University of Nigeria

Research Publications
OMACHONU, Gideon Sunday
Author

PG/MA/99/26380

Igala Phonetics and Phonology: An

Title

Overview
Faculty

Arts
Department

Linguistics and Nigerian Languages

Date

October, 2001
Signature
 Depat-trnantof Linguistics and Nigerian Languages

IGALA PHONETICS AND Pt-IONOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW

A Thesis

Submitted in Partis11 F~~ifiltnent of the Reqi!irmwits for the Dqi-(22

i ~ ! . A. Linguistics

Gideon Sunday Ornachonu

F~G/MA/95/26380,

October, 2001
 This research report has been read and approved as meetmy the
requirements for the award af Maslor of Arts (M.A.) Degree in Lmguislics,
Un~versityof Nigeria, Nsukka.
The work is original and has never been submitted in part or full for any
other degree or diploma of t h ~ sor any other universily.

' D ( f M 6 ) CIT,.Tke,kemn~a
Supervisor

Head of Department

External Examiner
 This work is affectioaately dedicated to the author's wife and
children, particularly ~ a s kAr ~ Gideon
A (Jnr.j Whose birth co-incided
with the completion of the work.
 Men and women of trua grea!ness are not r r w e l y dl-assed in gold. A
scratch at them reveals their golden nature. 1 cannot but express my sincere
and deep sense of gr'atitudo to my project supervisor Dr. (Mrs.) C. 1.
Ikekeonwu, a woman of true greatness and a rare gift to mankind who in spite
of her full schedule, did not allow our work to suffer. I have always considered
myself very lucky to have met such a mentor who has been adding a newly
refreshing meaning to my academic life. I pray that this union will grow t c our
mutual benefit.
Every learned writer owes a debt to his predecessors, teachars,
colleagues and students, I gratefully acknowledge my deep indebtedness to all
of these. In addition, I wish to express particular thanks to the hezd,
Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Language, Dr. I. U. Nwadike and my
other lecturers: Profs. P.A. Nwachukwu and 8. A. 0. Oluikpe, Drs. S. 0.
and C. U. Agbeco, Dr. and Mrs. B.M. Mbah and others for t+e
lent and academic; guidance while this work was in progress.
owledged also is the Deputy Provost, Kogi State College of
Mr. F.H. Atanu anr:! the College Chief Librarian, Chief N. ha lid^ for
i e geographical map of Igalaland. Josiah Yusuf Etu, D.S. Achema
H. Okpanachi of tha same institution are also acknowledged for ti.13ir
plying some relevent pieces of information and materials.
Above all, to the Ancient Divine be the glory forever (Amen).
 L i s t sf Abbreviations

G.P. Generative Phor:ology

S. P.E. Sound Patterns of English
U.R. Underlying Representation.
S.R. Surface Represent3tion.
D.S. Deep Structure
S.S. Surface Structure.
A.T. R. Advmced Tongue Root.
U.C.L.A. University of California , Los Angeles
N.C.C.E. National Commission for Colleges of Education
C.M.M.L. Christian Missicrn in Many Land
S. R.R. Segments Redundancy Rules
C.1vl.S. Church Mission Society

List of Fig rr r e d Tables

I
(I The Phonetic Consonant Chart of laala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
................ 76
1ts). . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
!Is) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Y
Slashes for phonemic transcription
Square brackets for phmetic transcription
Paterl!hesis I Bracket
Vowel
Consonant
Syllable boundary
Word boundary
Null
Syllabic Nasal
Becomes
Therefore
etrical
tY
lg Conventionslfntonation
 vii

ABSTRACT

This work is an indepth study of the lgala sound system. It examines tha
principles and processes that determine pronunciation as well as the functional

relevance of segments in the language.

The method for elicitation of segments was mainly perceptual as against

instrumental. Through oral interviews and the use of the "lbadan Wordlist", h e

consonantal and vocalic segments of the language were established using the
basic classical phonological a?proach. Besides, data from the various sources
consulted were recorded on cassettes and played repeatedly for a b e t w
perception of the segments a i d tones.
The investigation reveals that the language does not permit consonant

sters. Besides, lgala rnaintzins predominantly an open syllable structure, that

, it does not allow consonants word finallv.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
.-
Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II
...
Dedication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
List of Figuresrrables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
List of Phonetic SymbolsINot~tionalConventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Tone Marking Conventionslln:onation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Chapter
I INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1. Background to the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2. Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3. Research Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4. Research Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.5. Justification of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.6. Scope and Limitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
II I I T E R A T I IRE R F \ I I F \ I I I
4.2.1. Airstream Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4.2.2. The Phonation Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.2.3. The Oro-Nasal Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.2.4. The Articulatory Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.3.0. Sound Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

5.0 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.1. Determining the Phonemic S'tatus of Segments . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.1.1. Consonantal Segments . . . .
5.1 .2 . Consonant Distribution . . . .
5.2.1. Vowel Segments . . . . . . . . .
5.2.2. Vowel Distribution . . . . . . . .
5.3.0
........ Seommt
a ......... . , .Rules
Redundmcv .............................. 77
5.3.1. Segment Redundancy Rules for Conscrnant . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
5.3.2.Justification of Consonant Features .
5.3.3. segment Redundancy Rules for Vowel
5.3.4. Justification of Vowel Features . . . . . .
5.4.0. Syllable Structure and Phonotactics .
5.5.0. Phonological Processes . . . . . . . . . . .
5.5.1. Assimilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.5.2.Deletion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.5.3. Vowel Insertion ..................
VI SUMMARY AND CONCLUSlON
6.1. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

6.2. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

6.3. Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
APPENDIXES
(I) The Geographical Map of lgalaland
(2) Names and Addresses of the Informants
(3) lbadan wordlist of 400 Basic Items
rnrrcrcnnnninn
-I I U U ~ V I I U ~13
I
IQru n r Inronrltmc
~UUI\V I 11 0.1 I U
n Q c Imnnnon
I~1"-
rnn
III I ~ V U U U I, 1~
~
111s
A I
IU
I n
~r~ Inrnnrnac In
UI PI "31U Y U 11 1
rnlc

direction.

Consequently, the few lirlguistic related or linguistic based works done

on the language are contributions by expatriates like Clarke (1848) Philpot

(1935), Armstrong (1951, 1965) silverstein (I
973)) and a few others. Even then,
there exist several major pioneering research works on the study of phonef.ics
and phonology of West African and even Nigerian languages that did not
include the lgala language. For example, the publication in 1933 of Westerrr~ann
toddler and a backbencher forever in the galaxy of ling~~isiic
systems. The
Ianguaga is destined to rise above its present linguistic status. For instance, as

mentioned earlier, following me

II r no-
-1 Y W neaa counr orr aoour my-rrvo
B-. I L L . a r-
r-TI P C \ -
(33) rnmlon
# I . - .

Nigerians as well as the I 9 9 1 census figure of sSmt eighty-eight (88) million

Nigerians, the lgala carre up as the ninth largest tribal group in Nigeria amilrjst
 6

functim distinctively in the language under investigation?

iv. To what degree are the phonological processes evident in Igda

amenable to language specific or language universal pnorlological rule:;?

v. To what extent is the study of lgala phonetics and phonology answerzh.le

to t h e basic phonologlc31 theories and Principles?

