can be identified by some peculiar cultural

features that distinguish them. These features of identification are examined as follows:

1.3.1 Religion

The Ebira people in general were known to have had a peculiar way of life

towards traditional religion.Ebira acknowledge the existence of God with utmost

reverence. The innate belief of the people places Him, “Ohomorihi” (supreme being),

first before any other thing. This claim clearly manifest in various arributes accorded

supreme God by the people. Ohomorihi means creator of rain. In Ebira culture, the

essence of living and life is tied to water. Earthly fetility is predicated on water and also

their conception and delivery is also located in watery substances. Thus, Ebira people

believe that all sources of life can be traced to water. Therefore, they believe that

Ohomorihi is the source and controller of this water from which all these beings are

sourced because Orihi is rain and is produced from the divine centre(Ohomo). This belief

establish the absolute supremacy of God Almighty over all living and non-living beings,

materials and spiritual matters.

Other names and attributes of Ohomorihi includes “adayi ebeba anayin

abayi”(our father above who owns all), “ikoko koi koi”(The powerful, the omnipotent),

“ovaraka dosi”(of limitless size, the magnificient with unimaginable magnitude, the

omnipresent), “Ochiji mokariye”(the silent arbiter, unpredictable dispenser of justice),

“Ovaraka huduma”(whose stair roars like thunder), “oku za ohuru, oku za atito”(adorns

one with gun power and soil with ashes), “Ogodo godo onuva za eme tu”(so far removed

from physical touch), “Odu ajini osi ihuo teyi”(inflict pains today and inject gains

tomorrow, create sorrow today and restore joy tomorrow), and “oda yoza ri odoza

here”(feeds you and drains you). From all these names, one can understand why God is

the first point of reference in all matters: secular, spiritual and ritual. Ebira people believe

that when man sins, his prayers cannot reach God (Ohomorihi) directly, so they pray

through Ete (mother Earth), deities or lesser gods known as Ori and Ohiku (ancestors).

Ete (mother Earth) occupies a vital position in Ebira cosmology. It is a force of

balance considered next to God (Ohomorihi) because whatever goes up must come down

to earth. It is on earth that human’s life is both sustained and buried, “a spiritual entity

from which all life derives” (Aniako 1980 p. 35-36). Thus, when a child at play eats sand,

as is is often the case in African traditional settings, it is seen as the ritual process of

reconnecting back to earth, first initiated through the burial of placenta of the child at

birth, man surviving through the cultivation of food crops and exploitation of crust of

ornamental riches buried within the earth. It also serves as man’s final resting place at

death. Thus, the overriding importance of Ete as the centre of universe is physically

expressed at the centre of every traditional Ebira home as Eteohuje (centre of the

compound). It is at this centre that ancestral sacrifice and rituals are held.

Ori (spirit being or nature spirit) is a god the Ebira people believe to have been

created by God as the intercessor between man and Himself. Ori is actually worshipped

and celebrated in two towns: Ihima and Eganyi in Ebiraland probably because of its

intervention to avert serious calamities in these two towns according to Ebira mythology.

They believe that Ori came to cleanse the two towns of serious epidemic. As such, it

assumes prominence with shrines created for it with its attendant devotees echeori annual

festival instituted in memory of this ritual cleansing. Echeori is celebrated as new yam

festival for seasonal renewal. Okino (2004, p.9) claims that the “pioneer” religion of the

ancestors of Ebira people is “ori” probably because of its intercessory nature between the

people and the higher order. The other spirit that Ebira people relates to is the Ancestral

spirit (Eku), an embodiment of dead ancestors, Ohiku. Ebira pay homage and respect to

the dead and those yet to be born.

In Ebiraland, aside the traditional religion which is the predominant, there is also

the existence of the two religions: Islam and Christianity. Earlier in Ebiraland, it was

recorded that muslims dominated the land unlike the present where Christians are

dominating the land.

1.3.2 Ebira Cultural Festival (Eche-Ozi Ete)

The Ebiras have several annual cultural festivals.Three of the most prominent

ones are “Eche-ane”, Eche-ori” and “Eku-echi”. Others include: Ebe, Okehi, Ireba- Eku

and Otu festivals.

