Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Literary Studies (JOLLS) Http://www.jolls.com.ng Vol 6. September 2018 ISSN : 2636-7149-6300 (online & print)

A STUDY OF ETHYMOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY AND LEXICAL HYBRID IN OGU LANGUAGE

Koko, Oluwapelumi Joseph Department of French Kaduna State University, Kaduna, Abstract This study treats the etymology, ethnology and lexical hybrid of Ogu language by first excavating into the genealogical history of Egun people who are the speakers of this language. It also cut across the origin of Ogu language examining the lexis and where it originated from. All this knowledge intimates us with the culture and tradition of Egun people. The study equally examines lexis of Ogu language which originated from Ewe, Fon, and Yoruba with evident, adequate and detailed analysis. The study simply aims at appreciating the language and its speakers knowing their origin and understanding why Egun people‟s culture and tradition are such. Finally it will make know that virtually all languages of Edè /Gbè continuum have a lot of linguistics elements in common and how they are interwoven lexically. Keywords: Language, Egun people, etymology, linguistics elements.

Introduction research is to examine the etymology of Ogu African communities historically from time language verifying where the language migrated from one location to the other for emanated from and the lexical hybrid of the various reasons. Among such reasons are: the language. Our prerogative interest is not quest for a better settlement, escape from actually on genealogical study but historical some strict and wicked rulers, communal excavation to discover the metamorphosis of crises which led to hostility and segregation lexis of Ogu language, as it is today. This against some specific families or sets of will help us to unravel the source of Ogu people. Some other reasons could be the fall lexical and they are hybrid to what they are of some prominent empires and kingdoms today. that existed in certain dispensations in the past and some people ran away for fear of Definition of some basic terms being captured as slaves to other Lexis: This simply means the total or the communities of the conquering kings. For entire stock of words or vocabularies in a instance Yoruba are said to migrate from language. Saudi Arabia in the Middle East to settle in Etymology: Etymology simply signifies the southwestern Nigeria where they live till origin of words or parts of words and how date. The Ewe of Ghana and and they have arrived at the present form and republic were immigrants who settled all meaning according to Encarta (2008). This over the West African coastal region due to means it deals with the history concerning the the problems encountered by Old Oyo origin of words or of a statement of this, how Empire between the 16th and 17th centuries. it has arrived at the current form and There are also the Egun people whose meaning. Often, it shows the various forms of ancestors migrated from Dahomey Kingdom, the words has taken before in passing from Ghana, Togo and others. Our focus in this one language to another and at times shows

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Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Literary Studies (JOLLS) Http://www.jolls.com.ng Vol 6. September 2018 ISSN : 2636-7149-6300 (online & print) related words in other languages. unchanged and uninterruptable fusing Ex. Through ancient French language in the together in form of a continuous mixed. In 14th century Greek “etumoloia” „„etumon‟‟ linguistics this term refers to languages is derived from Latin in 16th century and it is related closely such that their linguistics true sense of word in from which “etymos” is elements are blended and connected such that being its true origin. it would be difficult to differentiate them. Ethnology: Ethnology is a word derived One may regard such languages as parented. from ethnic. Ethnic is the sharing of We need to be very careful not to bring in distinctive cultural traits as a group in a what could be considered as dialect because society. It deals with a particular origin or there are distinctions among these continuum culture relating to a person or a group of languages despite the similarities. people who share a national, racial linguistic Egun people as a community or religion heritage whether or not they reside Egun people actually are descendants of in their country of origin. This shows the immigrants from Ghana, Togo, and Benin. members belonging to a particular ethnic Historically, it is believed that some groupin a society. Therefore ethnology is the descendants of the people were returnees of study the linguistic examination of words those Yoruba who immigrated to those areas which has to do with the comparison of mentioned as above due to the fall of Old cultures of different societies. Oyo Empire. They were finding their ways Hybrid: This means words derived back to Oyo but finally decided to settle morphologically from two languages. down in territory occupied by the Egun in the Sometimes there is loss of some letters for present Nigeria day and some parts of Benin other letters. This can be at times as a result republic. Let not forget that there were of the fusion of word components from colonial international boundaries then. different languages to from words. The wonderful people of Egun communities Continuum: According to Encarta (2005), are rich in culture and tradition which are the word originated from a Latin word particular to them, though similar to their “continuus” in the mid-17th century. The source as mentioned above. This heritage of word continuum is the link between two theirs remains undiluted even up till this new things. It also means the continuous or a millennium. The similarities of their culture continuous series of things that blend into and tradition as observed are intact till today each other so gradually and seamlessly that it just as they were inherited from the Fon of is impossible to say where one becomes the Dahomey, the Ewe of Ghana, Togo and the next. Le grand Larousse Encyclopedia environs. Their activities also reflect vividly www.larousse.fr 2007 explains the word the life styles of the Ouatchi, and Mina. continuum as the word of Latin origin which Tonuewa (2015) gives some expository and signifies the continuous combination of vital information about the people of Gunuvi elements such that is passed from one to the community; telling of their territory which other in a continuous form. According to spread across the south western part of https:/fr.wikidia.org/wiki/zone linguistics Nigeria that is predominantly Badagry, continuum as different languages belonging Makoko of Lagos State, Yewa, Ipokia, Jofin, the same linguistics zone which at times Agosso, Imeko all in Ogun State, then in refers to them as languages of the same some communities in Oyo and Kwara States family Things are interwoven and are 221 Koko Joseph O. CC BY-NC-ND Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs

Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Literary Studies (JOLLS) Http://www.jolls.com.ng Vol 6. September 2018 ISSN : 2636-7149-6300 (online & print) and such are referred to as anàgó. What explanation further shows Ogu language is marvels one at time, is when indigenes of found in Togo, Ghana, Côte d‟Ivoire, Benin these Gunuvi communities are regarded as republic. Though the reality is not perfectly non-Nigerians by people who are not clear but we are of the opinion that Ogu conversant with the Egun people. This issue language has some sister languages like; is another topic on its own. Ewe, Ouatchi, Fon, Mina and Yoruba which belong to the same continuum of Edè or Gbè. Ogu language as an ethnic One truth is that and culture Ogu language according to Tonuewa (2015) have a very strong influence on these originated from the people of Dahomey languages along the West African coastal kingdom and the question is what distinction regional communities. We in this research exits between Fon and Ogu. For we know for have some additional information regarding sure that they are two different languages Tonuewa‟s opinion and this will be detailed belonging to a continuum of Edè or Gbè. in the subsequent part. These two languages are parented languages and share several things in common. His

Etymology of Ogu language Having examined the languages along the West African coast sub region communities and the speakers right from Badagry to Côte d‟Ivoire, we are of the opinion that Ogu is a language which comprises of lexis from multiple communities because its vocabularies reflect this fact. The diversity of Ogu lexis consists of words from Ewe, Ouatchi, Fon, Mina and Yoruba. It is certain that the integration of these different languages lexis gave Ogu its new nature among the speakers within a space of time. Considering the genealogical history of Badagry, this reveals some set of people who migrated from Ghana, Togo, Benin and the environs and met some dwellers who settled in the riverine area called Gberefu in the early period of 13th century, precisely in 1425. They settled with the existing people and the languages of these new immigrants were integrated into their language with the interfusion of the new languages‟ lexis even down to the other Gunvi communities in Ogun, Oyo and Kwara.

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Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Literary Studies (JOLLS) Http://www.jolls.com.ng Vol 6. September 2018 ISSN : 2636-7149-6300 (online & print)

GHANA TOGO BENIN REP. NIGERIA

Fon Yoruba

Ipokia

Ogu Ewe Badagry Gen

Cartography of continuum of Edè /Gbè languages of Capo (1991) adopted from Ayele Atchivon (2014). This cartography is subjected to modification in this research to accommodate Ogu language as separate langue from Fon language of Benin Republic.

Logically in linguistics it is believed that the The language is originally referred to as new settlers who were of Ewe, Ouatchi, Mina Egun, but modification caused a change to and Fon had their lexis fused with the Gun by removing the last letter “n” and the language which metamorphosed into a initial “O” which finally becomes Ogu. This diluted new language that is referred to as modernized form which is the latter is much Ogu which is similar to Fon of Benin more preferable while the people are called Republic. According to Tonuewa; all these Egun. However, our argument as regarding language belong to Adja-Tado belt, but with the fusion of the lexis form Edè or Gbè new linguistics development this will rather continuum still stand the evidence as seen in be regarded as belonging to Edè or Gbè Ogu language lexis compared to some of the continuum with Yoruba. Let us not forget lexis of others. Ogu lexis is adopted from that Yoruba predominantly influenced all the Ewe, Ouatchi, Mina, Fon and Yoruba. But above mentioned languages because of her we are careful in the position we take trying political power in those periods. The arrows to avoid the mention of dialect because doing show the various directions the languages of so will lead to sociolinguistics error. The Ede/Gbe continuum proliferate all along are reason is that, the fusion of those languages interwoven in the West African coastal lexis in Ogu does not make it a dialect of any region. of them. But rather brought about what is