A .5 Justification of the Study

General linguistics includes a good number of related subject matkrs,

aspects or crucial areas pcrtment to the study of language. Therefore ~t IS

incumbent on the researcher to cons~dereach of these areas (especially t W

part~cularaspect(s)) billed ior study here in the light of its theoretical

underpinnings as well as the amp~ricalevidence gathered from s~milarresesrch

works.

However, having searched through the available literatures, it d l x s

appear that this is almosl. the first attempt at investigating thoraugi-rly,

comprehensively and scientilically into these aspects of the study of Igi;la

language (at this level) by a native speaker who has some linguistic insight:; 3s
regards the study of African languages.

As pointed out earlier somewhere in this unit or chapter (cf 1.I .), there

exists a yawning academic vacuum in the study of lgala language owing !o

A--AL -C ---I. A:--I --A -, . ~ l i & 3 . I:*-. .:-*:A ...~-t,- :- 4L- I---. .-,-A - - a - - ~ ~ l l . , --A

he speech sound aspects in particular. Therefore the s~gnificanceof this work

n a nutshell is to fill-in the h~thertoyawning acadern~cgaps identifred IR the

study of Igala language.

Besides, the outcome of this klnd of investigation will help to improve the
general linguistic knowledge of tne language. For- instance, the results of Ihis
study will be very useful in the modernization of the orthography and the
standardization of both the spoken and written forms of the language.
Consequently, this will help !a raise the sociolinguistic status of the language
amidst other linguistic systems, thereby improving upon the overall 1ingu;stic
operation of the language.

This will be a welcome development in view of the position of lgala

language as a dominant language in Kogi State. Equallyworth mentioning in this

regard is the necessity to meet up with the challenges of the National language
policy on Educationwith regard to Mother-Tongue Education. The present State
of the Language does not allow for the full implementation of this policy in Isala
language. However, with this kind of study in the language, it will presently be
ripe for full Mother-Tongue Education.
Clcsely related to the m o v e is Sofunke (1991)'s proposal that the Igala
language be adopted the Nzttonal Language in Nigeria. In an article enti!led
"National Language policy for Damocratic Nigeria" he argues for the adoption

of lgala as the national language; and thereafter to be known and catled

"Nigeriann.According to him, i! is only a language, which can adequately serve
as the cultural, political and linguistic bridge between the cultural north of
Nigeria, and the cultural sou!h of Nigeria that can seriously be considered as a

candidate in the t-iational lan~uagerace. He argues further;

I have chosen !gala not only because it satisfies all
the criteria ... but also because it indicates strong
linguistic and/or cultural links with ihree major ethnic
zones of Nigeria. Shelton (1971) for instance, has
highlighted the nistorical phenomenon represented
by the lgala language Commcrnity. As a result of the
 contact between the Hausa of Z a u a u and the lgala
people as well zs between the lgala people and the
lgbo of Nsukka, the lgata Language Community has
been a cultural melting pot.

The proprx a l and if possible the adoption of lgala as the natiorA

language irnrned

will then be irnperar~veTor me language ro respona mgulnsncally ro rrle new

realities. For example, there will be the need to open u p and broaden t!-,e

linguistic systems of the chosen language through codification, elaboratim,

standardization and modernizzition at all levels of l~nguisticanalysis to e n ~ h l e

it rnnn \ a l i t h thn n n u ~c t s h ~ c snri rnlnc rrc trrcill QC ~ r r n m r n n d ~ t i n tho
n

In addition,, this kind of research work will invariably serve as a point of

reference to numerous scholars, students and researchers who may

subsequently be interested in this area of study.

6 Scope and Limitation

This tvork sets out !o do an in-depth study of the phonetics and

phonology of the Igala languqe. The phonetics a y x c t of the study sha!l invo ve

the identification of all speech sounds in the language; whether such sourrrls

function distinctively in the Imguage or not. Besides, the investigation will

involve examining the principles and processes that determine pronunciatior1in

the language.

Then, the phonology aspect is to commence with identifying the

phonemes in the Language. Phonemes are the linguistically significant sounds

that function contrastively or distinctively in a language. Therefore using tho
basic principles of phonemic analysis, we shall identify, describe and clas:~ify
the lgala phonemes; show their distributions and occurrences in word: ;. This of

course will involve discuss in^ the syllable structure and phonotactics of the
language.

We shall thereafter extend our discussion to the realm of

suprasegmentals, considering whether tone and intonationfunction distinctiveiy

in lgala language. In addition, we shall try to show the forms of phonological

processes evident in the language as amenable to either language specific or

language universal phonoloaical

" rules.
However, this work, thot~ghit appears to be a comprehensive study of the
-I I--,-
phonetics and phonorogy or
-f
Igara rariguage, 11 cannot be said to have covered
I 'L

all that there is in the study cjf !gala phonetics and phonology. For instance, it

suffers some limitations such as unavailability of standard source materials, lack

of enough resource persons knowledgeable in the study of the language and

probably, dialectal influences on the part of the investigator as this work

represents the standard Igalzi language, so to speak. Besides, as a beginner,

the work does not take into consideration other levels of linguistic analysis like

morphology, syntax and semantics in the language. Consequently, their positive

influence(s) and contributiot:~ to this kind of research work are lost to this

omission.

This work concentrates solely on the speech sound systems of the Igala

language. Although it may nct have covered all the necessary aspects of this
subject, it has dealt as much as possible, with the most significant aspects of

phonetics and phonological studies relevant to Lhe lgala language.

 10

CHAPTER T\NO

Literature Review

2.0 Introduction

Practice without theory is blind and theory without practice is barren. Here
is an attempt to subject the Icala Language to sc~entificanalysis from the pomt

of view of phonetics and phonology. In other words, this work addresses the

main goal of applying the transformational generative model to the study af

modern lgala grammar with a view to identifying and studying in details the

linguistic sounds of the language.

As it stands, it is incunbent on the investigator to consider his ares of

study in the context of its theoretical underpinnings as well as the ernpirkal

a tridonra n ~ t h
u v IULI L ~ C I Y U C I
frnm cirnil-ar r a c n ~ r-I r 'I h
a r n d
ILI UU I L UI I I 0 1 1 I l l l r A 1 I b i l b u ~
\VVUI
r,nrb e
I X ~
7-n
. I LI I I ~ )CII IU, c1 detailed acccunt
w thir onrl 5

and a critical review of the relevant theories and practices 2ISreflected in the
available literature are needful insights and invaluable tools i t-I ALIL~t:
- L--J-
r ~ar -c
I U S u: 11E
A L -

researcher.

Although one scarcely finds at present, analytical works and standard

academic publications on the study of lgala language generally and these

aspects-phonetics and phonology-in particular, we do not intend to claim any

form of monopoly here; research being a community activity. Hence it is needful

to consult related literatures, that is, the existing theoretical frameworks and
parallel research findings in lgala language andfor other "Yoruboid" g r o q of

languages, believing that besides every problem, lies a parallel solution. The

foregoing justifies the place c~fliterature review in this work.

The review of related literature is presented in four broad sections.

