onuwaje:


Mofe re ra food je

I dunno what food is in Itsekiri lol

Thnx

ezeagu:
By the way, is there a word like oko relating to males in Itsekiri? I know oko is husband in Yoruba, in Igbo, however, oko means male which is the root of okoro, man is also nwoko in some dialects (nwa (child) + oko (male))

Ako is male while Abo is female in old Yoruba language order.

Konquest:

^^^^^^
@ onuwaje
I thought number 1 is OKAN in Itsekiri?
Has it been changed now to MEENE?


The offshore oilfields off the coast of
Ugborodo [otherwise called Escravos]
are known as okan, meji, meta, meren
oilfields and are operated by Chevron
since the 1960's. This was indicated in the
Atlas of Nigeria we used in schools in the late
1970s.


You have a nice thread here.

Okan is also used interchangeably with Mèeni/ Èeni,in Yoruba too.

Olu317:
Okan is also used interchangeably with Mèeni/ Èeni,in Yoruba too.

^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^
Which dialect of Yoruba is that?
Meeni/Eeni.

I use WordHippo.com to do the translation of
the English-Yoruba words/phrases
I might not be familiar with.

Olu317:
Ako is male while Abo is female in old Yoruba language order.

^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^
Brilliant!

Konquest:

^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^
Which dialect of Yoruba is that?
Meeni/Eeni.

I use WordHippo.com to do
the English-Yoruba words/phrases
I might not be familiar with.

These are older Yoruba words used instead of modern day ones. Dialects of central Yoruba and Eastern Yoruba, when these words are pronounced don't sound 100% like North West Yoruba, despite the fact that they speak same language which is intelligible to all to understand. Take for instance, Ala means white,which is an older word for white in Yoruba. And white can also be funfun, while some Eastern Yoruba dialects pronounce funfun as finfin. Yoruba is complex but not as bad as not knowing the truth about ourselves to large extent. Despite influence from different groups, certain facts can't be taken away, which is oral history despite its flaws, which is normal. Itsekiri language is absolutely one major dialect of Yoruba.

Konquest:
^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ Brilliant!

Konquest:
^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ Brilliant!

Olu317:
These are older Yoruba words used instead of modern day ones. Dialects of central Yoruba and Eastern Yoruba, when these words are pronounced don't sound 100% like North West Yoruba, despite the fact that they speak same language which is intelligible to all to understand. Take for instance, Ala means white,which is an older word for white in Yoruba. And white can also be funfun, while some Eastern Yoruba dialects pronounce funfun as finfin. Yoruba is complex but not as bad as not knowing the truth about ourselves to large extent. Despite influence from different groups, certain facts can't be taken away, which is oral history despite its flaws, which is normal. Itsekiri language is absolutely one major dialect of Yoruba.

^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^
@Olu317

Your lucid post about older Yoruba words
just made things clearer for
me

Did you know that the Olukumis
of Aniocha North LGA, Delta State who are indigenous
to that area after migrating from Bini area
during the Ogiso era [according to the
king of Ugbodu, HRM Oloza Ayo Isinyemeze], via
Esan territory?


Oloza [means Oloja] title.


Olukumis are of Yoruba ancestry from the
Akure/Owo axis and the call white [efun].
One of the 5 Olukunmi communities apart
from Ugbodu[The hometown of the 1985 U-16
World Cup Champion captain Nduka Ugbade],
is Ukwu Nzu[Eko Efun in Olukunmi language]
or White Chalk in English.


Acculturation of the Olukunmis came as a result
of interactions with Ibo-speaking communities
of Delta North or Anioma. Ibo-speaking does
not necessarily mean all the people of
Delta North are descendants of Eastern Ibo.
Igalas, Esans, Bini, Yoruba, Urhobo, Ibo
constitute the ethnicities that make up the
ANIOMA axis of Delta State.

Olu317:
These are older Yoruba words used instead of modern day ones. Dialects of central Yoruba and Eastern Yoruba, when these words are pronounced don't sound 100% like North West Yoruba, despite the fact that they speak same language which is intelligible to all to understand. Take for instance, Ala means white,which is an older word for white in Yoruba. And white can also be funfun, while some Eastern Yoruba dialects pronounce funfun as finfin. Yoruba is complex but not as bad as not knowing the truth about ourselves to large extent. Despite influence from different groups, certain facts can't be taken away, which is oral history despite its flaws, which is normal. Itsekiri language is absolutely one major dialect of Yoruba.

