I was wondering to which degree the various edoid languages were mutually intelligible to each other. This including languages like Edo/Benin, Urhobo, Esan, Etsako/Afemai, Isoko, Ivbiosakon, Okpamheri etc. For example, can an Edo/Benin speaker understand an Urhobo speaker with 95% accuracy, 50% accuracy or 0% accuracy.

A Benin speaker will not understand an Urhobo speaker and vice versa. I think some Isoko people might be able to understand some Urhobo speakers, but I am not sure. Even within Isoko and Urhobo, there are some dialect groups that cannot easily understand each other.

Their languages are largely mutually intelligible thanks to their very recent development and those differences that do exist are minor compared to those you'd find in other Indo-European languages. https://www.imyccpay.com

It depends to some extent on current geographical proximity, how much a particular Edoid language has been influenced by non-Edoid languages around them, how long ago a language separated from the Ur-Edo language, how well the speaker of an Edoid language truly understands own Edoid language, etc.

Naturally, an Esan person will understand Benin to a good level, an Isoko person will understand Urhobo to a decent level, etc.

This is not too different from European languages. A Dutch person will understand German language to a good level but a German will understand Dutch much less. Swedes, Danes and Norwegians will learn German much more easily because German is still nearest to their Ur-Germanic language origins.

A Spaniard will understand Italian to a good extent because Italian is closest to their common Latin language origin. A Romanian will understand French less than he will understand Italian, a Portuguese will understand Spanish than Romanian due to proximity to Spain, a Romanian will understand Italian better than Spanish due to Italian being still closer geographically and to Latin origin.

Mutual intelligibility depends on many factors.

In the same way, a Degema person in Rivers State will find Esan harder to understand than Benin language.

As for the level to which people understand own language, if a Benin person doesn't know that Ekokodia is the original Benin name for Coco-nut, he won't recognise it when a Delta man says it. If he doesn't know that Osa means great ape, he won't recognise meaning of Osia when a Delta man says it, etc.

My worry is that with fewer kids learning their mother tongue, it will affect all the languages in the Edoid group.

AreaFada2:
It depends to some extent on current geographical proximity, how much a particular Edoid language has been influenced by non-Edoid languages around them, how long ago a language separated from the Ur-Edo language, how well the speaker of an Edoid language truly understands own Edoid language, etc.

Naturally, an Esan person will understand Benin to a good level, an Isoko person will understand Urhobo to a decent level, etc.

This is not to different from European languages. A Dutch person will understand German language to a good level but a German will understand Dutch much less. Swedes, Danes and Norwegians will learn German much more easily because German is still nearest to their Ur-Germanic language origins.

A Spaniard will understand Italian to a good extent because Italian is closest to their common Latin language origin. A Romanian will understand French less than he will understand Italian, a Portuguese will understand Spanish than Romanian due to proximity to Spain, a Romanian will understand Italian better than Spanish due to Italian being still closer geographically and to Latin origin.

Mutual intelligibility depends on many factors.

In the same way, a Degema person in Rivers State will Esan harder to understand than a Benin language.

As for the level to which people understand own language, if a Benin person doesn't know that Ekokodia is the original Benin name for Coco-nut, he won't recognise it when a Delta man says it. If he doesn't know that Osa means great ape, he won't recognise meaning of Osia when a Delta man says it, etc.

My worry is that with fewer kids learning their mother tongue, it will affect all the languages in the Edoid group.

These are the yardsticks, the last one is a very strong factor too, And also I was able to decipher that written Urhobo is easier to digest than spoken Urhobo. There is one thread on nairaland I saw, I think it was about written Urhobo, I was able to decipher about 50% percent of what I read there. And also it depends largely on the clan, there are some clans in Urhobo, when they speak, I can almost hear a third or strongly a fourth of what they say. Lastly no matter how divergent a language group might be,there are sometimes, it would just be intelligible to all Edo groups across divides, e.g give me water, give me money and a bunch of others. There is no other way to say these things.

AreaFada2:

My worry is that with fewer kids learning their mother tongue, it will affect all the languages in the Edoid group.

Do you think a solution to this would be to make a standardised edoid language. Similar to how there are various Ijoid languages but they mostly use a standardised single language. Obviously I’m aware a lot of politics would be involved if such a task took place but think about it in a theoretical sense.