Section one deals with the 1,;2levanttheoretical frameworks while section two
takes on or reviews the empirical findings gathered from similar investigations.
The third section dwells on the historical development of the lgala language
studies whereas the fourth presents the summary of the literature review

2.1 Theoretical Studies

Both phonetics and phonology deal with speech sounds. This indicates

that phonetics and phonology are related in terms of the level of linguistic

analysis and the object of study (speech sound). But in spite of this overt

similarity and close relationship, remarkable differences still exist between the

two. However, we shall not delve into the details of the arguments surrounding

this position yet, as our aim tiere is basically to review theoretical approachvs

to the study of phonetics and phonology. This is borne out of the fact that the

study of phonetics and phonology in linguistics are not mere blind practices.

They operate under certain theoretical frameworks that give the desired tonic to

the study of speech sound.

Two important views or questions according to sommenstein (1977)

delermine the orientation of phonological theories in the twentieth century: First,

what phonic features serve in the language under investigation and how many

of these features are capable of serving in natural language to distinguish one

utterance from another? This question seems to be investigating how many of

the sounds produced by man can be identified as linguistic sounds and which

in turn can be used for a potential linguistic study. For instance, are all
communicable sounds produced by man linguistically relevant? Besides, how

many of these sounds are used in specific languages like Igala, lgbo, Hama,
Yoruba to mention only four.

Secondly, what are the principles determining the pronunciation of words,

phrases and sentences of a language a n d to what extent are these principles

derivable from general princ~plesdetermining the organization of all human

language? Thzt is, whether there is the possibiiity of harmonizing the patteros
 16

Besides, it accounts for ti:c rapid processing of defectiile input. Roth

interlocutors have a shared cwnpetence, which IS accurate and invariant; the

decoder participant thus has a prototype with which he can restructure the

defective utterance of the en:;oder

In agreement with Ikekeonwu (1996), Oyebade (1998) sees generi-ltive

phonology as a model, which relies a great deat, or largely on phonological rules

and rule formalization He describes phonological rules as directives, which rnap

underlying forms on the surface forms. In other words, phonological n i e s

specify the relationship between the SR and the UR. The major function of

phonological rules accordinl; to him is to account in a precise manner, for

changes in the value of segments. This is achieved by showing the derivational
sequence or path of an item in its journey from the underlying level to Ihe

capture alnerent pnono1og:cal processes wlrnln tnls rorrnar (see vyecaae

, it is crystal clear that generative phonology consi2ars

 L7

linguistrc study as scierltif~c2nd therefore ins~stson precision andlor brevity of

rules. Consequently, it requires that the rule component, which maps rhe
underlying form unto the surface form, must be brief and precise tc be

acceptable. And this is achkved largely by removing redundancies from rule

formation through
- formalization. Besides, one of the bas~cprinciples of rule
presentation and
ar formalization according to lkekeonwu (1996) is the lexical
entries. This suggests
sc that k f o r e one account for phonological changes in an
~-.--. r a.--
l i t e-.
I
n r . ~are
! ...---
-.- r n ~ ~r
s,''t'--
nrnvide the
"'- I"""-^.
-.'..,I ..."
~ ~ i r ~a nl t r vwhirh .,,,-..-
Urn'
--"
chnws t h nhnnnlnnir=rl
..I-
~
rl.VL,VICI.
.3'

characteristics of the segmerds that make up that utterance (Iliekeonwu 1996).

The example below bi~ttressesthe point being made above; attesting

phonological processes of casalization and aspiration with regard to lexical
entry requirements.
3. English (Ikekeonwu: Lecture notes, 2001)

I +obstr

SR: [phZn]
1 -voi

Rule (i): Aspiration

as a bundle of unordered feiatures arranged in an ordered sequence.

A major "modus opernndi" in the SPE generative phonoloav is linear u2

ordering as it applies to indi;lillual segments and rules a like?.This, according to

-11-
Ikekeonw (1996) could not !;ail through with supraseqmenta -- -
rearures I
-1. 1:1.- 1
I K mle,
~

stress, pitch and intonation. She explains further:

This is because a tone may not necessarily apply to

a single segment. It may apply to a whole syllable or
to sequence of two or more segnlents. It then
becomes rather difficult to "slice out" a segment as
it were, and tie down the tone to it, just as distinctive
features are s~ecifiedunder the affected segment.
(Ikekeonwu 1!396:46)

Similarly, 'Goldsmith (199O:8) laments in the following words, the cvert

deficiencv in m n e r a t i v e ohmolonv which is t h l~i n ~ a r i t vass~lmntinnwhere

adnn~
UUUyUULbly
arpnl ~l n
~ c a t n l t r UUQUUl t
fnr
L IUl
tnnn and i n t n n d i n r i
L u l 1 1 4 Ul lu 11 l L V l l U L l V l l Iy thic
I tcinn
UJII
fr~mnumrlt-I d A
L 1 I I C i I 1 CAI 1 ICrVVUll\, I C I L
a Ih n n
UI 1 b

certain phonological phenomena like vowel harmony, nasalization, floating tone

and t n n ctnhilitv
~ r ~ n t i vc i n r ~
P.nne~n~ c pnl ~ a l l vfiuarnin~tnne
thic wnrk c ~ p k tn

and intonation, an appeal is made to a non-linear orientation- the autosegrrental

 i)

Autosegmental phonology according to Goldsmith (1976) emerged (1s lust

another phase of the generative

- phonoloqy
- - to absolve the rava~ing
- - criti5sms

against the latter. This theoretical framework (autosegmental) was formi~lated

n~ n TL..
by Goldsmitt. t I :- L;,. -.LI:.-.L-A -.-..-:--I.. :-
11 I I 11spuultsr lau rr 1.u I I I C ~ I > ,PI C L I > ~ = I 11
~I
~ n 7 cA I ~ L - . . ~ I - . 1.-
I 3 1U. n l i l IUUYI I I IG I G-

christened the SPE model as classical generative phonology, Goldsmith ('I 976)
pointed out unequivocally that he did not discard completely

that form the bedrock of generative phonological theory. T h e r ~ ~t;uLUIIIIIICI

l ILII ILJ

on the link between the generative phonology (SPE) and autosegrrerital

phonology, Goldsmith (1990j has this to say:

It is worth bearing in mind thai the work of

autosegmental and metrical phonology discussed in
this book is a direct continuation of the traditional
work of generarwe phonofogy that was codified in
Chomsky anti Flalle's Sound patfern of English
(SPE) in 1968.

Goldsmith's position as portrayed in the above excerpt agrees with -.ass

(1985) in Yul-lfode (1999: 16) who rightly observes thus:

... Much of yesterday's theory and practice is

silently incorporated into today's and this will
continue as Ic;lg as the subject does. This is
- .- .,
lsecause pnonology IS a aevemplng, essenrlally
0

problem-centered discipline of an evolving nature,

growing through the interaction of complementary
approaches wit0 a compendium of data .... there
does not exkt anything like full alternative
 Phonologicai theories; there are a host of partial
approaches, each of W i c h do some things well,
others badly, and still others not at all.