Its not a dialect of Yoruba .its a language on its own.

urahara:


Its not a dialect of Yoruba .its a language on its own.

it appears to be a dialect of Yoruba:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsekiri_language

urahara:


Its not a dialect of Yoruba .its a language on its own.

Itsekiri language is not a language of its own but a dialect of Yoruba language.

Konquest:

^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^
@Olu317

Your lucid post about older Yoruba words
just made things clearer for
me

Did you know that the Olukumis
of Aniocha North LGA, Delta State who are indigenous
to that area after migrating from Bini area
during the Ogiso era [according to the
king of Ugbodu, HRM Oloza Ayo Isinyemeze], via
Esan territory?


Oloza [means Oloja] title.


Olukumis are of Yoruba ancestry from the
Akure/Owo axis and the call white [efun].
One of the 5 Olukunmi communities apart
from Ugbodu[The hometown of the 1985 U-16
World Cup Champion captain Nduka Ugbade],
is Ukwu Nzu[Eko Efun in Olukunmi language]
or White Chalk in English.


Acculturation of the Olukunmis came as a result
of interactions with Ibo-speaking communities
of Delta North or Anioma. Ibo-speaking does
not necessarily mean all the people of
Delta North are descendants of Eastern Ibo.
Igalas, Esans, Bini, Yoruba, Urhobo, Ibo
constitute the ethnicities that make up the
ANIOMA axis of Delta State.

categorically Fún is white if One consider the prefix which is added to it(É) before it is called white chalk. In Yoruba land, Éfun is white chalk as well .And of course Olukumi are Yoruba descendants

Olu317:
Itsekiri language is not a language of its own but a dialect of Yoruba language.

Hmmmn, are you fluent in itsekiri ?


..........and what in gods name is "old Yoruba "

urahara:


Hmmmn, are you fluent in itsekiri ?


..........and what in gods name is "old Yoruba "

I don't need to be fluent in Itsekiri dialect before I have knowledge on this things. “Old Yoruba", you asked? I have given some information about it and yet you seem to want your personal opinion to override existing facts. Quite amazing as a person you are. The ancient or old Yoruba simply ways of saying things was what I meant. Besides, People were referred to as from their dialectical names in the olden days. Not until 19th century that all adopted the name tag “Yoruba ". However, these groups of people had been called different names at different times but largely same stock of people. But due to migration from one spot to the other, new names begun to emerge to identify each new settlements.

Olu317:
I don't need to be fluent in Itsekiri dialect before I have knowledge on this things. “Old Yoruba", you asked? I have given some information about it and yet you seem to want your personal opinion to override existing facts. Quite amazing as a person you are. The ancient or old Yoruba simply ways of saying things was what I meant. Besides, People were referred to as from their dialectical names in the olden days. Not until 19th century that all adopted the name tag “Yoruba ". However, these groups of people had been called different names at different times but largely same stock of people. But due to migration from one spot to the other, new names begun to emerge to identify each new settlements.

Alaiye , calm dowwnnnnnn jare , u see me follow u dey argue.


Just as you have provided facts to back up your statements , I have seen that its truly a dialect of Yoruba ( albeit with some urhobo ,Bini and Portuguese influence ).

I was only asking you if u were fluent in itsekiri because I wanted to find out if you and an ilaje person could communicate without hindrance.

And I asked about " old Yoruba " because I have come across it many times online.

Itsekiri is certainly a Yoruba dialect

*****drops mic ****

urahara:




Alaiye , calm dowwnnnnnn jare , u see me follow u dey argue.


Just as you have provided facts to back up your statements , I have seen that its truly a dialect of Yoruba ( albeit with some urhobo ,Bini and Portuguese influence ).

I was only asking you if u were fluent in itsekiri because I wanted to find out if you and an ilaje person could communicate without hindrance.

And I asked about " old Yoruba " because I have come across it many times online.