BlueIvy04:


Do you think a solution to this would be to make a standardised edoid language. Similar to how there are various Ijoid languages but they mostly use a standardised single language. Obviously I’m aware a lot of politics would be involved if such a task took place but think about it in a theoretical sense.

as compared to the ijoid languages, it is super possible as Edoid languages have a degree of relativity among themselves when compared to the Ijaws

BlueIvy04:


Do you think a solution to this would be to make a standardised edoid language. Similar to how there are various Ijoid languages but they mostly use a standardised single language. Obviously [b]I’m aware a lot of politics [/b]would be involved if such a task took place but think about it in a theoretical sense.

You identified the main issue: Politics. It seems too late now. Any form of standardisation would have been a lot easier in the days of Mid-West or even Bendel. With Delta State, most people under 35 outside Edo Sate don't even know much about their Edoidness.
Standardisation, if considered, would likely centre around Benin/Esan as closest to Ur-Edo language. That won't sit well with many others.

Personally, I'd prefer that we preserve the various flavours and branches of Edo language as they are all very rich in cultural heritage in their own right. Various parts of Ur-Edo language are also preserved in these languages. For example, coco-nut is now mostly called ivin in Benin. A few decades back, elderly people still regularly called it "ekokodia". Urhobo and Isoko have retained kokodia by and large,

Instead, we can develop a more common orthography (to the extent that it is possible) that allows these Edoid languages to be mutually learnt more easily.

Stakeholders/traditional institutions/politicians can develop an Institute for Edo/Edoid Languages and Culture Research affiliated to AAU, DELSU and others. May be even Uniben. Unilag once had Edo programme long ago. Not sure of now. Uniport is another major school, that can be a part.

Imagine a linguistics graduate who can then further study to read and write in Benin/Isoko, Esan/Urhobo, Urhobo/Benin/Degema, Afemai/Isoko/Urhobo and can teach these languages. The institute can promote research.

Imagine Edoid language/culture festival every 2 years hosted by Edo or Delta or Rivers or Lagos to showcase the diversity of Edoid cultures. We can invite a guest state of the host's choice. Bayelsa, Ondo, Kogi, Benue, Anambra, Ekiti will be interested as guests. NOT just to dance, eat, drink and same in two years again. No.

A festival with artistes, academics, students, seminars, educational opportunities, scholarships, developing Edoid books in STEM subjects, apps to learn these languages, etc. Approach companies to co-sponsor. So many possibilities.

RedboneSmith:
A Benin speaker will not understand an Urhobo speaker and vice versa. I think some Isoko people might be able to understand some Urhobo speakers, but I am not sure. Even within Isoko and Urhobo, there are some dialect groups that cannot easily understand each other.

And who are you to speak on this?? Don't say what you don't know !! Stick to your lane!!!

AreaFada2:
It depends to some extent on current geographical proximity, how much a particular Edoid language has been influenced by non-Edoid languages around them, how long ago a language separated from the Ur-Edo language, how well the speaker of an Edoid language truly understands own Edoid language, etc.

Naturally, an Esan person will understand Benin to a good level, an Isoko person will understand Urhobo to a decent level, etc.

This is not to different from European languages. A Dutch person will understand German language to a good level but a German will understand Dutch much less. Swedes, Danes and Norwegians will learn German much more easily because German is still nearest to their Ur-Germanic language origins.

A Spaniard will understand Italian to a good extent because Italian is closest to their common Latin language origin. A Romanian will understand French less than he will understand Italian, a Portuguese will understand Spanish than Romanian due to proximity to Spain, a Romanian will understand Italian better than Spanish due to Italian being still closer geographically and to Latin origin.

Mutual intelligibility depends on many factors.

In the same way, a Degema person in Rivers State will find Esan harder to understand than a Benin language.

As for the level to which people understand own language, if a Benin person doesn't know that Ekokodia is the original Benin name for Coco-nut, he won't recognise it when a Delta man says it. If he doesn't know that Osa means great ape, he won't recognise meaning of Osia when a Delta man says it, etc.

My worry is that with fewer kids learning their mother tongue, it will affect all the languages in the Edoid group.

You still remain a KING in this parts when it comes to Benin Kingdom/Edo affairs I have followed your posts over many years and I just want to say Thank You and please keep up the great work!