Arguing for the introduction of this new approach, lkrtkeonw~( I Y ~ O ~

asserts that Goldsmith's !?976) autose~mentaltheory provides an effective

solutilon to the SPE model's problem of linearity condition. This it does by

adopt:ing a multi-tiered approach to generative phonology; She explains further,
-
This maeea,
A - . 3 '
IS
.
a re-ecnolng
I - -. OT
-
.- bolasrnlrn
, A - I , 1 1
(IYW)
nnr\\ I . r - __
wno specwes ma; me
.I L IL _

autosegmental framework have two or more tiers, which are ar

other or one another. The foregoing is an indication tha~auwxsyltlw

phonology emphasizes non-linear ordering in its phonological a i ~ l y s i s .

Therefore the basis for the :ntroduction of this theoretical frame 79

to Goldsmith (1990) is to evolve or come by phonologically analyt~calIJnnclples

and models, applicable to 2 wide range of languages.

The E Y notes Oyebade

other fe: t~res".

This accounts for why such earliest models are represented in terms c4 tonal

I lcau

Segmental Tier:
Commenting on the problem solving efficiency of the autosegr!:ental

phonology, Ikekeonwu (1996) and Oyebade (-i998)state the obvious, t h ~with

t
I, phonologists can convenienr:!yac.:ount
 .-
for suprasegmenfb~I M L U I C ~ I: I L Z IUII yhonoiogical ana!ys~s.~ e ~ t ; . 11sit:, IIIUUV:~

.is croditabiy adequate for explaining the c,per2tlon.s of certain coriplex

.. .. . ,... . . .
phonological phenomena like contour tone, fl~atingend tone statmtv In tote
languages.

Further in this direction, Ikskeonwu (1996) and Oyehlade (1 998) cor~nted

it noteworthy, the current axtension and the corresponamg succ~?ssru~

application of the autosegms,-ital theory to various other intwesting lin~uis5c

andfor phonologicalphenomena of vowel harmony, nasalization and other:;. See

below for such applicational raalities:

4. Akan: (Oyebade 1995, Lecture notes)

set I [+AT!?] set t l [-AT!?]
1 U I U
e o E 3

Vowel Harmony Tier: [+ATR] [-ATR]

'mountain' 'name'

5. French: (Ikekeonwu (2001), Lecture notes)

is'&] 'saint' Nasality Tier: [+nas]
[ s E ~ ]'seven'

Segmental Tier: s E k
This is indeed a worthwhile exploit because fur suu I a rr ;I r~ewurK LC) ve
2.2 Empirical Studies

"General theories are more ~ I U I U UIU

I dl IU LUI IVII ILII 1911 I I I I I I I ~I ULIL...
C - C I 111

empirical data" (Ikekeonwu 1986). Attempts at studying the phonetics and/or

phonology of particular language(s) with a view to vindicating general
phonoloaical theories is not a mere recent event.
U
Koach 119911 1s a :vcjrk.

wlrlich focuses specifically on the study of English phonetics and phonology. It

is aimed at explaining English pronunciation in the accent normally chosen as

. .- , . . .. ,. . . - . .-. . * -
the stanaara tor people rearnrng tne tnghsn spoken In tnglana. I ne ~nro-mation

is presented in the context of a general theory about speech sounds 2nd how

they are used in the langu~ge,with a view to helping anyone who needs ta
-
understand the principles regulating the use cf ennbnn -nril'ch

Because of the notoriously confusing nat~

inconsistencies in the English orthography, he suggesrs: I[ 1s parrlcularly

important to learn to think of English pronunciation in terms of ~honemc!srather

than letters of the alphabet".
The first part of the work (chapters 2-4) : .1 - ...-.,
r r l ~ l ,. .
r l l vr - r l r l r v l r l,'-p r l ~"""
J --a,--, ~ l ~ r l

identifying and describing the phonemes (vowels ar~dconsonants) of English.

After this preliminarv
.
. , exercise
- . Enalish
- of -
.. . .. .. .. - . sound
. - -
. - ~
- .. - . . .. . - .. ~ - O ~ UI L It:
1 ' - -
~ wul
I ~ nI Lll
I
u~ccua

to look at 'the phonemes and the use of symbols in a theoretical wa\l, ttat is,
from the pclint of view of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Thereaft€r, it goes
. . .. . . . . ..
to examine larger un~tsof speech such as the syllable, stress and ~ntonatlon,

which he describes as the use of the pitch of the voice to convey meaning.

Roach; however, did not ex1

Cl--h+;m- - C I A - h ~ h n l r \ a . , b k n l meC1 I
 English is an l n d o - ~ k o p e a nlanguage and therefore may not give us

exactly the structure of an African or precisely a New Benue Congo l a r w a a e

as regards its phonetics and phonological studies. However, "a mov: 1

to one is the best learning experience". (Moody Allen in Ibe 1992). Thererore we

may need to consult works that contain information on tha phorietrcs and
phonology of at least some African languages and oreferablv New Benu€ Conao

languages.

Maddieson (I
984) contains a striking presence of African linguistics in
this direction. Maddieson single handedly embar rieu UI I a S U vt=y
~ GUVW I: ILJ ;I11 et:

hundred and seventeen ( 3 7 )languages of the world including some African

languages. Although this may not suffice for an adequate and unquestionable
representation of the languages of Africa, lei alone the world, certaif stark
revelations or discoveries concerning languages were made in that surhey or
investigation.
One of such discoveries is that the contrast between B i l a ~ i a iand

Labiodental fricatives is comparatively rear across world languages. BEsides he

notes specifically that only Ewe (;$), a language spoken in Gha,7a and former
nlhnmnu
UUl lVl l lUJ
nnccnccoc
yUl;rdbcldUcl
9
U
Pnmr
Ip
L.VII blete set of voiced and voiceless BIIEDI~I ana
+hn 93-1 -.nls, gfie -.n
Labiodental Fricatives, out olF LI 4 It
l n f i n~n ~
f i ~ . n nve-;finA
lclr l y u a y c a G A ~ ~ I IEU.
I I
AfiA
~ I IIU J I IIY IUUI

languages out of the number contrast the voiced pairs.

Also, it was noted that the articulation or production of thes2 sounds

(Bilabial and Labiodental Fricatives) in the West African Languages that have
&LA, .,-:,
I I I ~ I I I val ICS
L,, LL--- -t AL, n , , ~ . . I -,,..,,A, ,: C - . . L C . nc,:,,
11 )use uu!Lrle nar I L ULa1 lyuayes III auuir I n l r ILa. r
~~urrr
n,,,:,..~..
r tu:;tay,
,:
rr I

their production, the upper lip is higher for Labiodental than Bilabia for West

African languages whereas the I

for Bantu Languages.

 a rerrl~~rka'ule
On the \n/i~ole,!he authors have dor-1~
job integrating hard phonetic data with the
explanatory text. Ladefoged and Maddieson have
put together a well-written, well- organized volume
that is certain to become a standard reference in the
field. The book supplies excellent background
information for phoneticians and phonoiogisis
working on specific linguistic issues,. .. and
perception researchers who are often not aware ot
certain phonetic properties and linguistic contrasts
that may affect their research

However, he feared that people mi it,

perhaps forgetting that new irwestigations are qu~telikely to produce neJvtacts
or uncovering new events for subsequent ediiions.
Until thought is k k e d with purpose, there is no int,?iligent
accomplishment. Wc shall hencefarth lin:c c;ur thaught with purpaso by
concentrating our review solely on varks that deal entirely with West Ac-ican

Languages and better still, Nigerian Languages.