Eche-Ane (Women Festival)

This is an annual masquerade festival celebrated in rotation from one district to

the other in Ebiraland between April and June. In the past, it was only during the period


of the festival that betrothed girls were given away in marriage to their suitors. That is

why the festival is called Eche-ane (women festival). Masquerades, though carried long

canes came out primarily to entertain people and received gifts in return.

Eche-Ori (Yam Festival)

Eche-ori is a new yam festival celebrated only in two districts in Ebiraland. These

are Ihima and Eganyi. During the festival, traditional worshippers make sacrifices in the

secret groove of “ORI” (deity) high up in the mountain to show gratitude for its

protection and provision of bounteous harvest. The worshippers carry long canes with

which they whip one another in turns without anyone exhibiting any sign of pain. This is

a mark of strength. Another important attraction of the festival is the delightful “Eche-

ori” music in which female singers feature prominently. Only after this service can one

eat or sell new yams in the market as it is a taboo to do so before the festival in Ihima and

Eganyi.

Eku-Eche (Traditional Masquerade)

This is a night masquerade festival which marks the end of the Ebira calendar year

and the beginning of a new one. Ododo is popularly acclaimed to be the initiator of this

masquerade festival. The “Akatapa” masquerade in heralding the beginning of the

festival often say “Irayi Ododo osi gu, irayi akatapa osi gu yeeeh!” which means “The

year of Ododo has ended; the year of Akatapa has ended; Here is another year”. The

festival begins with a festival eve in which folk singers (omo ikede) perform to the

delight of both men and women. The following day, the real festival in which

masquerades sing and dance to entertain people from dusk to dawn takes place.

Thus, this festival is restricted to men only so all women stay indoors throughout

the duration of the festival. Also, during this festival, Ebira people believe that all dead

relatives return to the earth on the night of the festival. Therefore, women prepare

delicious “Apapa” (beans) and he-goat meat for the visitors. The women also at times

leave monetary gifts with the men for the visiting dead relatives. Trust men, the meals

and gifts are properly and neatly delivered to the beneficiaries who only the men have the

privilege of seeing and interacting with that night.

(http://www.academia.edu/53317/colonial-conquest- and-Resistestence- the-case- of-

Ebiraland-1886- 1917-AD

Images of Masquerades in Ebira Festivals


1.3.3 Traditional Marriage in Ebira

Ebira custom on marriage has undergone many changes as a result of the

existence of Islam and Christianity. Despite the changes, the general trend remains

virtually unaltered. Strictly speaking, it is against the socio norms for a man and a woman

to have sexual intercourse before marriage; this is totally forbidden. Thus, courtship

before marriage in Ebiraland was taken very seriously and every caution is taken to

preserve it. In addition to this, it is against the tradition of the land for a man to hold or

touch a woman who is neither his wife nor the wife of relation. Thus, when a man sees a

lady he intends marrying, he discusses his intentions with her who if she is interested,

tells him to bring his people to express his intentions to her parent.

In respect to the Ebira tradition, the man does not walk to the parent or elders,

mostly the women do this by going to the lady’s parent to introduce themselves and also

to inform them of their reason for coming to the house. After this is done, the parent of


the lady then conduct a thorough investigations on the upbringing, background, family

history and so on of the intending groom to unravel any history of madness, terminal

diseases or criminality in the man’s family. This is with a view to deciding whether or not

to give their daughter’s hand in marriage to a family with a tainted reputation in the

society. After the research, if their findings are appreciable, an approval is given to the

man to visit the bride-to- be from time to time to further get to know themselves properly.

A date is later picked for the formal introduction of both families and this is

called “ISE EWERE” which literally means what has been in secret is now in the open.