Itsekiri is certainly a Yoruba dialect

*****drops mic ****

Now, you made your question clearer. The way you pointed out the questions were the reason I got the wrong impression of what you were trying to get as a person. Anyway, no hard feeling. Then, am not from Ilaje but have knowledge of Yoruba history.

Cheers

Olu317:
Now, you made your question clearer. The way you pointed out the questions were the reason I got the wrong impression of what you were trying to get as a person. Anyway, no hard feeling. Then, am not from Ilaje but have knowledge of Yoruba history.

Cheers

Where did Yoruba's originate from ? ( from your own point of view )

urahara:




Where did Yoruba's originate from ? ( from your own point of view )

Well,one of the major way is to verify relationship of groups living in a particular environment vis à vis the people identified as Yoruba in present day Nigeria and else where with other non speakers of such language . Having personal curiosity from childhood made me delve into such and so far so good, I have been able to compare few tradition peculiar to Yorubas and others. It is very important to emphasize here that this is an itsekiri thread and wouldn't want to turn it to a full blown Yoruba history because some people who have no deep knowledge of my ancestors traditional knowledge will derail this thread due to their absolute ignorance . However, my ancestors from immemorial call themselves sons of God... And I am a son of God.

urahara:




Alaiye , calm dowwnnnnnn jare , u see me follow u dey argue.


Just as you have provided facts to back up your statements , I have seen that its truly a dialect of Yoruba ( albeit with some urhobo ,Bini and Portuguese influence ).

I was only asking you if u were fluent in itsekiri because I wanted to find out if you and an ilaje person could communicate without hindrance.

And I asked about " old Yoruba " because I have come across it many times online.

Itsekiri is certainly a Yoruba dialect

*****drops mic ****

if an ilaje man cannot communicate with itsekiri, then I doubt if that person is really from ilaje, ilaje shares a lot with itsekiri due to closeness and the rest.

The ilajes are greatly influenced by Edo, it is safe to say that from Lagos to ondo to Delta are edo stronghold .

urahara:


Hmmmn, are you fluent in itsekiri ?


..........and what in gods name is "old Yoruba "

Old - Orisa (Abarisa in Ekiti; Aba means father in Ekiti, etc), Olua, Eleda, Eledua, Eledumare or Edumare, etc. Newer - Aseda, Olorun, Oluwa, etc.

Orisafemi = Oritsefemi.

A friend from Osun shared an experience with me concerning his ordeal with one Old Man in Ekiti Bank who insisted that he should never ever call him Yoruba but Ekiti because Yoruba is for Oyo group within the larger ethnic body of Olukumi or Nago. The friend tried to let him know that 'Olukumi now referred to 'concubine' in Oyo dialect rather than 'friend or one related to you' but the baba would not accept. He accused Ajayi Crowder of imposing his dialect and group's name 'Yoruba' on everyone; the same with Itshekiris, they are not accepting but have shared history with Yorubas.

However, majority of the dialectal groups in the West, Kwara and Kogi West (because they are the same people) now accept the name Yoruba for it gives everyone one identity.

One of my Igala Director was counting, ini or ene, eji, eta, etc just the way Ekitis, etc count 123.. I asked 'how come'? He said we were virtually the same people. that there were lots of migrations of the same ancient people from mesopotamia (particularly Ur, Using), Aramaic -the earlier movements, then later from Egypt, the East, etc. That their group passed through Adamawa and stayed with kwaraffa people, the Jukuns, etc for sometime. They moved to and stay in their present location instead of going to Ekiti or Ife. They later mixed with local Okpoto Africans to become Igalas. He said one of the prince went to form Eri kingdom and some still later went to Ekiti, Okun to establish kingdoms; he said there is Atta of Aiyede in Ekiti. He said, some believe that they were from Wukari and came to their present location, mixed with Yorubas and other earlier Africans like Okpoto.

Itshekiris are simply the mixture of Ilaje and Ijebu with the king from Bini and by extension, Ife. Nevertheless, they can choose to be Itshekiris rather than being Yorubas if it pleases them.

pls what is the meaning of OGBARA ORITSE it is itsekiri name.