Ladefoged, (1963) is a typical work that focuses on the phonetics i;F'iAdest

African languages. His w ~ r kis based on materials form sixty-ore (61)

Languages in VLfest Africa using both stiditory and ifistrumefitaf rn~thods.

Although this is, of course, an inadequate sample of West African lanc~uaaes,

it represents the first broad cofiklbidior~iri the area of

Africa.
 31

This approach, in effect, eliminates the need far vowel coalescence as

a separate phonological process in standard Yoruba.

From the foregoing, it is crystal clear that this analysis rejects vowef
coalescence as a phon0lagic-A process in Yoruba. Besides, it challenges the

traditional approach to linguistic analysis which favours separation of levds

between synchronic and diachronic descriptions and like:wise discourages "a

pan-dialectical approach" (his own words), that is, allowing the descriptior, of

one dialect to be dictated to by the facts from another.

Equally relevant to our discussion in this section is Awobuluyi and

Oyebade (1995). This is ano'lher remarkable contribution on Yoruba. The sludy

focuses on 'Denasalization' in Yoruba using a Non-Linear approach. It claims

that besides the well-known ptosess of nasalization, 'denasalization' occurs in
Yoruba language.
This kind of process surfaces under two conditions: Vowel assimilatbn

and vowel deletion. Wherezs they gave tentative suggestions with respect to
denasalization under vows! deletion, they analyzed same under v o ~ ~ e f

assimilation as a product of spreading rule which causes a (-N) value to ddlnk

a neighbouring [-N].value. The study concludes that such data as analyzed

point to the fact that "phonological theory ought to be sa constructed that i t will
allow for the spread not only of (+N) but also of (-N) depending on the context

andlor the language".

&Id -nqltt~n in tnrmc n$ i~nnqlie
U n , a , n \ , n r
I IUVVGVGI ,a
n n c.ltnrno+it,n %ntna
I ~ 1 1 1 I~I O1L I V G YVUUIU
hn 4-
UG LU
thn A-4-7
CN ICIIYLG LI IG u a L a II I [GI 1 1 1 3 u t V U L G I I I ~

spreading which would h a w otherwise interpret both sets of data (i.e.

a a
den,saiization under assimilation and den,salization under deletion) uniformly.
A-.4
rn 4L:e
IU LI 1 1 3
...
A , . l r l L c I . ,.-.nrr.-.bnA
~ b)CC.--. Cnr
W U U ~ U I IUVG I I G M ~ L C U1 1 lt; I ICGU IUI
~ 1 -
mi I a u I
.-.A.lknl\r a u l r r 4-
U I~UIG iu
nn++.rrA kI\
a p czau a \ - t u )
k a n l m a
V ~ I U G
n

as demonstrated earlier.
rl I= PI IUI I G L Ia
~ IU
~ P I IUI IUIUYY U I LI IG ran ISuayG.

Relatedly, Fresco (1969) in a research note entitled "The Tones of the

Yoruba and Igala Disyllabic ! b u n prefixes" pointed out that lgala nouns do not

start on mid tone. The issue is that most lgala disyllabic

syllable structure and it is geaerally observed that the language does not allow

mid tone word initially for noun class words.

gbe (1976,1978) in her own contribution to lgala language st~ufies
UIU a ~ u l l ~ ~ a i a tphonological
ive study of Yoruba, ltsekiri and lgala t h e r ~ b y

demonstrating that the three form the "Yoruboid sub-family. Her findings
revealed a lot on the linguistic similarities andl or affinity between the three

languages. Even before then, it was sensed that there exists a closer lingu~stic

affinity between lgala and especially Yoruba but her empirical findings clear the
remaining doubt concerniriy the linguistic relationship between lgala and the

other two languages.

2.3.2 The Search for Orthography
The maiden [gala wthography Committee meeting held at Anyiyba in
1951 was at the instance of the then Divisional Officer for lgala land The
meeting was attended principally by late professor Armstrong, then on a
research visit and R.T. D~hblethe missionary at Anyigba that trme who later

moved to settle at Ika, another town in Igala land, precisely now in Ankpa Local
Government Area of Kogi State.

The meeting was a profitable one because according to Armstrctig in

Miachi and Armstrong (1586), they did arrive at a permanent orthography for

Igala. This to my mind is an overfitatemerit bocaclse orthography questions

cannot be answered once and for all; looking at the nature of language itself.

One would rather prefer the position of Abraham (1967) who in his introduction
to the Principles of Ibo assarts that orthography issues arise "again and again
like the phoenix bird from the flames" (see Miachi and Armstrong 1986:32).

The 1984 lgala orthography committee meeting held at ldah was acrucial
one. This is because be?ween 1951 when the first orthography committee
meeting was conveyed at Anyigba and the late 1970s, there was no formal
orthography committee meeting except for private md~vidualresearchers and
Scholars like Dr. Tom Miachi, Mr. Josiah Yusuf Etu and some missionaries like

the late Paul D. Gross ot the Church Missions in Many Lands (CMRI1L) at

Anyigba and Spencer J. E~bble,the son of the Late R.T. Dibble, at Ika.
This shows that from the early 1950s through to the early 1980:i, the
devdopment of the standard lgaia orthography was in progress. Dr. Tom Idkchi,
between 1984 and I985organized three National Serninars/Workshops on !gala
language utilizing the services of linguists and language experts like profassors,

Armstrong and Eugene Bunkoroske Drs. Alex Iwara and Femi Akinkugbe
 approach to ph~nologicaltheory and analysis as it could absolve certain

apparent illogicalities in utterances.

I

However, a major fault identified with generative phonology (SPE) is its

principle of linear ordering of segments. This overt deficiency has r e n d e r d it

incapable of handling suprasegmental features in phonological analysis hence

the introduction of the Autosegmental phonology. Therefore, unlike generative

phonology (SPE), Autosegrriental phonology recognizes autonomous tiars,

thereby introducing a non-linear approach to phonological analysis. Beside

accounting for tone, this framework has witnessed an extension in usage and

application, as it is employed to analyse other intoresting phonological

phenomena like vowel harmony, nasalization etc.