During the celebration, there is usually the presentation of gift items made by the family

of the groom to the family of the bride. The gift items usually include:

42 tubers of yam

Dried fish or bush meat

10 liters of palm oil

A bag of salt

Assorted wines and kolanuts

Two wrappers (which may be decided by the groom to present to his bride-to- be

which is optional)

On the day of introduction, it is not necessary that the man attends the occasion

as his family members to do the necessary things on his behalf. The bride’s family in turn


entertains the groom with food and drinks. The families interact with one another and

formally introduce every member of both families. After this is done, the date for

traditional marriage is then fixed. The tubers of yam and other items brought are

distributed to neighbors and members of the extended family no matter how small. Much

significance is given to this to ask for their prayers for a happy marriage as well as to

ensure the acknowledgement of the community that the lady now has someone she

intends to get married to.

The amount to be collected as bride price is also agreed upon by the parents of the

bride and it depends to a large extent on the financial strength of the man. Apart from the

bride price, there are other things like “ozemeiyi” meaning” I am attracted to her” in

which a certain amount of money is attached to and “otanuvogei” meaning” joining

hands together”. There is also “idoza” meaning “farming price” paid to the bride’s family

because Ebira people are predominantly farmers.

On the day of traditional marriage, women in the man’s family are seen singing

and dancing carrying tubers of yam on their heads to the bride’s house. The singing and

dancing continues at their arrival at the bride’s house where the ceremony kicks off.

Other items to be taken are cans of palm oil, groundnut oil, dried fish, some clothing

materials in some boxes, jewelries and other things for adornment of the bride. The

ceremony is usually colorful with display of dances by maiden groups mostly the bride’s

friend and by women groups. A religious leader and the parents of the couple offer


prayers for them to bless their marriage and a certificate is thereafter given to the couple

by the religious leader to acknowledge their marriage. The lady is thereafter accompanied

by her friends and other women to her husband’s house with her belongings.

An Image on Ebira Traditional marriage showing the groom, the bride, their

Families and the gift items presented by the groom's family to the bride

1.3.4 Naming Ceremony in Ebira Land

The celebration that commemorates birth in Ebira land is the “Naming Ceremony”.

The child is presented to the community and the designated elder is given the child to

present to God in prayers. After the prayer, one significant assignment of the presenter is

the first breathe of instruction. The presenter raises the baby up and blows a breathe into

the child’s right ear saying “isa Adawu okawuyu, wawu” meaning “work with or obey

whatever your father tells you. He does the same thing on the other ear enjoining the

baby to obey his or her mother. Hence, it is during this ceremony that names are

administered to the child. Here, the parents represent the elders that make up the

community. The child grows up respecting and appreciating the parents and elders who

take the responsibility of bringing him/her up.

In Ebira land, the names given to a child always have philosophical, spiritual,

historical, social and even genealogical connotation. These are what the child will be

known by for the rest of his or her life. This explains why a child called “Oyiz” meaning

“goodness”, for example will hardly behave contrary to her name. In this same category

are Unoyiza, Isoyiza, Ayuoyiza, Ize, Onize, Eneze, Ometere, e.tc. for females while

similar names for males include Adeiza,Onoruoyiza,..all depicting the essence of

“GOODNESS”

The philosophy of the values of the person as God’s divine creation is reflected in

names such as Ozavize, Ozohu, Ozovehe, Adavize, Oziohu, Enehu, Ozavinoyi, Enesi,

Anazuo, etc. while names like Asipita, Aasimi, Aaze, Anusoze, Ootuhuo, etc are given to


children born after previous losses due to infant mortality. Anataku, Onimisi, Enehu,

Asuku, etc are expressions of love, and importance of the child to the parents and the

community while names like Adeku, Onyeku, Onyeche, Itopa, Onyinoyi, Adinoyi, etc.

reflect the historical circumstances of birth. Thus, every name given to a child has a

philosophical, psychological and also social meaning.

1.3. 5 Occupation

The Ebira people are predominantly farmers. They produce a lot of crops such as

yam, cassava, melon, maize and groundnut but their major cash product is yam. Almost

every household is involved in farming. Ebira people are also involved in fishing and

hunting. Apart from these which complemented farming, the Ebira people also depend on

local industries and craft production such as palm oil, animal husbandry, iron technology

and blacksmithing, textiles dying, wood carving and basket weaving, mat and raffia

weaving. Also, cotton which is very important and in fact the main raw material of the

industry, is a crop of antiquity with the Ebira. The Ebira had migrated with the crop and

with the knowledge of its production to their present location, the soil of which was

fortunately very favourable for its commercial cultivation.

