A reconstruction of the phonology of proto-Igboid (original) (raw)
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Consonant Types and Pitch of Tone in the Igbo Language: An Acoustic Analysis
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Nasalization, aspiration and labialization in Igbo dialect phonology
Descriptive works on Igbo have been based mainly on the standard variety of the language. This variety has twenty-eight contrastive consonants (excluding nasalization, aspiration and labialization, which play phonemic roles in some other dialects of the language.) As a result of this circumstance, Igbo has generally been reported as a twenty-eight-consonant language, both by scholars and language policy makers. However, subsequent work on such dialects as Osuowere, Umuchu, Isukwuato and Aku has revealed about fifty to ninety-six underlying consonants. With the examination of these dialects and more, the number of Igbo consonants, both phonetic and phonemic, is undoubtedly greater than generally recognized.
A Contrastive Study of the Phonology of Igbo and Yoruba
This paper, a contrastive study of the phonology of Igbo and Yoruba, is aimed at finding out the phonological problems the Igbo learners of Yoruba and the Yoruba learners of Igbo will encounter in their learning Yoruba and Igbo, respectively, as their L2. Using existing works on the phonology of Igbo and Yoruba, the researchers compared the consonants, vowels and tonal systems of both languages. Igbo is made up of twenty-eight consonants and eight oral vowels, while Yoruba has eighteen consonants, and twelve vowels comprising seven oral vowels and five nasal vowels. The contrastive analysis carried out evinced that there are some sounds in Igbo which are not present in Yoruba; also some sounds in Yoruba are not in Igbo. For example, /p kw gw v z ŋ ŋw ɲ ɣ ʧ / are Igbo phonemes which Yoruba lacks. Another striking difference between the two languages is the presence of nasal vowels in Yoruba, / ĩ ɛ ̃ ã ɔ ̃ ũ /, which do not exist in Igbo. Also, /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ are in Igbo and not in Yoruba, while /ɛ/ is present in Yoruba but absent in Igbo. Although both languages have high and low tones, Yoruba also has a mid tone while Igbo also has a downstep tone. Following the tenets of contrastive analysis (CA), these differences are presumed to constitute learning difficulties. To make the learning of these languages easy for our stated learners, all the predicted areas of difficulties must be properly handled by the language teachers to avert the manifestation of the predicted errors in the speech of the learners. This could be achieved by making the Igbo learners of Yoruba master the production of those Yoruba sounds they are not familiar with; and
ASPECTS OF PHONOLOGY OF ÒKÈ-IGBÓ SPEECH FORM: A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT
DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS, AFRICAN AND ASIAN STUDIES, FACULTY OF ARTS, UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, 2018
This project examines the 'Aspects of Phonology of Òkè-Igbó Speech Form' of Yorùbá. It concentrates on phonological processes namely: deletion, assimilation, vowel coalescence, vowel co-occurrence, vowel harmony, epenthesis, nasalization, alternation, and tone. The motivation for this study is to know the status of Òkè-Igbó speech form, establishing the construction of Òkè-Igbó phonological processes and how they are organised.
This thesis will address the implications of lexical cognates and regular sound correspondences in the basic vocabulary of Akan (Twi) and Yoruba. Reconstruction, a central focus of comparative linguistics, is based upon determining regular sound correspondences between two languages that are already presumed to be related. By applying the comparative method and implicational laws of sound change to data derived from the first and second Swadesh Lists, the phonological inventory of the proto-language, Proto-Benue-Kwa (East Volta-Congo), from which Akan (Twi) and Yoruba are descended, will be juxtaposed with current reconstructions, primarily as pertaining to the initial consonant (C1). These recurrent phonological correspondences will serve to bring us closer to a true reconstruction of Proto-Benue-Kwa (East Volta-Congo) in essentially the same way as "Proto-Germanic-Latin-Greek-Sanskrit" served the pioneers of linguistic reconstruction as a pilot Proto-Indo-European. This thesis will add to the discourse of comparative and historical linguistics in the African milieu by testing current reconstructions and engaging current methodological and theoretical debates in African linguistics. This thesis culminates in the establishment of the Proto-Benue-Kwa Push Chain and the establishment of a clear phonetic environment for Proto-Benue-Kwa labial-velars vis-a?-vis the labialized velars. The primary contribution to knowledge is in a refinement of current proposals of the phonological inventory as pertains to the C1 of the common pre-dialectal mother tongue (Proto-Benue-Kwa) from which both Akan (Twi) and Yoruba are descended based on analyzed data.
