Oko language

Oko (ɔ̀kɔ́), also known as Ogori-Magongo and Oko-Eni-Osayin, is a dialect cluster spoken in Nigeria. It appears to form a branch of the "Nupe–Oko–Idoma" (noi) group of Niger–Congo languages. The language is spoken in and around the towns of Ogori and Magongo in southwestern Kogi State and Edo state borders.

Oko
Ogori-Magongo
ɔ̀kɔ́
Native to	Nigeria
Region	Kogi State
Native speakers	40,000 (2006)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta–Niger noi Oko
Dialects	Oko Eni Osayen
Language codes
ISO 639-3	oks
Glottolog	okoe1238

Classification

Oko is one of the Volta–Niger languages.

An automated computational analysis (ASJP 4) by Müller et al. (2013) grouped Oko within the Idomoid languages.^[2]

Geographical distribution

According to Ethnologue, Oko is spoken in:

• Edo State: Akoko-Edo LGA
• Kogi State: Okene LGA, Magongo, and Ogori towns

Varieties

Oko is a dialect cluster consisting of (Ethnologue):

• Oko (Ogori, Uku)
• Osayin(Magongo, Osanyin)
• Eni

Below is a list of Ọkọ–Eni–Ọsayin language cluster names, populations, and locations from Blench (2019).^[3]

Language	Alternate spellings	Other names (location-based)	Speakers
Ọkọ	Uku, Oko	Ogori (town name), Gori	4,000 (1970??)
Ọsayin	Osayin, Ọsayin	Magongo (town name)	3,000 (1970??)
Eni			3,000 (1970??)

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Labio- velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n
Plosive	Voiceless	p	t		k	k͡p
	Voiced	b	d		g	ɡ͡b
Affricate	Voiceless			t͡ʃ
	Voiced			d͡ʒ
Fricative	Voiceless	f	s				h
	Voiced		z
Trill			r
Approximant			l	j		w

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Close-mid	e		o
Open-mid	ɛ		ɔ
Low		ä

Each vowel also has a nasal equivalent.^[4]

See also

• Oko word list (Wiktionary)