An Ethnographic Study of Language Choice at a Yoruba Traditional Wedding in Ondo Town

Traditional wedding ceremonies in Yoruba communities are richly multilingual events in which language choice reflects identity, social hierarchy, and intergroup dynamics. This study presents an ethnographic account of language choice at a traditional Yoruba wedding in Ondo Town, Ondo State, South West Nigeria. Using participant observation as the primary data collection method, the researcher documented language patterns across distinct ceremonial phases, including the formal introduction rites, bride price negotiations, praise singing, and communal feasting. Field notes were supplemented by audio recordings and informal interviews with ceremony participants. The study applies Fishman's domain theory and interactional sociolinguistics to analyse the distribution of Yoruba, English, and Ondo dialect forms across communicative events within the ceremony. Existing studies of language choice in Nigerian ceremonies have tended to use survey instruments rather than ethnographic methods, producing data that lacks the situational depth required to capture ceremonial language dynamics. This study addresses that methodological gap. The research maps which ceremony domains consistently elicit Yoruba, which domains permit English, and how ceremony participants negotiate language choice in ambiguous interactional moments. Findings are expected to reveal that Yoruba dominates sacred and ritualistic phases, while English and code-switching characterise informal social interactions between guests. Recommendations will address the use of ethnographic methods in Yoruba sociolinguistic research and the documentation of ceremony-specific language use patterns. Keywords: language choice, Yoruba wedding, ethnography, domain theory, Ondo State.