AreaFada2:


You identified is the main issue: Politics. It seems too late now. Any form of standardisation would have been a lot easier in the days of Mid-West or even Bendel. With Delta State, most people under 35 outside Edo Sate don't even know much about their Edoidness.
Standardisation, if considered, would likely centre around Benin/Esan as closest to Ur-Edo language. That won't sit well with many others.

Personally, I'd prefer that we preserve the various flavours and branches of Edo language as they are all very rich in cultural heritage in their own right. Various parts of Ur-Edo language are also preserved in these languages. For example, coco-nut is now mostly called ivin in Benin. A few decades back, elderly people still regularly called it "ekokodia". Urhobo and Isoko have retained kokodia by and large,

Instead, we can develop a more common orthography (to the extent that it is possible) that allows these Edoid languages to be mutually learnt more easily.

Stakeholders/traditional institutions/politicians can develop an Institute for Edo/Edoid Languages and Culture Research Institute affiliated to AAU, DELSU and others. May be even Uniben. Unilag once had Edo programme long ago. Not sure of now. Uniport is another major school, that can a part.

Imagine a linguistics graduate who can then further study to read and write in Benin/Isoko, Esan/Urhobo, Urhobo/Benin/Degema, Afemai/Isoko/Urhobo and can teach these languages. The institute can promote research.

Imagine Edoid language/culture festival every 2 years hosted by Edo or Delta or Rivers or Lagos to showcase the diversity of Edoid cultures. We can invite a guest state of the host's choice. Bayelsa, Ondo, Kogi, Anambra, Ekiti will be interested as guests. NOT just to dance, eat, drink and same in two years again. No.

A festival with artistes, academics, students, seminars, educational opportunities, scholarships, developing Edoid books in STEM subjects, apps to learn these languages, etc. Approach companies to co-sponsor. So many possibilities.

This is a very great idea, search Izoduwa on Facebook I believe you both are on the same path and are also ideologically like minded! You could pitch this idea to him.

AutomaticMotors:


And who are you to speak on this?? Don't say what you don't know !! Stick to your lane!!!

Oh please, shut your whole arsè up. If what I said was incorrect, then point out the inaccuracies and correct them. Otherwise, shut the fvck up.

RedboneSmith:

Oh please, shut your whole arsè up. If what I said was incorrect, then point out the inaccuracies and correct them. Otherwise, shut the fvck up.

I don't have time to wallow in dirt with you!! It is what you have been known for since all the years you have spent wasting away on nairaland! Keep being the same non-entity year in year out when you are tired you would delete your account!!

AutomaticMotors:


I don't have time to wallow in dirt with you!! It is what you have been known for since all the years you have spent wasting away on nairaland! Keep being the same non-entity year in year out when you are tired you would delete your account!!

You don't have time to wallow in the dirt. Yet you have the time and the effrontery to come on a faceless forum and jump on my comment to tell me what posts I should and should not comment on, as the god, keeper and guardian of Nairaland that you are, abi? Onye ala.

I am a nonentity but at least you know me. How else would you know I have been here for years? I on the other hand had no idea of your existence until you jumped on my comment seeking for attention this morning. I will also forget you the second I log off. But I apparently live rent-free in your head.

Ukpana!

AutomaticMotors:


And who are you to speak on this?? Don't say what you don't know !! Stick to your lane!!!

He’s a reliable cherub of Anioma-Nigeria and his username isn’t pure bait.

Take the irony of your username and park well in a distant lane with no Internet. Don’t rush back in a hurry.

Probz:


He’s a reliable cherub of Anioma-Nigeria and his username isn’t pure bait.

Take the irony of your username and park well in a distant lane with no Internet. Don’t rush back in a hurry.

Redbonesmith Coming back with a leprosy striken alt just to prove my point right! Like I earlier said keep wasting away on a website! Non-Entity!! All your mates don move on in life and left roaming of nairaland for the youngins but no!! not for you, year-in-year out you are here posting the same sh1t lies no one cares about! .... Get a life! There are Oceans and Skyscrapers outside just take a leap

This is his Facebook account boss

https://m.facebook.com/Marflem?eav=AfYKN4oissLAaGCnsFM-C1p7QXCfHJDnBPNm37Lh726vLSjp21LO2zUyB_mqRSSUDwo&paipv=0

@AreaFada

AreaFada2:
It depends to some extent on current geographical proximity, how much a particular Edoid language has been influenced by non-Edoid languages around them, how long ago a language separated from the Ur-Edo language, how well the speaker of an Edoid language truly understands own Edoid language, etc.

