languages studied

This study presents a comparative phonological analysis of Ẹdo and Ikwerre, two Niger- Congo languages spoken in Ẹdo State and Rivers State, Nigeria, respectively. While both languages share historical and typological connections within the Niger-Congo family, their phonological systems exhibit significant diferences in segmental features, phonotactic structures, and phonological processes.The study aims to identify and analyze these diferences and similarities,focusing on their consonantal and vowel inventories, phonological rules, and prosodic features. The study adopts Comparative Phonology (Hyman, 1975) as its theoretical framework, providing a systematic approach to examining the phonological structures of the two languages. Data were collected through primary sources from native speakers and secondary sources from previous linguistic research.The analysis reveals that Ẹdo employs Advanced Tongue Root (ATR) vowel harmony, while Ikwerre exhibits nasalization and prenasalized consonants. Ikwerre's phonology is characterized by aspirated stops and glottalized sounds. Additionally, phonological processes such as assimilation, vowel harmony operate dif erently in both languages, further highlighting their phonological distinctiveness. The findings contribute to the classification of Ẹdo as an Ẹdoid language and Ikwerre as an Igboid language, reinforcing their unique
phonological identities within the Benue-Congo subgroup. The study also underscores the importance of phonological comparison in understanding language evolution, historical linguistics, and linguistic typology. Future research could explore the morphophonemic interactions, tonal variations, and language contact influences af ecting Ẹdo and Ikwerr