ON THE STATUS OF MGBOEJEỌGỤ SEGMENTAL PHONEMES
Journal of Acoustics Society of Nigeria, 2020
This study seeks to examine the various segmental phonemes of Mgboejeọgụ dialect of Igbo in order to establish its phoneme status. Mgboejeọgụ as an Igboid dialect belongs to the North-Eastern group of dialect clusters (Nwaozuzu, 2008), spoken in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Elicitation of data is primarily from oral interviews with the use of a digital audio recorder alongside the Ibadan Wordlist of 400 basic items. The study adopts a qualitative descriptive approach in its analyses based on the perception of the identified segmental phonemes in the dialect. The study reveals that Mgboejeọgụ has nine (9) vocalic phonemes /a, e, ԑ, і, ɪ, o, ɔ, u, ʊ/ and thirty-six (36) consonantal phonemes /p, b, t, d, c, ɉ, k, g, kp, gb, kw, gw, ф, β, f, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, ɣ, ɦ, sw, ф, h, βh, ʧ, ʤ, m, n, ŋ, ɲ, ŋw, l, ɹ, j, w/. What is interesting in this is that some of these phonemes have not been previously reported in many Igbo dialects, including Standard Igbo. Although, the dialect does not permit consonant clusters and maintains vowels ending each syllable which makes it operate an open syllabic structure as is seen in many dialects of Igbo. The study first provides a basis for future acoustic analysis and a springboard for further dialectal studies in Igbo and other Nigerian languages.
Geminate' consonants in ÒwèrédialectÒwèrédialect of Igbo
Gemination in the Igbo language has been shown to be a phonetic phenomenon which occurs as a result of vowel elision between two identical consonants in rapid speech. However, investigations into other languages seem to suggest that consonant gemination could be a phonological phenomenon. This paper investigates the Òwère dialect (OD) of Igbo with respect to gemination. Employing a descriptive approach, the study discovers that many consonants become realized as geminates in the normal flowing speech of the native speakers, basically as a result of the elision of a high vowel in between two identical consonants. Since it has become the normal way of speaking except for emphasis among the Owere dialect users, one may conclude that consonant geminate formation is ongoing in OD. We present in the paper instances were these 'geminates' could contrast with non-geminates using minimal pairs and near minimal pairs.
A CONTRASTIVE STUDY OF ONICHA AND CENTRAL IGBO VARIEITIES OF THE IGBO LANGUAGE Onumajuru, V C
Ce travail vise à comparer le parler d"Onicha et celui de l"igbo central de la langue igbo. L"igbo est une langue parlée dans le sud-est de Nigeria précisément dans les états d"Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu et Imo. C"est la seule langue du peuple igbo des états du sud-est. L"igbo est aussi une langue minoritaire de peuple de Delta, Rivers, et Edo dans la zone géo-politique du sud-sud. La langue (igbo) a plusieurs dialectes dont Nwadike (1981 :22) décrit comme massif. Quelques linguistes igbo regroupent les dialectes igbo à savoir : l"Onicha et l"Owere. L"objectif de cette recherche est de comparer et analyser l"aspect morpho-phonologique et syntaxiques des éléments des deux parlers afin de souligner leurs ressemblances et leurs différences. Nous observons qu"il existe des décalages dans les deux parlers. Ces variations sont attestées au niveau lexical aussi bien qu"au niveau morpho-syntaxique.
African languages and phonological theory
I've been asked to write about the mutual influence of African languages and phonological theory, specifically addressing two questions: What and how have African language contributed to phonological theory? What and how have linguistic theories contributed to the understanding African phonology? To treat these questions properly would be a major undertaking, first, because of the large number of African languages, and, second, because of their considerable diversity. To cite Greenberg's (1963) influentual classification, the roughly 2000 languages of Africa fall into four major linguistic phyla: Niger-Congo, Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, and Khoisan (see Heine & Nurse 2000 for a more recent overview of African languages and their classification). Except for the click consonants of the last family (which spill over into some neighboring Bantu languages that have "borrowed" them), the phonological phenomena found in African languages are duplicated elsewhere on the gl...
On the vowels of Imilike Dialect of the Igbo language
UJAH: Unizik Journal of Arts and Humanities, 2015
Gerald Okechukwu Nweya Department of Linguistics and African Languages University of Ibadan, Nigeria Abstract This is a study of the vowels of Imilike dialect, a variety of Northern Igbo dialect. Its specific objectives include identifying the vowels of the dialect, determine their phonemic status, distributional pattern and phonotactic constraints and as well compare them with those displayed by the standard Igbo. Data for the study were collected using unstructured interview and observation. Data were analysed in the framework of generative phonology. Minimal pair test was conducted to identify the vowels of the dialect. The study reveals that the dialect displays eleven vowels including the open mid front unrounded vowel /ε/ and the central vowels, [ə] and [ə̣]. All except the central vowels are phonemic in the dialect. The central vowels are in free variation with other vowels in the dialect. All the vowels occur in word initial, word medial and word final positions except the c...