Overview of the Igala Language

This work sets out to analyze the pitch of tone in lexemes in the Igbo language to find out the effect of consonant types occurring before vowels on the pitch of the tone of the vowels. The data are collected from two males and two females from each dialect using structured personal interview and the data recorded electronically. In the findings the pitch of the vowels following plosives are higher than those following other classes of consonants. Also the tone of the vowel does not affect the F0 of the tone. Finally the downstepped high tone does not have influence on the pitch of the vowel. We therefore conclude that the downstepped high tone in the Igbo language in line with what is found in the literature, consonant types do have effect on the pitch of tone of following vowels.

Studies in African Languages and Cultures, 2025

This article describes the morphophonological and morphotonological processes that occur when vowels are juxtaposed in Ife, an Ede language closely related to Yoruba that is spoken in Togo and Benin. Its source is an unpublished manuscript based on extensive fi eldwork undertaken by the principal author in the 1980s. We have checked the language data in it and expanded, restructured and updated the analysis. The article fi rst investigates the juxtaposition of two vowels across a word boundary (V#V) in verb phrases (with object nouns and pronouns) and noun phrases (in genitive constructions, with possessive pronouns, and with the referential morpheme). It then proceeds to examine nasal-vowel sequences

Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 2023

In this paper, we examine the acoustics of vowels in the Imilike [-m-l-ke$ ] dialect of Igbo (Igboid, Niger-Congo), which has not previously been done. While Standard Igbo has eight vowels, previous auditorily-based research has identified eleven vowels in Imilike. Like Standard Igbo, Imilike contrasts vowels in Advanced/Retracted Tongue Root (ATR vs. RTR). We find that there are eleven vowels, distinguished most reliably by F1, B1, energy (dB) of voiced sound below 500Hz and duration. The results of this study also suggest that RTR vowels in Imilike might involve the laryngeal constriction and movement that accompany pharyngealization. The ATR and RTR schwas have similar phonological distribution and acoustic patterns as the other ATR and RTR vowels in the language.