Naturally, an Esan person will understand Benin to a good level, an Isoko person will understand Urhobo to a decent level, etc.

This is not too different from European languages. A Dutch person will understand German language to a good level but a German will understand Dutch much less. Swedes, Danes and Norwegians will learn German much more easily because German is still nearest to their Ur-Germanic language origins.

A Spaniard will understand Italian to a good extent because Italian is closest to their common Latin language origin. A Romanian will understand French less than he will understand Italian, a Portuguese will understand Spanish than Romanian due to proximity to Spain, a Romanian will understand Italian better than Spanish due to Italian being still closer geographically and to Latin origin.

Mutual intelligibility depends on many factors.

In the same way, a Degema person in Rivers State will find Esan harder to understand than Benin language.

As for the level to which people understand own language, if a Benin person doesn't know that Ekokodia is the original Benin name for Coco-nut, he won't recognise it when a Delta man says it. If he doesn't know that Osa means great ape, he won't recognise meaning of Osia when a Delta man says it, etc.

My worry is that with fewer kids learning their mother tongue, it will affect all the languages in the Edoid group.

Urhobo -gbu-nuwe-shut up
Bini-gu-nue-shut up
Urhobo -yanre-come
Bini-laire-come
Urhobo-inowota-i am asking you questions
Bini-Inowota-i am asking you questions
Urhobo-wekobokhian-weldone
Bini-bokhian -welcome
Urhobo-tewmanta- talk true
Bini-tewmanta-talk true
Urhobo-Wenowmen-it means are you asking me
Bini-Uwenowmen,tu-nowmen-a'?-it means the same thing above
Urhobo-yanre-bone-it means come this side,
Bini-Laire vbo bona-It means the same thing in Benin
Urhobo-vbiare-what did I do
Benin-vbiaru-what did I do
Urhobo-wa no-ask
Benin-no -ask
Urhobo- kemukemu nutarivbu miki ru-it means whatever you want me to do, I will do
Benin-Kevbin kevbin nu ta nihu I gha ru-it means the same thing above
Urhobo-we rhio oya-you don suffer
Benin- Urhio oya ne-you don suffer
Urhobo-wa ahian- make una dae go
Benin-wa akhian-make una dae go
Urhobo- Igbiyaja-prostitute
Bini-Igbiyagia-prostitute
urhobo- ighodo- compound
Bini-Ighodo- can range from a compound to a place e.g vbu a ye vbi ighodo-na? meaning where are you in this place
Urhobo-Dawmuen or Dawmen-it means to try something
Bini-Dawmen or Dawmuenit means to try something- e.g ghe ghi Dawmuen- do not try it again
Urhobo-Odafe- a big man, a wealthy man
Bini- Odafen- Big man, Wealthy man
Urhobo-Ogo- bottle
Bini-ogo-bottle
Urhobo-ovie-king
Bini-Ogie-king
Urhobo-Otota-a spokesperson
Benin-we don't have that office, but it is what we can interprete efficiently (in pidgin, e means person wey dae bring talk, or person wey dae talk talk
Urhobo-Aghogho-Joy
Bini-Oghogho-Joy
Urhobo-Amen-water
Bini-Amen-water
Urhobo-Igho-money
Bini-Igho-money
urhobo-akpo-life
Bini-agbon-life
Urhobo-wowo-i am sorry
Bini-Lahor wowo -i am sorry
Urhobo-ohu-vexation or anger
Bini-ohu-vexation or anger
Urhobo-Oji-thief
Bini-Oji-thief
Urhobo- otu- mate
Bini-Otu- mate eg otu- ma khin a'? Meaning are we mate?
Urhobo-Eriwmin-spirit
Benin-Ehiwmin-spirit
Urhobo-nerhun-pray
Benin-nerhun-pray

Suffice me to say that urhobo is a strong Edoid group that settled in between itsekiri(yoruboid)Ijaws(ijoid) ukwuani(igboid) these groups has managed to distort her intonation, accent and pronunciation, honestly it is because she is a large Edoid group, if she was small, she would have been swallowed.

she has been able to largely maintain her foundation at the very least in terms of these words and a bunch of others, I watched few episodes and found this out although I know some already which I added to it.