Apart from these theoretical frameworks, a review of some relevant
empirical studies was conducted. Beside Roach (1991) which focuses on the
study of the phonetics and phonology of English (an Indo-European language),
works by expertriates which contain striking presence of African Linguistics in
this direction were reviewed (cf. Ladefoged 1964, Dunstan 1969, Rdaddieson
1984, Ladefoged and Maddieson 1996). Furthermore, studies on other
indigenous Nigerian Langcages by Nigerian Linguists (cf. Ikekecnwu "iU6,
----
1992,1993, Bakare 1995, B smgbose 1995, Awobuluyi and Oyebade 1995) as
well as works or studies that deal directly with Igala Language as sem in
Armstrong (1 951, 1965), Fresco (1969)) Akinkugbe (1976, 1978) and Achema
(2000) were reviewed.
Closely related to otr review of empirical studies as summarlzea asove,
is the section of our literature review which deals with the historical developrmnt
of lgala language studies. Tnis section traces the historical development of the
study of the language from 1848 to 1996197 when lgala became an autonomous
teaching subject at the NCE level. The section ends with a sub-section uri the
search for the lgala orthography which saw the light of day in 1986.
 CHAPTER THREE

Methodology

1 Area od Study

The study focuses on lgala language, idantifisd as one of the main

languages spoken in Nigeria. Igala belongs to the main languages group

because according to Barngbose (1982), Agheyisi (1984) and Jibril (1990) in

Bamgbose (1991), next to thc three rnajctr Nigerian languages (Hausa, lgbo and

Yoruba), will be those langhages which by virtue of population and recognition

are dominant in their respective states. These, according to them, are to be

regarded as main languages. lgala is a dominant language in Kogi State.

. lgala language is spoken by about two million natives and non-natives
who live on the eastern part of Kogi State i.e. Koyi East Senatorial Disirict,
Nigeria. The Language is spoken in nine (9) Local Government Areas of the

State including Ankpa, Elassa, Dekina, lbaji, Idah, lgalarnela/odolu, Ofu,

Olarnaboro and Omala.

At the present timi:, the language is spoken beyond the political

boundaries of the former tgala division, a function of travelling, trading and a

search for greener pasture and book knowledge by lgala youths.

lgala language belongs to the New Benue I<ongo group of Languages

and precisely one of the 'Yoruboid' languages (cf. Akinkugbe 1976, 1978, capo
1992). Other languages in this group are Yoruba and Iteskiri.

3.2. Mode of Study

3.2.1. Data Collection

Data gathering for this study comn~encedwith the completion of "Ibadan

Wordlist of 400 Basic Items" using the direct translational approach from Ffrrglish
 42

to Igala. The completion of the wordlists was carried out by the researcher and
his respondents or informants selected from the major dialects of lgala language
viz Ankpa, Akpanya, Dekina (including Anyigba, lyale and Egwun-~e),
Idah, Ibaji,

Ife (Abejukolo) and Ogwugwu (sea Appendix 8 for the names and addresser; of

the respondents).
Besides, the researcher got some useful pieces of information through

the completion of wordlists snd the granting of interviews by the following

resource persons who are nstive speakers and have been involved in the study

of lgala language for sorne tirr!e now: Josiah Yusuf Etu, Deputy Director, Ministry
of Education, Lokoja, Kogi State but now on secondment to the Kogi State
college of Education, Ankpa;
D.S. Achema (HOD English), Kogi State college of Education, Ankpa and
Mallam E.H. Okpanachi ( H o g Igala), Kogi State College of Education, Ankpa.

Lastly, data from these sources were recorded on cassettes and played

repeatedly for a better perception of the segrrlents as weil as the tones.

3.2.2 Method of Data Analysis

Although this work is not a comparative phonological study of the major

dialects of Igala, the selection of respondents from the major dialects of the

language is done with a view to presenting or representing the standardicentral

Igala. For instance, the investigator had to reconcile the datsi gathered from the

major dialects before proceeding for further analysis.

Above all, since the research design employed in this study is purely

descriptive, the investigator is to render a detailed phonetic an3 phonological

description of the speech sound segments available in lgala language. The

broad descriptive approach srnployed here draws heavily on the basic principles
of the classical phonology whereas the autosegmental approach is used

specifically for suprasegments.

The consonantal and vucalic segments representing the central lgala
language were established using the basic phonemic principles. In identifying

distinctive segments, minimal pairs or sets and analogous environment are

recorded whereas the principle of complementary distribution is used to
establish allophonic ~ a r i a t i ~ n s .
'
In all, the descriptions of segments as well as suprasegments are based
on their productions by both the informants and the researcher. In other words,
the method for elicitation end analysis of segments is mainly perceptwl as

against instrumental. lkekeonwu (1986) quoting Ladepoged (1971 ) and

Armstrong (1983) prefers the use of mainly perceptual method as a.~ainst
instrumentalfor elicitation of sound segments. Although she acknowledges that
an instrumental analysis w w l d probably have revealed a number of sub!leties
that could escape the ears, she argues that the "pronunciation or prod~-:tion
sessions" involving several hours, though usually rigorous have proved quite

useful in data collections and analysis.

Personally, Ibelieve that the nature and environment of any researchworH

determine the preferred methodology. Therefore considering the nature m d the

environment of this study, the perceptual method is preferred.
 44

CHAPTER FOUR

lgala Phonetics

4.0. Introduction

As mentioned earlier in unit 2.1. of this work, the subject matter oi both

phonetics and phonology is the speech sound which means lhat tha two

disciplines belong to the same level of linguistic analysis. They are both
preoccupied with the study of speech sounds.

Furthermore, it is also worthy of note that phonetics identifies and

describes the pool of sounds in human language which phonology subsequently

processes into utterances. Phonology and phonetics are thus closely related
since the latter serves as the input to the former. Therefore, it does appear that
effective and adequate phonological study of any linguistic system is
unattainable without the kwwledge of phonetics.
However, despite the relationship between phonetics and phorialogy

enunciated above, there exist still some basic differences between the two.
Describing phonology as "functional phonetics', Sommerstein (1977)
asserts that phonology begins where phonetics leaves off. In essence, this

points to the earlier notion that the end of the study of phonetics mark!; the

beginning of the study of phonology.

The foregoing informs our decision to present the results of this
investigation in two chapters (four and five) designated as phonetics and
phonology respectively. Chapter four identifias, describes and classifies all the ,

speech sounds available in the language; distinctive and non-distinctive

whereas chapter five concerns itself mainly with the distinctive sound segmsqts

(phonemes) in lgala language.

4.1. Pi~oneiics;Definition and Branches

Wells and Colson (1975) Clearly and comprehensively define phmer~cs

as the study and description of the principles and processes that determine
pronunciation. This defmition, in a way, agrees with Lyons (1969) which sees

phonetics as giving such description or instrumental analysis of what on€ hears.

Phonetics is therefore the s!:ientific study of speech sounds.

Considering the three major areas or branches of phonetics, L y m s

(1981), Todd (1987) and Roach (1997) describe pt I~Y

concerned with the study of the phonic medium which can be Studled from at
least three points of view: t h s articulatory phonetics (production), the ecoustic
phonetics (transmission) and the auditory phonetics (reception).

This is the studv of the ohvsical oro~ertiesof the sound waves :ha! are

speaker to nearer, mar IS, m e acoustic propenles QT me sounu waves r r ~ e r m g

between the soeaker and the hearer. In other words, acoustic ~honetlc:;can be
studied with attention fomsed mainly on the sound waves generated by
SpeaKlng m u r r m r rransrnlsslon rnrougn rne alr.
 Auditory Phonetics

This branch of phonetics deals with the way speech sounds are
perceived and identified by h e hearer's ears and brain, that is, their physical
.. a . .. . . . . . -A..
effects upon tne numan ear ana its assoclatea rnecnanlsrns. I ne perceptton or

the sound waves by the ticarer's ears is emphasized both in terms of the
physiology of the ear and sssociated organs of hearing, and in terms of the

4.2.1. The Airstream Mecnanism

This refers to the action of the air from t

for the production of nearly all speech sounds. AS mown ~nLarrora (I Y~:o, i w e
(1 943) and Ladefoged (1 9 6 r ! ) , the three principal methods of rnntl;--
U V I I IY .c> .IUIIII
all Lr* '-
rM

speech sounds are the pulmonic Airstream Mechanism, the GIottalic Airstream

Mechanism and Velaric Airstream mechanism.