According to Brown, Ralph, Willis, Picton and Mack (Brown 1970:60, Willis

1972:51, Picton & Mack 1979: 17, 77, 80, 82) the Ebira cloth weaving has undergone

series of styles, patterning and specialization that made it excellent and one of the best in

the western Sudan before the advent of the British rule. Henry Barth noted in 1851 that


Ebira woven cloth favourably rivaled those of other areas in terms of pattern, colour,

decoration and texture. Barth did observe the superiority of the Ebira woven cloth

compare to other regions in the Kurmi international market, Kano when he visited the

city during the same period (Barth 1990:511). Thus, the women of Ebira are known for

this business (cloth weaving), unlike the men who are majorly farmers.

Image of Ebira women weaving clothes




Images on how beautiful woven clothes are when being worn



1.3.6 Food Ebira People eat


Ebira people just like every other African cultures, Ebira people have a lot of

foods but there are specific foods Ebira people love eating. They are:

 Pounded yam and Egusi soup

 Apapa (made with beans)

 Elibo ”piece of dried cassava” or Arahun ”yam flour” (both meaning the same

thing)

Ebira people most especially out of the above mentioned foods, love eating pounded yam

and Egusi soup or Egg plant soup (ebatu). The preparation of this meal is quite simple

and straight forward.

1.3.7 Ebira Hair Style

Women of Ebira have specific way of making their hair that make them to be

recognized anywhere they go. This aside from making them being recognized, makes

them look beautiful and unique. Below are names of the few hairstyles Ebira women

make:

 Suku: This when the hair is made to meet at one point at the centre of the head.

 Edage: This is when the hair is made vertically to meet each other in order to form

a clap.

 Obairema: This is when the hair is made all to the back.



 Otunrosa: This is when the hair is made from bigger to smaller portion following

each other one by one.

Images of Ebira Hair Styles



The first is an example of “Obairema” (all is made to the back) and the second

“Suku” (all meet at one point at the centre of the head). Thus, Ebira hairstyle is always

recognized with a “brush”.



1.4 The Sociolinguistic Profile of Ebira

The Ebira people have a very rich sociolinguistic profile just like many African

people. These include their system of government with the king which is called Ohinoyi

of Ebiraland as the head. Islam, Christianity and African Traditional Religion are the

three main religions practiced by the Ebira people.

The Ebira people (both men and women) are mostly seen on woven cloth as their

major attire. Economically, Agriculture (especially Yam farming) and cloth weaving is

the dominant occupation of the Ebira people. The mineral resources found in Ebira

includes: marble, limestone, copper, chalk and mica

1.5 Genetic Classification of Ebira

The word “genetic” is derived from the word “genesis” which refers to “the time or

circumstances of something’s coming to being” which genesis in turn is derived from the

word “gene” which is the “basic unit of heredity”. Classification according to Oxford

English Dictionary means “to arrange in classes or category according to shared qualities

or characteristics”. The word “class” is derived from the French word “classe” meaning

class and from the Latin word “classis” meaning division.

Genetic classification of languages means finding out how languages are related. In

other words, refers to the grouping and sub grouping of language families and languages

into respective genetic nodes based on their relatedness. Thus, languages are commonly



classified by linguists using a “genetic approach”. This involves comparing sounds and

meanings of some elements of different languages to establish a common root. The

members of each language family are all derived from a single ancestor.

Genetically, Ebira is a Nupoid language belonging to a Benue congo of a larger

Niger Congo language phylum. This is shown by the family tree below.

NIGER-CONGO

MANDE ATLANTIC CONGO KONDOFONIA



IJOID CENTRAL NIGER CONGO (VOLTA CONGO) ATLANTIC



NORTH CENTRAL NIGER CONGO SOUTH CENTRAL NIGER CONGO



KRU GUR ADAMAWA-UGANGI

KWA BENUE CONGO



NUPOID OKO IDOMOID



EBIRA GADE GBANYI

Niger Congo Classification according to William (1989)



1.5.1 Geographical Location of Ebira

A common physical presence of blocks of dissected hills and the metaphoric rocks

envelops the greater part of the land. Ebira land is located in the central senatorial district

of kogi state with a land mass of 3,426 km.

