Abesabesi is known as "Akpes" in literature. However,
"Akpes" is the name of one of the four dialects (see
Section 1.1.4) and is, therefore, not supported by
the speakers as a name for the entire language. If asked to name their
language, speakers usually use the dialect's name or the name of their
settlement. Generally, a linguistic relation between the different
dialects is not always perceived, as many speakers consider them
dialects of Yoruba. This is probably rooted in the fact that most
speakers consider themselves as Yoruba (see Section 1.1.6). The unity among the nine settlements has
been promoted only recently by Dr. Taiwo Agoyi, a native speaker,
professional linguist, and the main researcher on the language. In order
to chose an acceptable term for the entirety of all four dialects,
representatives of the nine communities have agreed on the term
"Àbèsàbèsì" to denote the language. This meeting of
representatives has become known as the "Àbèsàbèsì Language
Development Committee" (see Section 1.1.6). Henceforth, the term has mainly been used by Agoyi. Speakers use it
only scarcely but recognize it as a name for the language. It is used in
some formal and semi-formal contexts such as in speeches at the local
festivals, in language-related meetings and activities, and in names for
social media groups dedicated to communicate in the language.
"Àbèsàbèsì" is a reduplication of the word
àbès
meaning 'we'. The reduplicated form àbèsàbès signifies 'ourselves'.
Throughout this text, "Abesabesi" will be used to refer to the
language and the people, as it is a term chosen by representatives of
all communities speaking it. As all Yoruba and Abesabesi names and terms
will be written without accent marks within this text to avoid spelling
errors (see spelling conventions in Section 1.1.9),
this also affects the term "Abesabesi". A list of all those
terms with correct accent marks will also be given in Section 1.1.9. The spelling of "Abesabesi" also
differs from the spelling that is used for Abesabesi language data
within this text (see Section 2.6), where final
deleted vowels are not written.