Timzy16:
pls what is the meaning of OGBARA ORITSE it is itsekiri name.

I would imagine that's 'Agbara Orisa'- God's power.

Most parts of Southern Nigeria, Igala and to some extent Idoma are far more related than the tribalists know or acknowledge

kn23h:





Now, stop disturbing us with those words stolen from Yoruba people.

The variant of Yoruba widely spoken in Lagos
is a MODIFIED form of Oyo dialect.

YungMillionaire:

My guy leave that talk o! I did Youth Service in IB and when some of those elders spoke, I didn't have the confidence to respond. But I agree the school children in Oyo speak Lagos-like Yoruba.

Ibadan ,Oyo town, Ogbomosho, Ede, Iwo,Ikire,Ejigbo and the real Oshogbo all speak the Oyo dialect.

kn23h:


What am I saying and what are you saying?

The Oyo dialect is not the Ibadan dialect FYI. The IB dialect is different from Oyo, Ekiti, Ijebu, Ijesha, Okun etc.

oyatz:
Ibadan ,Oyo town, Ogbomosho, Ede, Iwo,Ikire,Ejigbo and the real Oshogbo all speak the Oyo dialect.

Not all the towns listed are native/historically Oyo-speaking. Don't confuse Oyo with Ibolo. Also, everyone these days can communicate in Oyo.

Even the Ibolo dialect grew out of the Oyo dialect.


Offa, Erin-Ile, Konta, Okuku, Inisha and may be Ikirun may be Ibolo.

All the towns I listed speak Oyo dialect

9jakool:

Not all the towns listed are native/historically Oyo-speaking. Don't confuse Oyo with Ibolo. Also, everyone these days can communicate in Oyo.

ezeagu:


Ika people are not from Benin, even the Ika people who deny being Igbo for the most part do not claim to be from Benin. The Obi of Owa traces their lineage to Nri.

Mr. 90℅ of Ika clans have Edo origin. Is Owa Oyibu really from NRI like you said? I doubt. But If so, Owa Oyibu is just a quarter of Owa so what's your point here? The Owa Ofien, Owa Alero and all the other 7 villages have Bini, Esan, Ora, Ukwani and Agbor origin.

oyatz:
Even the Ibolo dialect grew out of the Oyo dialect.


Offa, Erin-Ile, Konta, Okuku, Inisha and may be Ikirun may be Ibolo.

All the towns I listed speak Oyo dialect

Ibolo dialect did not grew out of Oyo, because Oyo absorbed Ibolo speakers.

Historically, towns like Ejigbo, Ede, and Osogbo were Ibolo.

I have been following the arguments and counter arguments relating to the relationship between Itsekiri and Yoruba languages. Firstly the term Yoruba did not exist as a linguistic or ethnic appellation among precolonial Yorubas but originated from the Hausa word Yarubawa which was the name the Hausas applied to the northern Yorubas of Oyo. It was adopted in the late 19th and 20th century by scholars and extended to all Sub groups that make up current Yorubaland. This term was however not applied to the Itsekiris who already had an established national and political identity of their own as a result of centuries of political and economic dealings with the European nations just like Benin and other Kingdoms and states of the time. Yorubaland was also never a united single political or national entity but had its many different kingdoms and city states that constantly fought each other. The closest it came to unification was with the Oyo empire. But there was never a single Yoruba polity uniting all Yorubas. And all Yoruba sub groups went by their different names and spoke their different dialects as their official languages. It wasn’t until Ajayi Crowther translated the bible from English into Oyo Yoruba that the Oyo dialect assumed the role of written standard language for all Yorubas. All religious and administrative materials were thus translated using that dialect and hence it became the standard for all Yoruba sub groups except the itsekiris who at the time prior to colonisation had existed as a separate centralised nation state of their own for 500 years. Thus Itsekiris in their own kingdom had portions of the bible, prayer books and hymnals translated into their own language as early as the mid 19th century including the Book of Common Prayer. This meant that even though Itsekiri could be considered a Yoruba dialect it had developed into a standard literary language in its own right, used in education and official communication as a fully fledged independent language just like standard Yoruba. So in effect Oyo Yoruba and Itsekiri are the two standardised variants of the Yoruba linguistic group. Other Yoruba dialects eg Ekiti, Owo, Ondo, Ijebu etc etc although still widely spoken (but gradually declining) did not achieve standard language status Because all Yorubas recognise the Oyo dialect as their standard literary language while Itsekiris on their part recognise the Itsekiri variant of Yoruba as their own standard literary language. What this means is that you have two variants of the same language becoming literary standards and recognised as separate languages.