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Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Literary Studies (JOLLS) Http://www.jolls.com.ng Vol 6. September 2018 ISSN : 2636-7149-6300 (online & print) regarded as hybrid of loan words Ewe lexis found in Ogu language diachronically. So continuum is the most These are some words of ewe found in use in appropriate word that fits their description, Ogu language and there are similarities which give the idea of a family languages among them as seen below. even though virtually the rest except for Ogu Ewe Gloss Yoruba and Ogu which are Anglophone Àvún àvún a dog while the others are in francophone countries. Avò avosa a sacrifice We all know all these languages are in the Gbètóà gbètóa person same region along the Golf of Benin, the òvì èvi /dèvía child territorial division was as a result of óhò èho a house scramble, partition and colonization and even oló eló a crocodile at that these languages community members still see themselves as one big linguistic Fon lexis in Ogu language family. These are some words of Fon found in use in Objectives of the research Ogu language and there are similarities Tonuewa (2015) is of the view that his book among them as seen below. is able to resolve the difficulties faced by the Ogu Fon Gloss people of Egun community and those outside àfòpà afopa sandals and he believes that it will be a source of àdó ado urine research for academicians so as to improve ògàn ògàn time the status and standardising the language. àtòn àtòn three This writer is well aware of the fact that sògbé sògbé agree much needs to be done to polish Ogu before amin amin oil it can measure up to linguistics standardisation among its contemporaries in Yoruba lexis in Ogu language Nigeria, African and the world at large. These are some Yoruba words found in use This is exactly what this research is out to do in Ogu language and there are similarities by studying: among them as seen below. 1. The etymology of Ogu language Ogu Yoruba Gloss 2. Examine the evidence of its lexical origin ògbín ìgbín snail 3. Examine the hybrid of lexis in ogu from gbàtho àgbàdo corn the integrated continuum languages‟ words. osù oṣù month 4. Appreciate the language and its speakers‟ koko kòkó cocoa culture and tradition from their genealogical ògò ìgò bottle lálá rara no origin. Evidence of ogu lexis adopted from other Lexical hybridity in Ogu language languages Before dabbling into proper analysis it is Due to the limitation of space in this important to acquaint ourselves with the research, we will only touch the lexis from word “hybrid” because this is the keyword in Ewe, Fon, and Yoruba. As claimed Egun this section. Hybrid is first regarded as people comprise of different ethnicities and something made up as a result of the mixture communities and we want to evidently prove of two elements. But in natural scientific this in order to clear any doubts. sense it is the crossing breeding two different species of kinds of plants or animals into one 224 Koko Joseph O. CC BY-NC-ND Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs

Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Literary Studies (JOLLS) Http://www.jolls.com.ng Vol 6. September 2018 ISSN : 2636-7149-6300 (online & print) that comprises of the combination of the owoo (no) awoo (no) features of the two. The products usually have some kind of distinctive features Here, it is observed that initial letter “E” in compared to the natural ones involved in the Ewe change to “O” in Ogu. combination. Therefore this terminology is Yoyo (new) Yéyé (new) adopted in linguistics since it is the scientific Here, in there is the use of “e” study of language. which in Ogu takes “o”. In another form hybrid also is seen Òkòmè (neck) kome (neck) from a different angle in which words Owonti (nose) Wonti (nose) perhaps adopted from another language Here in Ewe no “O” as the initial letter while undergo some changes in which some of the in Ogu there is. letters may be dropped and replaced by Note (wait/stop) note (stop/wait) another. This may somehow be closely Eve (expensive) eve (expensive) related to loaning of word but not exactly Gblé (spoil) gblé (spoil) because borrowed words always retain their original features. So the new words formed Here the two languages despite the from any of the lexis in Ogu from those of differences of some letters in some of their the languages already treated wear new words have words retaining the same features but not different from the source. autograph just as it is in the above examples. The ones which retain their original features Hybrid lexis from Yoruba in Ogu may be regarded as loans adopted from the These are examples of Yoruba lexis other languages. The new words at times which are used in Ogu language. change phonetically, having different Ogu Yoruba pronunciations and some other time with Jàle! (Please) Jàre! (Please) semantic implication. Lala! (no) rara! (no) Hybrid lexis from Ewe in Ogu language Here, as it is known that letter “r” does not At this juncture we will go beyond citing of exist in Ogu so “r” from the above word examples of lexis analyses the linguistic through some morphological process changes manifestation of the hybrid with to “l” in Ogu. Gbàtho (corn) Àgbàdo (corn) corresponding examples. These are examples of some of the Ewe lexis which are used in Here the initial letter “A” is dropped and the Ogu language. second syllable retained while the phonetic Ogu Ewe sound by the use of appropriate Oma (vegetable) ama (vegetable) corresponding sound “th” /d/ which both are Ode (tongue) Ade (Tongue) dentals. Osun (month) Osù (month) Here the initial “a” from Ewe changes to “O” Ogbín (snail) Ìgbín (snail) in Ogu. Note that these letters are vowels. Here, osù in Yoruba is nasalized in Ogu Olo (crocodile) Eló (crocodile) instead of the oral /u/ sound as it is in Oda (hair) Eda (hair) Yoruba. Òsìn (water) etsi (water) Ogò (bottle) Ìgò (bottle) Òzò (fire) èzò (fire) Here the initial letter “I” in the above word Osodeewayi(yesterday) esokebayi (yesterday) changes morphologically to “O” in Ogu. ònúdùdù (food) enúdudu (food) Kàn (write) Kọ (write)

