Documenting Endangered Dialectal Variations of Yoruba in Kogi State: A Case Study of Owe and Ijumu Speakers

Yoruba is not a monolithic language; it encompasses a wide range of dialects, several of which are spoken by small communities in North Central Nigeria and face the threat of extinction. This study documents endangered dialectal variations of Yoruba among Owe and Ijumu speakers in Kogi State, North Central Nigeria. Using a field documentation approach, data were collected through recorded interviews, word lists, and narrative texts gathered from 40 elderly native speakers across four communities in Ijumu and Kabba-Bunu local government areas. The study employs descriptive linguistics and dialect geography methods to map phonological, lexical, and grammatical differences between these dialects and standard Yoruba. Existing literature on Yoruba dialects has concentrated primarily on Southwest dialects such as Ekiti, Ijebu, and Oyo, with North Central varieties remaining poorly documented. This study addresses this significant gap and contributes to the broader project of Yoruba linguistic cartography. The research evaluates the vitality of both dialects using UNESCO's language vitality assessment framework, examining intergenerational transmission, community attitude, and literacy support. Findings are expected to show that both dialects are critically endangered due to migration, intermarriage with non-Yoruba communities, and the dominance of Hausa as the regional lingua franca. A lexical database and audio archive will be produced as supplementary outputs. Keywords: endangered dialects, Owe Yoruba, Ijumu Yoruba, Kogi State, language documentation.