. Itsekiri belongs to the South East Yoruba (SEY) groups of Yoruba languages or dialects which include Ijebu, Owo, Ekiti, Ondo, Ilaje, Ikale, Akure. linguists consider these dialects the oldest surviving form of Yoruba and Itsekiri is 85% plus mutually intelligible to the closest of these dialects Ilaje, IKALE, Owo and Ondo. It is also 72% mutually intelligible to Standard Yoruba which makes Itsekiri a Yoruboid language in just the same way the Romance languages of Spanish and Portuguese are 80% mutually intelligble but considered separate languages for political and historical reasons. Please note that on a wider scale linguists classify Yoruba, Itsekiri and Igala as Yoruboid languages because they all have a common origin and were once a single language and are still closely related. Itsekiri is just as separate from standard Yoruba as any other SEY Yoruba dialect because common sense will tell us that SEY Yoruba dialects are closer to each other than to standard Yoruba because they share a common origin and lexicon and are highly mutually intelligible to each other and less so to the North West Yoruba (NWY) dialects of Oyo, Ife, etc. This is just simple logic.

Please also note that the reason why Igbo, Yoruba, Itsekiri, Edo, Igala, Urhobo-Isoko, Idoma, Ebira, Nupe and Gwari have many words and sounds in common is because they are closely related languages that belong to the same linguistic family. This group of languages is referred to as Niger-Volta by linguists and they share a common ancestral language from which they split 2,000 years ago. These languages are split into sub groups called Yoruboid, Igboid, Nupoid, Idomoid, Edoid. The Ijaw and Kalabari languages are linguistic isolates and are not related in any way to the Niger-Volta languages. Tiv, Effik and Ibibio are also not closely related to Niger Volta and are Bantu languages similar to the languages spoken in Central Africa. Although we are all more widely related to each other as black African languages as we spring from the same source. Hausa is not a black African language but an Afro-Asiatic language related to Arabic and Somali. On the other hand Fulani or Fufulde is a black African language originating in Senegal and Guinea. On a separate note, if for example the Itsekiris opted to join the Oduduwa rRepublic then there will be two recognised indigenous official languages - Yoruba and Itsekiri. Other Yoruba dialects will continue to remain dialects as all Yorubas have a standard literary language which will be used by the groups for all official and administrative purposes. The Itsekiri on the other hand will continue to use their own standard language in their own area as standard Yoruba is not generally spoken or understood there. This is how linguistic policy works.

Prospektarty:
I have been following the arguments and counter arguments relating to the relationship between Itsekiri and Yoruba languages. Firstly the term Yoruba did not exist as a linguistic or ethnic appellation among precolonial Yorubas but originated from the Hausa word Yarubawa which was the name the Hausas applied to the northern Yorubas of Oyo. It was adopted in the late 19th and 20th century by scholars and extended to all Sub groups that make up current Yorubaland. This term was however not applied to the Itsekiris who already had an established national and political identity of their own as a result of centuries of political and economic dealings with the European nations just like Benin and other Kingdoms and states of the time. Yorubaland was also never a united single political or national entity but had its many different kingdoms and city states that constantly fought each other. The closest it came to unification was with the Oyo empire. But there was never a single Yoruba polity uniting all Yorubas. And all Yoruba sub groups went by their different names and spoke their different dialects as their official languages. It wasn’t until Ajayi Crowther translated the bible from English into Oyo Yoruba that the Oyo dialect assumed the role of written standard language for all Yorubas. All religious and administrative materials were thus translated using that dialect and hence it became the standard for all Yoruba sub groups except the itsekiris who at the time prior to colonisation had existed as a separate centralised nation state of their own for 500 years. Thus Itsekiris in their own kingdom had portions of the bible, prayer books and hymnals translated into their own language as early as the mid 19th century including the Book of Common Prayer. This meant that even though Itsekiri could be considered a Yoruba dialect it had developed into a standard literary language in its own right, used in education and official communication as a fully fledged independent language just like standard Yoruba. So in effect Oyo Yoruba and Itsekiri are the two standardised variants of the Yoruba linguistic group. Other Yoruba dialects eg Ekiti, Owo, Ondo, Ijebu etc etc although still widely spoken (but gradually declining) did not achieve standard language status Because all Yorubas recognise the Oyo dialect as their standard literary language while Itsekiris on their part recognise the Itsekiri variant of Yoruba as their own standard literary language. What this means is that you have two variants of the same language becoming literary standards and recognised as separate languages.