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Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Literary Studies (JOLLS) Http://www.jolls.com.ng Vol 6. September 2018 ISSN : 2636-7149-6300 (online & print)

Here, Kọ goes with the sound /ɔ/ in Yoruba Jomitho (leave me) jomitho (leave) which now changes into a nasal sound /ã/ in Ogu. But let us note that “ka” originally in What we observed here that since Ogu and Yoruba means –read- so we think the above Fon languages are much closely knitted word is hybrid from “Ka” to “kan” with some compared to others Edè/Gbè continuum semantical transformation instead “ko”. language there is not much difference in their lexis.Perhaps the closeness of communities Hybrid of Fon lexis in Ogu language facilitated this linguistics relationship. The These are examples of Fon lexis which are only thing we can say there is the possibility used in Ogu language. of some slight differences in spelling due to Ogu Fon the French and English which happen to be Ogàn (iron) Ogàn (iron) their official languages. Gànjí (straight) gànjí (straight)

Yi (go) yi (go)

Dòpó (one) dòpó (one)

Fon (wake) fón (wake) Dòpó gón (first) dòpó gón (first)

Conclusion This research intimates us on the etymology of Ogu language allowing us sees to the origin of the language. This also shows that Egun people are made up of many-communities which comprise immigrants from Ghana, Togo, Benin and the majority from Dahomey. The evidence is seen in Ogu lexis and tradition and culture. We also examined the hybrid of some of the lexis. This shows clearly that Ogu language lexis is fusion of the lexis from Fón, Ewe, and Yoruba among others. The hybrid lexis of those languages integrated in ogu language gives it its peculiarity and distinction. However this reflects the link which the language has with the Edè/Gbe continuum languages of which we only considered those of Ewe, Fon and Yoruba in this research. This also establishes the facts that these West African coastal region languages are closely kinked linguistically. This research is subjected to modification and more contribution. Reference Adejo, M.O. “Pluralization in Idoma language‟‟ in the Journal of and Linguistics (JILL) no. 4&5, 2012. Ayele Atchivon, Le Microstructure de numération et de calendrier de trois langues Gbè, le Gengbè et le Fongbé : convergence et divergence, DESS, Université de Benin, Lomé, 2014. Hunjo Henry, “The language Ogu is struggling for survival”, A Speech delivered at Gunvi Right of Initiative of Nigeria, http/://sundiatapost.com/2014. Capo, Principales langues gbè et leurs repartitions,….. Ijeoma Patricia Ngozi and Ezeafulukwe Oliva, „„Loan words: The case of Igbo language‟‟, A journal of the National Institute for Nigerian Languages, Aba NILAS Vol 2- No. 3- p 83-91, February 2015. Katamba F. An Introduction to phonology, London Longman Group, U.K Ltd., 1991. Koko O. Joseph A study of accents structure in Ogu language and the linguistics Implications, Linguistic Association of Nigeria (LAN), (29th Annual Conference, University of Jos, Plateau State) 5th – 9th December, 2016.

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Le Grand Larousse Encyclopédique, www.larousse.fr. Vol. 1-2 Cedex Paris: 2017. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation Oshuniran A.T Les Ressources de Pluralisation en Yoruba DESS University of Ilorin, Kwara, 2008. Onwubiko, K.B.C. History of West Africa, Africa Publishers, Onitsha: 1984. Sani M. An Introductory Phonology of Hausa, Kano Triumphant Publication Co. Ltd. 1989. Swanta, A. R. (2015) Les Difficultés Phonétiques Des Francisant Gworok DESS Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Tonuewa S. Joseph Ogugbe Vivi, De-Genius Breeders Ventures, Idi-Iroko, Ogùn 2015. Usman A. Mohammed General Linguistics: Generative Sociolinguistic Approaches, Samkwang Publishers, Kaduna, Nigeria, 2008. Usman U. Fagge Hausa Language and Linguistics, Ahmadu Bello University Press, Zaria, 2012. Webographies http://badagryonline.com 22/04/2016 https:/fr.wikidia.org/wiki/zone_linguistics 19/11/2018

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