The pulmonic airstream mechanism is initiated at the I u r ~ W

~ EsIGI t: LI # Gall

is moved (usually outwards'l by the action of the respiratory muscles. 1.1 most

instances. it is the respiratcrv (pulmonicj mechanism that sets an air-colmn in

motion, and the direction of the airflow is outwards. Note that every air-;tream
I S Ia
I T I ~ C ~ I ~ ~ Irlas I ~u u a ~low:t r ~ ergr esslve tourwarus) arm rrie ~rig
esslve
~

(inwards). The pulmonic Egrassive airstream is the most commonly ~ s e din

speech production in that tht31-eis no known language wtiich does not u:e 1111s

airstream in the production cjf at least some of its speech sounds. However, it

is to be noted that the presence of the counter part flow - the p ~ ~ l lnic
nc
ingressive airstream is not normally used for speech P ~ O ~ U L L I U I It ~ ~ t : p ~

extralinguistic sounds for nun-linguistic purposes as in snoring, smoking,

yawning and producing an instinctive 's' sound to signify pain (cf. Anagbclgu et

al, 2001:63). At present, thaie is no known language that uses the pulrnor-~ic
ingressive airstream. Even Fuller's (1990) report or ck~irnthat Tsoi:, an
. .
Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan uses the pulmonrc rngressrve

airstream to produce the voiceless Iabiodenalfricative was refuted by Ladetoged

(1993) and others.
The glottalic airstream mechanism also known as pharyngeal airst-earn
involves a process whereby the body of air in the pharynx is moved inwarrls or
outwards by the movement t~pwardsor downwards of the closed glottis. The
dual flow of the glottalic airstream mechanism are both futxtionally relevm?in

speech production. The glotklic egressive airstream is used for the produ :tion

of ejectives while the glottalicingressive is usedior rhe production of implosil~es.

For the production 0 4the ejectives, the closed glottis moves r a : d v

upwards and compresses tht?air behind an articulatory closure E?g. (k') ant: (s')
in Hausa:
[k'a:ra] 'to increase'

[wa:k'a] 'song'
tsla-sla-1'ri 1st'

The production of the implosive~on the other hana Involves a aowmvara

movement of the vibrating glottis in such a way that the pressure behind the oral
below 161 voiced bilabial implosive as in

Hausa: [ba:ra] 'to peel'

Igbo: [aba] 'jaw' (Enu-On~tsha,Inland West Igbo).
Note that implosive!; are normally voiced segments, lgala largclage
attests neither ejectives nor implosives because it does not employ the g1ot:aIic

airstream mechanism in speech production.

The velaric airstream mechanism is initiated or achieved as the all In me

mouth is moved either inwards or backwards of ii I ~ pI oint of contact between the

raised back of the tongue and the roof of the mouth. ~ - I W ~ C LWV
I ~ , LIUW 3:, d ~ t :

involved here. There is the closure at the velum whch is obligatory and
closures at some other parts in the oral cavity e.g. bilabial, dental, alveolijr etc.

" the back of the tongue moving against tt-e soft

According to Collinge (199ii),

palate (velum) can move a ~olurnnof air." If it moves backwards while a move
anterior stop is made, then Ihe result wi 11 be a CLICK -a Velaric ingressive stop.
. - .. . .. - .. . .
The Velaric inaressive airstream is Used tor the Droductlon ot click s t o ~ sound
'

4.2.2. The Phonation Process

This refers to what hamens in the larynx especially as it relates to the

I I

vocal cords and t he glottis. Ladefoged ('71) describes the function of the state

of the glottis and tne rrgamonral vocal cords in relation to speech production.
.I 1. 1 , .

Although Catford (1964) idantified more than ten states of the vocal (xrds,

Ladefoged (1971) argues that we probably need at !east six or seven statr3s of
languages. Tho most common four configurations of me vocal Cords In t 3 r r m
of voicing vibrations are voicsc, voiceless, murmur and creaky voicing.

'Voiced' refers to the r~ormalvibration of the vocal cords whereas in

'vo~celess',the vocal cords are apart. Murn~uror breathy voicing involves a

configuration where the arytecloids are apart but the l~gamentalvocal czrds

vibrate whereas in creaky voicing otherwise known as laryngealization, the

arytenoids are tightly together but a small length of the ligarnental

-
vocal c x d s
vibrating. The relevant configi.trations as regards cur study and discussio~ion

lgala language are 'voiceless' and 'voiced'. lgala attests neither murmur nor
creaky voicing as evident in some west African languages.

4.2.3. The Om-Nasal Process

This is judged to be the simplest of the four mzijtjor components of s p ~ ~ c h

mechanism. It involves only tb1s raising of the soft palate (velum) to form a L ?tic

-
Inls process IS canswerea or appears ro oe m e mosr cornpllcarea or me

four in that it consists of several semi-independent sub-processes. Here,

consideration is made of the actions of the activa organs of speech especi ;!ly

the tongue and the lips which make up this process, first in terms of placcl of

articulation and then, manner of articulation

 Manners of articulation refer to the different degrees of closi~reor

constriction in the vocal tract required for the production of consonants wtiile

place of articulation refers 1.3 the point in the vocal tract where the greatest

constriction occurs in the prcduction of the sounds.

4.3.0. Sound Classification

Speech sounds are broadly classified into two major types. Thes3 are
consonant sounds and vowei sounds.

4.3.1. Consonant Sounds

Consonants are the s ~ d e c hsounds produced with some forms of

obstruction to the airstream from the lungs at some point in the vocal -:act.

Basically, consonant sounds are identified, described and classified using the

following citeria: place of articulation, manner of

articulation and state of the ~lottis.

4.3.1.1.Place of Articulatios).:This refers to the point in the vocal tract w w e

the greatest constriction occurs in the production of the sounds. The follo4~ing

sub-divisions come under place of articulation:

Bilabial: Both lips are used as the articulators. Examples in lgala
.-. .,- . - , ,-
n nh, d , h , m
lnnnr lnnn are ',T ,as
..., d...l-. in
.. . fnpa] 'groundnut' [b;] 'to remain' [mil] 'to
~llow'[pjiii] 'to wring'.

Labiodental: The Icwer lip and the upper front teeth act as the
articulators. lgala language has only one phonemic sound in this categot-4; If/

and its iqi] 'groaning'.