. Itsekiri belongs to the South East Yoruba (SEY) groups of Yoruba languages or dialects which include Ijebu, Owo, Ekiti, Ondo, Ilaje, Ikale, Akure. linguists consider these dialects the oldest surviving form of Yoruba and Itsekiri is 85% plus mutually intelligible to the closest of these dialects Ilaje, IKALE, Owo and Ondo. It is also 72% mutually intelligible to Standard Yoruba which makes Itsekiri a Yoruboid language in just the same way the Romance languages of Spanish and Portuguese are 80% mutually intelligble but considered separate languages for political and historical reasons. Please note that on a wider scale linguists classify Yoruba, Itsekiri and Igala as Yoruboid languages because they all have a common origin and were once a single language and are still closely related. Itsekiri is just as separate from standard Yoruba as any other SEY Yoruba dialect because common sense will tell us that SEY Yoruba dialects are closer to each other than to standard Yoruba because they share a common origin and lexicon and are highly mutually intelligible to each other and less so to the North West Yoruba (NWY) dialects of Oyo, Ife, etc. This is just simple logic.

Please also note that the reason why Igbo, Yoruba, Itsekiri, Edo, Igala, Urhobo-Isoko, Idoma, Ebira, Nupe and Gwari have many words and sounds in common is because they are closely related languages that belong to the same linguistic family. This group of languages is referred to as Niger-Volta by linguists and they share a common ancestral language from which they split 2,000 years ago. These languages are split into sub groups called Yoruboid, Igboid, Nupoid, Idomoid, Edoid. The Ijaw and Kalabari languages are linguistic isolates and are not related in any way to the Niger-Volta languages. Tiv, Effik and Ibibio are also not closely related to Niger Volta and are Bantu languages similar to the languages spoken in Central Africa. Although we are all more widely related to each other as black African languages as we spring from the same source. Hausa is not a black African language but an Afro-Asiatic language related to Arabic and Somali. On the other hand Fulani or Fufulde is a black African language originating in Senegal and Guinea. On a separate note, if for example the Itsekiris opted to join the Oduduwa rRepublic then there will be two recognised indigenous official languages - Yoruba and Itsekiri. Other Yoruba dialects will continue to remain dialects as all Yorubas have a standard literary language which will be used by the groups for all official and administrative purposes. The Itsekiri on the other hand will continue to use their own standard language in their own area as standard Yoruba is not generally spoken or understood there. This is how linguistic policy works.

Brilliant explanation.

