LEXICAL DIALECTAL VARIATIONS IN KȊȊKAMBA: A STRUCTURAL AND COMPARATIVE STUDY OF NOUN MORPHOPHONOLOGY

Abstract

This paper undertook to examine the Kȋȋkamba noun dialectal variation at the lexical level. The study used the variation theory by Labov (1972). Accordingly, a descriptive research design was adopted. The findings of this paper revealed that dialectal variation existed within Kȋȋkamba noun at the lexical level and that such variations were phonologically and lexically determined. This meant that Kȋȋkamba noun lexically and phonologically varied across the three dialects of Kȋȋkamba these are; Kȋkȋtui, Kȋmasakȗ and Kȋkȋlȗngȗ.