Autosegmental Analysis

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
Department of Linguistics, Igbo and Other Nigerian Languages

AUTOSEGMENTAL PHONOLOGY - THE URHOBO LANGUAGE

A Seminar Paper Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Course LIN512: Phonology

by

OYIBO, EDIRI ENDURANCE PG/MA/12/62631

LECTURER: PROF. R. I. UKORJI (MRS.)

JUNE 2013

Abstract The primary aim of this paper is to examine the application of autosegmental phonology framework in analysing phonological features of the Urhobo language, a south-western Edoid language of Delta State, Nigeria. Autosegmental phonology which developed out of the inadequacy of previous phonological models was championed by Goldsmith. The framework is used to analyse the syllable structures of the Urhobo language in this paper. It is also used to analyse vowel harmony, nasal harmony and tone; although such analyses are neither limited nor restricted to the mentioned features. We were able to show that although these features occur concurrently with the segments that bear them, the features are better analysed independently of the segments. The main point of this study is that, it lends more credence to the fact that autosegmental phonology framework is an advancement in the studies of languages, especially tonal languages and it stands as a more convenient framework for the analysis of autosegmental features and other phonological features alike of languages. Keywords: Autosegmental phonology, nasal harmony, vowel harmony, tone. 1.1 Introduction

Autosegmental phonology is an approach that can be utilized to analyse phonological representations conveniently in any human language. Human languages are studied from different levels of linguistic levels. In other words, these levels such as phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, etc form the basis in which human languages are studied. These levels are interconnected and interfaced at some points so that one level provides ‘raw materials’ for another to operate. The first

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