One bottle of cold malt for you

Prospektarty:
I have been following the arguments and counter arguments relating to the relationship between Itsekiri and Yoruba languages. Firstly the term Yoruba did not exist as a linguistic or ethnic appellation among precolonial Yorubas but originated from the Hausa word Yarubawa which was the name the Hausas applied to the northern Yorubas of Oyo. It was adopted in the late 19th and 20th century by scholars and extended to all Sub groups that make up current Yorubaland. This term was however not applied to the Itsekiris who already had an established national and political identity of their own as a result of centuries of political and economic dealings with the European nations just like Benin and other Kingdoms and states of the time. Yorubaland was also never a united single political or national entity but had its many different kingdoms and city states that constantly fought each other. The closest it came to unification was with the Oyo empire. But there was never a single Yoruba polity uniting all Yorubas. And all Yoruba sub groups went by their different names and spoke their different dialects as their official languages. It wasn’t until Ajayi Crowther translated the bible from English into Oyo Yoruba that the Oyo dialect assumed the role of written standard language for all Yorubas. All religious and administrative materials were thus translated using that dialect and hence it became the standard for all Yoruba sub groups except the itsekiris who at the time prior to colonisation had existed as a separate centralised nation state of their own for 500 years. Thus Itsekiris in their own kingdom had portions of the bible, prayer books and hymnals translated into their own language as early as the mid 19th century including the Book of Common Prayer. This meant that even though Itsekiri could be considered a Yoruba dialect it had developed into a standard literary language in its own right, used in education and official communication as a fully fledged independent language just like standard Yoruba. So in effect Oyo Yoruba and Itsekiri are the two standardised variants of the Yoruba linguistic group. Other Yoruba dialects eg Ekiti, Owo, Ondo, Ijebu etc etc although still widely spoken (but gradually declining) did not achieve standard language status Because all Yorubas recognise the Oyo dialect as their standard literary language while Itsekiris on their part recognise the Itsekiri variant of Yoruba as their own standard literary language. What this means is that you have two variants of the same language becoming literary standards and recognised as separate languages.

. Itsekiri belongs to the South East Yoruba (SEY) groups of Yoruba languages or dialects which include Ijebu, Owo, Ekiti, Ondo, Ilaje, Ikale, Akure. linguists consider these dialects the oldest surviving form of Yoruba and Itsekiri is 85% plus mutually intelligible to the closest of these dialects Ilaje, IKALE, Owo and Ondo. It is also 72% mutually intelligible to Standard Yoruba which makes Itsekiri a Yoruboid language in just the same way the Romance languages of Spanish and Portuguese are 80% mutually intelligble but considered separate languages for political and historical reasons. Please note that on a wider scale linguists classify Yoruba, Itsekiri and Igala as Yoruboid languages because they all have a common origin and were once a single language and are still closely related. Itsekiri is just as separate from standard Yoruba as any other SEY Yoruba dialect because common sense will tell us that SEY Yoruba dialects are closer to each other than to standard Yoruba because they share a common origin and lexicon and are highly mutually intelligible to each other and less so to the North West Yoruba (NWY) dialects of Oyo, Ife, etc. This is just simple logic.

Please also note that the reason why Igbo, Yoruba, Itsekiri, Edo, Igala, Urhobo-Isoko, Idoma, Ebira, Nupe and Gwari have many words and sounds in common is because they are closely related languages that belong to the same linguistic family. This group of languages is referred to as Niger-Volta by linguists and they share a common ancestral language from which they split 2,000 years ago. These languages are split into sub groups called Yoruboid, Igboid, Nupoid, Idomoid, Edoid. The Ijaw and Kalabari languages are linguistic isolates and are not related in any way to the Niger-Volta languages. Tiv, Effik and Ibibio are also not closely related to Niger Volta and are Bantu languages similar to the languages spoken in Central Africa. Although we are all more widely related to each other as black African languages as we spring from the same source. Hausa is not a black African language but an Afro-Asiatic language related to Arabic and Somali. On the other hand Fulani or Fufulde is a black African language originating in Senegal and Guinea. On a separate note, if for example the Itsekiris opted to join the Oduduwa rRepublic then there will be two recognised indigenous official languages - Yoruba and Itsekiri. Other Yoruba dialects will continue to remain dialects as all Yorubas have a standard literary language which will be used by the groups for all official and administrative purposes. The Itsekiri on the other hand will continue to use their own standard language in their own area as standard Yoruba is not generally spoken or understood there. This is how linguistic policy works.

Are you sure about those languages you mentioned with Yorubas as same family 2000 years ago? If so, kindly translate ten of these English words ,with its equivalent in Yoruba to these other languages you mentioned as same family with Yoruba's.
Yoruba(ancient words)

rì/re: see

Ìlú/ùlú: town

dè: return/arrive

Óorùn:cloud-heaven

ùbá-jùbá: to respect/pay homage

àlàayè: alive/living

ìlè/ùlè: home/house

ìtà: outside

fó/oofó/fó(r): say,speak


réejù: nap/sleep



cc:
urahara, kindly help out with Igala translation.


cheers