ALLOPHONIC VARIATION IN SELECTED YORÙBÁ DIALECTS AN OPTIMALITY THEORY ACCOUNT

ABSTRACT

This study is concerned with the allophonic variations across selected dialects of Yorùbá; an account of optimality theory.

This study reveals there are more to allophonic variations across Yorùbá dialects than what we know in Standard Yorùbá (SY); that vowel /ã/ as a phoneme has three allophones ([ã], [ͻ̃], and [ε̃]): vowel [â] occurs after a bilabial related consonant; vowel [ͻ̃] occurs after others: vowel [ε̃] only occurs in few words like yẹn’that’, wọ̀nyẹn ‘those’,wúnrẹ̀n etc: that consonant /l/ has two allophones ([l] and [n]);  consonant /l/ occurs before an oral vowel: while consonant [n] occurs before a nasal vowel. This study brings about discovery that there are more phonemes with their allophones across Yorùbá dialects contrast to the aforementioned common and popular two that we know in SY; these phonemes include /h/, /s/, /l/, /ŭ/, /ĩ/, /ã/ & /ͻ̃/, and /i/; in fact, /â/ and /ͻ̃/ cannot be treated as allophones of the same phoneme, rather, separate phonemes across the selected dialects of Yorùbá: in order word, there is no â~ ͻ̃ alternation in these dialects. This study selected six dialects of Yorùbá namely: Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì dialects in order to have a good work on allophonic variations across Yorùbá dialects.

This study accounts for the allophonic variations across Yoruba dialects using Optimality Theory (OT); it then provides constraints, ranks these constraints (dialect by dialect),  generates the candidates, and evaluates these candidates in order to know what is and what is not permissive in one dialect and the other: in turn, the optimal candidate emerges as the winner.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Content    Page

Title     i

Certification    ii

Dedication      iii

Acknowledgment iv

Table of Contents v

Abstract    vii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction    1

1.1 Background to the Study       2

1.2 Scope of the Study     2

1.3 Research Objectives    3

1.4 Research Question      3

1.5 Significance of the Study       3

1.6 Theoretical framework      4

1.7 Research Methodology     8

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE

2.0 Introduction    9

2.1 Works on Yoruba Dialects and YORUBA Allophonic Variation     9

2.2.1    Awobuluyi (1992)       10

2.2.2    Olumuyiwa (1994)      14

2.2.3    Awobuluyi (1998)       16

2.2.4    Ajiboye & Pulleyblank (2014)      18

CHAPTER THREE: ALLOPHONIC VARIATION ACROSS YORUBA DIALECTS

3.0 Introduction    19

3.1 Phoneme /l/ and its allophones in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects   19

3.2 Phoneme /h/ and its allophones in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects     24

3.3 Phoneme /s/ and its allophones in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects 29

3.4 Phoneme /î/ and its allophones in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects  32

3.5 Phonemes /â/ and /ͻˆ/ and their allophones in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects 36

3.6 Phoneme /û/ and its allophones in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects  38

3.7 Phoneme /i/ and its allophones in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects  41

CHAPTER FOUR: AN OPTIMALITY ACCOUNT ON ALLOPHIC VARIATION ACROSS `YORUBA DIALECTS

4.0 Introduction    44

4.1 An Optimality Account of /l/ in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects   45

4.2 An Optimality Account of /h/ in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects  49

4.3 An Optimality Account of /s/ in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects  54

4.4 An Optimality Account of /î/ in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects   57

4.5 An Optimality Account of /â/ in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects  60

4.6 An Optimality Account of /û/ in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects  63

4.7 An Optimality Account of /i/ in Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, Ìkálẹ̀, Àwórì, Yewa, and Èkìtì Dialects   66

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

5.0 Introduction    69

5.1 Summary   69

5.2 Findings    70

5.2 Contributions to Knowledge  70

Bibliography  71