Kwara State University
Adebola Isaiah
Designation: Lecturer
Department: Linguistics African and European Languages
| My Publications | ||||||||
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| S/N | Title | Abstract | Authors | Volume Numbers | Publication Type | Publication Date | Link | |
| 1 | Consonant Epenthesis and Onset Copying in Yoruba Phonological Acquisition |
Based on the observed patterns in the phonological data, Yoruba children do not exhibit consonant harmony (CH) as an assimilation process. This is an intriguing observation because consonant harmony is a phenomenon that is often associated with, and commented on in phonological development. This study analyzes phonological patterns in the speech of fifty-one (51) Yoruba-speaking children. The aim was to investigate whether the assimilation patterns of Yoruba children were similar to those observed in children acquiring other languages. The findings of this study show that Yoruba children do not attest CH. Rather than CH, which is often characterized by “place of articulation” assimilation, predictable patterns show that in Yoruba, what obtains is a syllable structure process of consonant insertion or onset copying. Yoruba children make the syllable ‘better’ by inserting/copying an input consonant segment into an onsetless syllable or as substitute for another ‘complex’ consonant. According to the patterns of Universal Grammar, markedness constraints conspire to account for onset copying that was observed in the data. OT Markedness principles show the plausibility of the Yoruba child’s processes as a case of ranking hierarchy. Keywords: African linguistics, Yoruba acquisition, Optimality Theory, Consonant harmony | Adebola Ayoola Isaiah | Nil | Chapter in Book | 2020-12-29 | http://www.editions-harmattan.fr | |