This was what I was able to draw from sokoh's comic urhobo movie from youtube called Oseghe, more might come, that is if I have the chance later to watch more episodes

UGBE634:
Urhobo -gbu-nuwe-shut up
Bini-gu-nue-shut up
Urhobo -yanre-come
Bini-laire-come
Urhobo-inowota-i am asking you questions
Bini-Inowota-i am asking you questions
Urhobo-wekobokhian-weldone
Bini-bokhian -welcome
Urhobo-tewmanta- talk true
Bini-tewmanta-talk true
Urhobo-Wenowmen-it means are you asking me
Bini-Uwenowmen,tu-nowmen-a'?-it means the same thing above
Urhobo-yanre-bone-it means come this side,
Bini-Laire vbo bona-It means the same thing in Benin
Urhobo-vbiare-what did I do
Benin-vbiaru-what did I do
Urhobo-wa no-ask
Benin-no -ask
Urhobo- kemukemu nutarivbu miki ru-it means whatever you want me to do, I will do
Benin-Kevbin kevbin nu ta nihu I gha ru-it means the same thing above
Urhobo-we rhio oya-you don suffer
Benin- Urhio oya ne-you don suffer
Urhobo-wa ahian- make una dae go
Benin-wa akhian-make una dae go
Urhobo- Igbiyaja-prostitute
Bini-Igbiyagia-prostitute
urhobo- ighodo- compound
Bini-Ighodo- can range from a compound to a place e.g vbu a ye vbi ighodo-na? meaning where are you in this place
Urhobo-Dawmuen or Dawmen-it means to try something
Bini-Dawmen or Dawmuenit means to try something- e.g ghe ghi Dawmuen- do not try it again
Urhobo-Odafe- a big man, a wealthy man
Bini- Odafen- Big man, Wealthy man
Urhobo-Ogo- bottle
Bini-ogo-bottle
Urhobo-ovie-king
Bini-Ogie-king
Urhobo-Otota-a spokesperson
Benin-we don't have that office, but it is what we can interprete efficiently (in pidgin, e means person wey dae bring talk, or person wey dae talk talk
Urhobo-Aghogho-Joy
Bini-Oghogho-Joy
Urhobo-Amen-water
Bini-Amen-water
Urhobo-Igho-money
Bini-Igho-money
urhobo-akpo-life
Bini-agbon-life
Urhobo-wowo-i am sorry
Bini-Lahor wowo -i am sorry

Suffice me to say that urhobo is a strong Edoid group that settled in between itsekiri(yoruboid)Ijaws(ijoid) ukwuani(igboid) these groups has managed to distort her intonation, accent and pronunciation, honestly it is because she is a large Edoid group, if she was small, she would have been swallowed.

she has been able to largely maintain her foundation at the very least in terms of these words and a bunch of others, I watched few episodes and found this out although I know some already which I added to it.

This was what I was able to draw from sokoh's comic urhobo movie from youtube called Oseghe, more might come, that is if I have the chance later to watch more episodes

@ UGBE634

Great that you have taken your time to compile the above. We need more of this about other Edoid languages. Comparing words and phrases in two or more languages: Afemai/Isoko, Degema/Benin, Esan/Ososo, Urhobo/Owan (Ora), etc.

AutomaticMotors:


Redbonesmith Coming back with a leprosy striken alt just to prove my point right! Like I earlier said keep wasting away on a website! Non-Entity!! All your mates don move on in life and left roaming of nairaland for the youngins but no!! not for you, year-in-year out you are here posting the same sh1t lies no one cares about! .... Get a life! There are Oceans and Skyscrapers outside just take a leap

RedboneSmith bounced back with an alter-ego just to do something he’s obviously perfectly-capable of doing (sticking up for himself)?

You really are a demented little spanner.

Probz:


RedboneSmith bounced back with an alter-ego just to do something he’s obviously perfectly-capable of doing (sticking up for himself)?

You really are a demented little spanner.

People who maintain multiple accounts on this forum tend to think everyone does the same. With the way he is riled up by a simple non-aggressive contribution I made on mutual intelligibility across the Edoid lects, you can tell that we've clashed here before, where he was apparently using another account because I certainly don't remember this particular account.

