ASPECTS OF THE MORPHOLOGY OF EHUEUN AN EDOID LANGUAGE IN ONDO STATE SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA

Morphological analysis, a core component of linguistic research, investigates how words are structured and formed across languages. This study examines ẸHÙEÙN, a minority Edoid language spoken in Ondo State, Nigeria, which remains severely under-documented despite its cultural and linguistic relevance. The research offers a detailed exploration of ẸHÙEÙN's morphological system, focusing on processes such as affixation, reduplication, compounding, derivation, inflection, and the interaction between morphology and tone. The study’s objectives include identifying ẸHÙEÙN’s primary morphological strategies, analyzing how they interface with phonological and syntactic structures, comparing them with related Edoid languages (e.g., Edo, Esan, Urhobo), and assessing the influence of Yoruba contact on its morphology. Data were obtained through qualitative fieldwork involving interviews, lexical elicitation, and naturalistic observation. Analysis was conducted within the framework of Natural Morphology, which emphasizes cognitive ease and communicative function in shaping word formation. Findings reveal that prefixation is the most productive morphological strategy in ẸHÙEÙN. Reduplication and compounding are also common, often used to express emphasis, plurality, or nuanced semantic distinctions. Tone plays a structural role, influencing both meaning and grammatical categories, and contributes to prosodic consistency across morphemes. Comparative observations show that while ẸHÙEÙN shares foundational features with other Edoid languages, it also exhibits unique morphophonological traits. Influence from Yoruba is visible in borrowed vocabulary and syntactic alignment, though the language maintains a stable internal system. This study contributes to the documentation and preservation of a vulnerable language, deepens the understanding of Edoid morphosyntax, and offers a foundation for future work on tone, morphological variation, and contact linguistics. It also supports the development of language resources for educational and revitalization efforts within multilingual communities.