2019

This article examines the syllable structure in Fròʔò, a dialect of Tagbana spoken in Côte d'Ivoire. In our analysis, the underlying syllable structure in Fròʔò is limited to C(C)V and V. Other surface syllable shapes, such as CVC, are the result of synchronic morphophonological processes. These processes include the formation of surface complex onsets through vowel deletion, the simplification of underlying complex onsets through liquid deletion, and the merger of bisyllabic CVCV sequences into monosyllables (CVC and CV). Evidence of these phonological process can also be found in loanwords, where syllable repairs take place. 1 Syllable structure and loanword adaptation in Fròʔò Table 3: Overview of the nominal classes of Fròʔò and their class markers Class markers (CM) Examples of nouns of each class Class 1 (sg. of gender 1) hō−lō wótìɔ1 several CM, including ∅ elephant−cm1 python Class 2 (pl. of gender 1) hō−bēlē wótìɔ−hélé CM: [-hele], [-bele],-lV elephants−cm2 pythons−cm2 Class 3 (sg. of gender 2) lāː−lā kpē−lē CM: [-lV] belly−cm3 knife−cm3 Class 4 (pl. of gender 2) lā−ʔālā kpē−gēlē CM: [-ʔVlV,-gele] bellies−cm4 knives−cm4 Class 5 (sg. of gender 3) jē−gē āfɔ−ŋɔC M: [-gV]/[-ŋV]/[-ʔV] or ∅ month−cm5 newthing−cm5 Class 6 (pl. of gender 3) jēː−rē āfɔ:−rɔC M: [-rV] months−cm6 newthings−cm6 Class 7 (sg. of gender 4) ɲũ−mũ wɛ−bɛC M: [-mV] water−cm7 foliage−cm7 (4) [a]/[ã] in word-initial position a. ā.jlē-ʔè mirror-cm5 'mirror' b. ā.wrē-ʔē something itchy-cm5 'something itchy' c. à.plè3 'shade' d. ã.gù1 'traditional dance' e. ã.gō-lò mount-cm3 'mount' Word-medially, all vowels can be a nucleus, see two examples in (5), each of which contains a CM consisting only of a vowel. (5) Vowel at hiatus position a. pì-ɔc hild-cm1 'child' b. kā.fū-ō sweat-cm5 'sweat' 5 Yranahan Traoré & Caroline Féry Word-initially, before all vowels other than [a], [h] or another consonant is needed; see (6) for words starting with [h]. In loanwords starting with a vowel, [h] is inserted word-initially, see §5. (6) [h] initial words a. hēːrē 'to press' b. hɔʔɔ' to cook' c. hòʔó 'to stoop' d. hɛ̰ 'where' e. hí-ʔí feather-cm5 'feather' f. hú-ʔú thorn-cm5 'thorn' Syllables consisting of a nasal only are the subject of §2.4 2.2 CV syllable: onset + nucleus All consonants can occupy the word-initial onset position except for the glottal stop [ʔ] and [r], both of which do not occur in this position. In (7), monosyllabic words are used for illustration. (7) a. pũ1 'dog' b. bā7 'this' c. tō1 'father' d. díː 'so, that' e. cã' to fall' f. ɉɛ' to wake up' g. kā 'to break' h. gũ1 'tortoise' i. kpē 'to take' j. gbò1 'gnat' k. fã' to build' l. sɛ' produce' m. hɛ' where' n. mĩ' I, me' o. nũ̀1 'ox' p. ɲĩ 'to fill' q. ŋã' this one' r. jō 'to say' s. wī 'him' 6 1 Syllable structure and loanword adaptation in Fròʔò Vowel lengthening is triggered by a following liquid, [r] or [l], as shown in (8). Liquids at the beginning of word final syllables often are the initial consonant of a class marker, but not always. The examples in (8) have a heteromorphemic liquid, except for (8f), in which the last syllable is part of the lexical root. (8) a. lōː-rō mango-cm6 'mangoes' b. kāː-lā problem-cm3' 'problem' c. pĩː-rĩt am-tam-cm6 'tam-tams' d. pũː-lũd og-cm2 'dogs' e. pìː-lì child-cm2 'children' f. ɉàː.rà1 'lion' Not all vowels lengthen before a liquid, as shown in (9). This happens when the vowel follows [ʔ]. In this case, it is deleted or pronounced as a short and weak vowel (see §3.2 for vowel deletion). Thus, the sequence [ʔVrV] blocks lengthening of the vowel following [r]. (9) a. fīʔī.rí 'to frighten' b. híʔí.rí 'to shiver' c. ɲɔʔɔ.rɔ' to move' d. hùʔù.rú 'to spin' Words initial complex onsets are illustrated in (11). (11) Complex word-initial onsets i. [pl]: plɔ.ʔɔb amboo-cm5 'bamboo' ii. [pr]: prò6 'chip' iii. [bl]: blɔ' plowed' iv. [br]: bré.ʔé 'to boil' v. [tr]: trá.ʔá 'to stick up' vi. [dr]: drè.ʔè shift-cm5 'shirt' vii. [cl]: clɛ.mũẁ oman-cm7 'womanhood' viii. [cr]: crɛ.ʔɛ' to expand' ix. [ɉl]: ɉlì.ʔí 'wise' x. [ɉr]: ɉrɛ.ʔɛ' to fly' xi. [kl]: klã.ʔãs eat-cm5 'seat' xii. [kr]: krɔ.ʔɔ car-cm5 'car' xiii. [km]: kmɔ' to beat' xiv. [gm]: gmɔ' beaten' xv. [gl]: glē.ʔè tamis-cm5 'tamise' xvi. [gr]: grā̰ 'dirty' 8 1 Syllable structure and loanword adaptation in Fròʔò xvii. [kpl]: kplɛ.ʔɛf ormer-cm5 'former' xviii. [kpr]: kprā.ʔā sugar cane-cm5 'sugar cane' xix. [gbl]: gblɛːr 'beginning' xx. [gbr]: gbrè.ʔè 'unripe' xxi. [fl]: flĩ.ʔĩ furuncle-cm5 'furuncle' xxii. [fr]: frɔ.ʔɔ' to scrub' xxiii. [sr]: srɛ.ʔɛṕ rayer-cm5 'prayer' xxiv. [hl]: hlã-ʔãl eg-cm5 'leg' xxv. [hr]: hrō6 meal 'meals' xxvi. [ml]: mlã-ʔãfi ght-cm5 'fight' xxvii. [mr]: mrũ̀.ʔũc orosol-cm5 'corosol' xxviii. [nr]: nrɛr oot-cm6 'roots' xxix. [ɲl] ɲlɔ.ʔɔ' to write' xxx. [ɲr]: ɲrã.ʔã' to hook' xxxi. [ŋl]: ŋlɔ-ʔɔd ream-cm5 'dream' xxxii. [ŋr]: ŋrɔ.ʔɔ 'to push' xxxiii. [wl]: wlɛ-ʔɛd ay-cm5 xxxiv. [wr]: wrē.ʔē 'short' xxxv. [jl]: jlɛ.mɛc lean-cm7 'cleanliness' xxxvi. [jr]: jrā.ʔā thing-cm5 'thing' Only [k] and [g] can form an initial complex onset with [m], but the segment clusters [km] and [gm] are only attested in a few words. Herault & Mlanhoro (1973) analyze them as the nasal counterparts of [kp] and [gb] when the following vowel is nasal, see examples in (12). In other words, in their analysis [km] and [gm] are allophones of underlying /kp/ and /gb/. An alternative explanation is that the vowel following [km] and [gm] is subject to nasal harmony. That explains why the following vowel is always nasal. In fact, [kp] and [gb] can be followed by a nasal vowel, and this distributional fact speaks against the allophonic nature of [km] and [gm], see the examples in (12). Word-medial complex onsets are listed in (14). 9 Yranahan Traoré & Caroline Féry (12) a. kmɔ 'to hit' b. kmã-ʔã' nice' c. kmɔ.ʔɔ-lɔfi replace-cm3 'fireplace' d. lā.gmã.mũb elly-kind-cm7 'kindness' (13) a. kpɛ-mũd aylight-cm7 'daylight' b. kpãdàː-là funeral yard-cm3 'funeral yard' c. lāgbã-mũ anger-cm7 'anger' (14) Word-medial complex onsets i. [pl]: tī.plɔ-ʔɔḡ round-cm5 'ground' ii. [pr]: tì.prì-ʔì fresh-cm5 'freshness' iii. [bl]: à.blò-ʔò peanut-cm5 'peanut' iv. [br]: à.brà.ʔà 'to bargain' v. [tr]: kpà.trō-ʔō whip-cm5 'whip' vi. [dr]: kā.fĩ.n.drī-ʔī umbilical cord-cm5 'umbilical cord' vii. [cl]: kā.clē-ʔē bone-cm5 'bone' viii. [ɉl]: n.ɉlé.ʔè wall-cm5 'wall' ix. [ɉr]: kɔ.ɉrɛ.lɛḿ angoose-cm3 'mangoose' x. [kl]: tì.klɔ̰ .ʔɔ̰ 'long' xi. [kr]: kā.krā.ʔ junk-cm5 'junk' xii. [km]: a.kmɔː-rɔs trike-cm6 'the strikes' xiii. [gm]: la.gmã-m(ũ̀) belly-kind-cm7 'kindness' xiv. [gl]: hã.glā.ʔà bow-cm5 'bow' 10 1 Syllable structure and loanword adaptation in Fròʔò xv. [gr]: bà.grà-ʔà hoe-cm5 'hoe' xvi. [gbl]: kã.gblò-ʔò cudgel-cm5 'cudgel' xvii. [gbr] ā.gbrē.ʔē unripe-cm5 'unripe' xviii. [fl]: tū.flɛ-ʔɛw ind-cm5