AreaFada2:


@ UGBE634

Great that you have taken your time to compile the above. We need more of this about other Edoid languages. Comparing words and phrases in two or more languages: Afemai/Isoko, Degema/Benin, Esan/Ososo, Urhobo/Owan (Ora), etc.

Sir! Anything for Edo, there is no other place we call home, it is good to know that we have brothers with similar tongue and it is beautiful exploring them. It has been my passion from day one. Knowing that we have brothers everywhere and elsewhere excites me. I love Edo so much, knowing that we have something similar to Edo excites me.

It would be herculean to get detailed materials online for Ososo and Degema as these groups are small, they don't really have presence online. Someone might have to journey down to these places to carry out these research and comparison.

And also I am doing it from a place of language of depth or the base as compared to the other language which seem to be furthest. I am not really rooted in other languages except Benin.

Thanks for your commendation, you and physicsqed started it on here

BlueIvy04:
I was wondering to which degree the various edoid languages were mutually intelligible to each other. This including languages like Edo/Benin, Urhobo, Esan, Etsako/Afemai, Isoko, Ivbiosakon, Okpamheri etc. For example, can an Edo/Benin speaker understand an Urhobo speaker with 95% accuracy, 50% accuracy or 0% accuracy.

in Peter Ekeh’s work, contesting the history of Benin in page 167 of an article in research in African literature, he described Esan and Benin as approximately mutually intelligible,

Bradbury in page 14 of his book, “the Benin kingdom and the Edo speaking people of south western Nigeria” he stated and i quote “The dialects of Ishan and the southern parts of Ivbiosakon seem most closely akin to Edo proper, while mutual intelligibility with the latter diminishes towards the northern boundaries of Edo speaking territory”. If you check page 84, you will find out the ivbiosakon are the Owan people in the southern part of the ivbiosakon territory. The Owan people basically consist of Emai-Ora-Luleha dialect cluster.

Buttressing Bradbury’s point above, Ben Ohiomamhe Elugbe in his work comparative Edoid: phonology and lexicon describes these languages or dialects (Bini,Esan,Owan) as “the languages of the central plain where there is relative homogeneity.”

Bini, Esan, Owan, Ghotuo, Yekhee, Uneme make up the north-central Edoid group of languages. There are two sub-branches in this branch of north central Edoid. One branch is made up of Bini, Esan and Ora-Emai-Luleha dialects clusters which are regarded as the languages of the central plain where there is relative homogeneity. While the other sub-branch of North-central Edoid consists of Ghotuo, Yekhee, Uneme.


What this means is that the closest Edoid language to Bini is Esan, then followed by Owan. What this portends is even though Etsako and Owan are both in Edo north. Owan would understand Benin better than Etsako. What this also portends for these languages is that even though Ghotuo or Otuo identify as Owan because of their proximity and cultural affinity to other traditional Owan groups like Ora-Emai-Luleha, the linguistic reality states that traditional Owan groups such as Ora-Emai-Luleha lean more linguistically to Benin and Esan than to Ghotuo or Otuo who they share the same ethnic umbrella with collectively as Owan.

BlueIvy04:
I was wondering to which degree the various edoid languages were mutually intelligible to each other. This including languages like Edo/Benin, Urhobo, Esan, Etsako/Afemai, Isoko, Ivbiosakon, Okpamheri etc. For example, can an Edo/Benin speaker understand an Urhobo speaker with 95% accuracy, 50% accuracy or 0% accuracy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOKsGupT2bY?si=chLJmPfOCYLWHJG7

This is Pedro obaseki’s take above on the linguistic relationship between Esan and Bini. Time stamp 8:30-9:20.

This is an excerpt from Hans melzian dictionary below, it was published in 1937, she described Esan as a dialects of Bini.

Frankly from 1-100, there is really no difference in numbers in Esan and Bini. Just that in Esan, numbers like 90 might be igbe yan iyene but with Bini it will be Ekigbe-iyisen. The meaning for both is 10+80 for the Esan and 100-10 for the Binis. But the wordings are intelligible to both groups

In the international journal of language and linguistics, an article was written by Omozuwa victor Edosa and Ikhiwmin Gladys Amenze titled “Alternation of Lenis and Fortis consonants in Edo and Esan as indicators of a dynamic sound change in Edo” page 54 Okojie was quoted to have said “even among present day Esan generation, speaking Bini may be difficult, but it is unnecessary for an Esan to learn Bini before understanding it