1.5.2 Map of Kogi Location Okene (The Central of Ebira)


I.6 Objectives of the Study

This research work focuses on the phonology of Ebira language going into the

segmental and suprasegmental phonology of Ebira language. In order to achieve this, the

study has come up with the following objectives;

 To determine the segmental aspect of Ebira phonology which comprises of

vowels and consonants that is, the sound inventory of Ebira language.

 To determine the suprasegmental aspect of Ebira language which include the

syllable structure of Ebira and her tonal pattern.

To determine some phonological processes that occur in Ebira language including Ebira

vowel harmony.

1.7 Scope of the Study

This section will examine how the work will be divided into five different chapters,

each containing certain aspects of the research work. Below is the highlight of the

chapters and their contents;

Chapter one of the essay will focus on the back ground of Ebira language giving an

insight into the history of the language, where the language is been spoken, the numbers

of speakers, the genetic classification of the language, Theoretical framework and the

method of data collection.

Chapter two examines the key concept in phonology. To be considered in this chapter

are the sound inventory (vowel and consonant sounds of Ebira language), tonal inventory


and syllable inventory. Also this chapter will examine the distinctive feature

classification of Ebira sounds as well as the distribution of vowels and consonants of

Ebira language. The redundancies in Ebira vowels and consonants will also be examined.

Chapter three will examine the phonological processes that occur in Ebira language

including Ebira vowel harmony. This will be fully discussed in this chapter.

Chapter four will examine the tones and syllable structure of Ebira language and

chapter five will set out to give a summary and conclusion of the previous chapters. It

also will include recommendations based on the researcher’s finding and also references.

1.8 Theoretical Framework

This project is theoretically modeled based on generative phonology a component of

generative grammar, a theory propounded by Chomsky in the 1950s and his collaborators

majorly Halle. Crystal (2008, p.208) defines generative grammar “as a set of formal rules

which projects a finite set of sentences upon the potentially infinite set of sentences that

constitute the language and whole and it does this in an explicit manner assigning to each

a set of structural descriptions.

In other words, Generative grammar is “a linguistic theory that considers

grammar to be a system of rules that is intended to generate exactly those combinations

of words which form grammatical sentences in a given language”. Thus, the basic aims of


a generative of linguistics to present in a formal way the tacit knowledge native speakers

have of their language.

1.8.1 Brief Review of the Chosen Framework

Generative phonology is a component of generative grammar that assigns the correct

phonetic representation to utterances in such a way as to reflect a native speaker’s

internalized grammar. Hyman (1975, p. 19) describes generative phonology as “the

description of how phonological rules can be converted into phonological representation

and how to capture distinctive sounds”.

Generative phonology is particularly associated with the works of the American

linguist Noam Chomsky and his followers majorly Halle. The joint work in phonology by

Chomsky and Halle published in 1968 as “sounds patterns of English language” (SPE)

marked the emergence of generative phonology as a new theory and framework of

description.

Generative phonology is an alternative to “taxonomic” or “classical phonemics” and

in other an ambitious attempt to build a description of (English phonology on

Transformational-Generative Theory of Language (Clark, Yallop and Fletcher, 2007,

p.127). Generative phonology came up as a result of the lapses observed in the mode of

operation of the classical phonemics. Although, generative phonologists came up not to

condemn the works of the classical phonemists rather as an improvement. Some of the

lapses include;

 In classical phonology, there were no rule that is, languages were not rule

governed.

 Classical phonemics believes that once a segment has been identified as a

“phoneme” (a contrastive distinctive unit of sounds), it cannot not be allophone

to another phoneme: the modern phonologist counters this by using the concept of

“Neutralisation”.

Thus, the basic goals of generative phonology are:

 To express the link between sounds and meaning (Chomsky, 1985).

 To make precise and explicit the ability of native speakers to produce all possible

correct words of a language.

 To make grammar as easy as possible by removing redundancy.

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