Phonology, 1985

… of the XVth International Conference of …, 2003

The status of the Awngi High Central Vowel /᭣/ presents a problem, not only in descriptive terms, but also regarding practical questions like orthography. This paper examines the evidence which points strongly towards a total predictability of the occurrence of /᭣/. However, a limited number of words do not comply with the rules, leaving the phonemic status of the vowel /᭣/ unclear.

This study investigates the phonemic inventory, deletion processes and vowel harmony of Ijù, a little-studied dialect spoken in Ijù town, Ondo State. Using a combination of fieldwork and analysis of recorded speech, we compiled a comprehensive list of the sounds used in Ijù dialect and identified the specific contexts in which certain sounds are deleted. We also analyzed the patterns of vowel harmony present in the dialect and described the rules governing these processes. The findings contribute to the broader understanding of the phonetic and phonological characteristics of Ijù and provide a foundation for future research on this understudied dialect of Yorùbá.

2003

MERCY AKROFI ANSAH, 2022

The paper describes the speech sounds, syllable structure and tone system of a less-studied, West African language, Lɛtɛ. Lɛtɛ is a South-Guan language of Ghana, West Africa, and genetically affiliated to the Niger-Congo family of languages. Eberhard, Simons and Fennig (2019) sub-classifies Guan (Niger-Congo, Kwa) into two language clusters: North Guan and South Guan, to which Lɛtɛ belongs. Lɛtɛ has a symmetrical set of nine vowels, 4 front vowels produced with an advanced tongue root position and four back vowels produced with a retracted tongue root position. The ninth vowel is a low central vowel, /ǝ /, which is produced with an advanced tongue root position, but unpaired. Its vowel and consonant systems are akin to those of related African languages. The study was purely field-based. Data were collected through elicitation from language speakers who resided in the speech community. Speech sounds and tone patterns were audio recorded and later transcribed and analysed. Tongue root vowel harmony controls vowel distribution to a large measure. A single syllable may be constituted by a vowel, a consonant followed by a vowel (CV), or a nasal consonant. The lexical tone helps to distinguish meaning, whereas the grammatical tone functions to mark tense and aspectual distinctions. It was observed that in many respects, aspects of Lɛtɛ phonology described are akin to other Kwa languages in the Niger-Congo family.

Ngessimo M. Mutaka and Sammy B. …, 2001