 Dental: sounds in this class are made with tongue tip or blade and 1-qper
front teeth. lgala language has no dental sound.
Alveolar; The alveolar ridge serves as one of the articulators; the other

articulator is usually the black or sometimes the tip of the tongue; Examples in

Igata are [ti thl dl n, i t r,] as in

[A ] 'to urinate'
[tha] 'to sell'

[dd] 'to call'

[nE] ;to have'

[la] ' to buy'

[ra] ' to pay'

Post-alveolar: The production of this category of consonants is act- ieved

as the tongue blade comes into contact with the alveolar ridge. lgala lamyage
has only two of such sounds:
[tp]
'to do' .
[d3E] 'to eat'
Velar: Sounds in this class are made with the back sf the tongue and soft
palate. Examples in lgata iqclude [ktkhlkw,g, gW,q , gvsts in
[kz] 'to wife'
[kha]'to say'
[ukwtj] 'death'
[gd] 'to swear'
[gwa]'to greet'
[iiqa] 'position'
[gwa] 'to measure'
 Glottal: The vocal folds are usually employed to produce the differenze

between voiced and voiceless sounds. However, according to Macmahm

(I
990), "They can be used as articulators to obstruct or narrow the airflow 'rom

the lungs." This results in the production of either the glottal stop or frica!ive
depending on the manner of articulation. igala language has only the gldtal
fricative [h] as in [hji] 'to cook' and [ohji] (an) answer.

Opinions vary on the actual phonetic status of glottal consonznfs.

Although [h] is tradit~onallycldssified as a voiceless glottal fricative, Ladefcged

(7990) c~nsiderssuch a class~frcationas a misnomer; arguing that most fcrrns

of [h] have very little friction at the glottis. In other words, "(h] has no more
friction at the glottis than or any other voiceless sound with a compari3hle

airflod', he argued. It woulcf be equally improper, he continues, to call Ih] a

voiceless glottal approxirnant because the place of articulation I S not at all a: the
glottis. The best description for it according to him, is to see [h] as a voiceress
approximant w~thoutany particular place of articulation. "If the place of
articulation of [h] is best left unspecified, then it should not be on the chart but

should be listed under other symbols as a 'voiceless approximant,' "he

concludes However, Catford (1990) suggests that both the glottal stop [?] and

glottal fricative [h] be left on the IPA chartfor phonological and practical reasms

rather than strictly phonetic.

Besides, their wider distributim and distinctive use in many languages of the

world is also a strong point in this argument-to retain them on the IPA chart.
Labial-Velar: This Conr.~otes
a double place of articulation involving the
lips, the back of the longue and the soft palate. Examples in lgala language are

[kp, gb, qm] as in [kpa] 'to kill' [gbs] 'to hear' and ii'nrnyl 'nose'.
witt
rele .-. .. .-... .-. .-. -l---"--
"

4.3.1.2. State of the Glottis

The glottis is the spaze between the vocal folds. The term 'state of the

glottis,' according to Macmzhon (1990)" is used more generally to refer, not to

the actual space, but to the action of the folds. For simple descriptive purpcse,

only tw states of the glotris are required in relation to the language under
investigation: open (the resuting sound is voicefess) and vibrating (the sound

so produced is voiced). In other words, lgala consonant sounds are either

voiced or voiceless. The language as noted earlier, does not attest breathy
voicing (murmur) and creaky voicing (13.4.2.2.).

4.3.1.3. Manner of Artjcutation

There are several ways in wihich articulation can be accomplished FcI r

instance, there may be an ccclusio~I U I a LUI I I ~ I ~LIUWI
W t: : dl LI ~ L ~Ld
LI ~ t UI r

an instant or a relatively long period, it could be a considerable narrowing of the

space or simply modifying the shape of the tract (cf. Ladefoged 7971). In a
nutshell, manners of articulation refer to the different degrees of closure or
constriction in the vocal tract required for the production of consonant so~mds.

The following sub-divisions come under manner of articulation:

t Stop: This involves complete closure of the articulators in such a way that

the airstream cannot escape through the mouth. Stop sounds are of two t:ipes:

oral stop and nasal stop. <)rat stop is made if in addition to the articd3tot-y
 54

closure in the mouth, rne son paare is raised to block off the nasal tract in ml-~ich
completely. Pressure in the mouth builds
case the airstream will be ot?s;tr~rcted

up and the airstream is released in a small burst of scund as the artic

come apart. Nasal stop on the other Rand is made if the air is stoppea In m e
oral cavity but the soft palato is lowered to allow the air pass through the nasal

cavity.

Note L I I ~ LW I I W ule it:rrn srop 1s a general category for any consclriant

made with a total obstruction to the airflow, we shall use the terms 'plosive' and

'nasal' for oral stops and nasal stops respectively in lgala language. As it
stands, the term 'plosive' is often reserved for pulmonic egressive stop M i c h is
what obtains in the lgala language.

lgala Plosives

Generally, the articulz!tion or production of a plosive takes four phases.

First, the articulators move \3 form a stricture. Secondly, the compressed air
is stopped from escaping. Thirdly, the articulators used to form the stricturg are
moved so as to allow air to escape and the fourth phase is the post-re!sase

phase which is what happens immediately after the release phase.

The plosives have d!ffer-ent places of ariiculation as described below:

[PI:
Volceiess Bllablal Plosive: The lips are pressed together and the

vocal cords are not vibrating. It occurs in the following words and positions:
J [pi] 'to bend' qpa [Spa] 'groundnut'
- .-,. .. -, --
pa [pal 'to sprout' apo [apol 'a kind of poison'
[pj]: Palatalized Voiceless Bilabial Plosive: It becomes palatalized 30th
word initially and rnedially when it occurs before vowel /i/ as shown in the

following words:
pili [pjili] 'to wring z.pi [apji] 'melon'
piopio [pjiopjio] 'quickly' epio [ipji3'] 'mud'
[p]: and [pj] do not occur word finally.

[b]: Voiced Bilabial Plosive: The lips are pressed together and the b u x a l

cords are vibrating as in the following:

ba [ba] 'to boast' obo [obo] 'soup'
bo. [b3'] 'to remain' iba [iba] 'fever'
be [bE] 'to peel' uba [uba] 'drum'

[bj]: palatalized Voiced Bilabial Plosive: It becomes palatalized when it

occurs before vowellif as in the following words and positions:
bi [bjq 'to beg' ebie [Chii&]'blood'
ebi [ebjq 'hunger' ebie [ebjie] 'seven'
Equally, it does not occur word finally.
[t]: Voiceless Alveolar Plosive: The tongue blade is pressed agains- the

alveolar ridge and the vocal sords are noi vibrating as in the following:

ta [ta] 'to sell' aia [atA] 'father'

to. [h']'to urinate' a19 [at&]'bed'

tu [tu'] 'to untie' pka [ ~ ' k i 'grains'
]
It does not occur in word final position and does not attest palatalization.

[dl: Voiced Alveolar Plosive: The tongue blade is pressed against the
alveolar ridgs acd the vocal cords, vibrating. ti occurs in the following:

de [ d ~ 'to
] fry' ctdu [bdli] 'name'
du [dlj] 'to defeat' E I ~ [adu]
U 'load'

do [dd] 'to call' Odo [odo] 'settlement'

 [k]: Voiceless Velar Pldsivs: For the production of this sound, the hack of

the tongue makes contact with the soft palate and the vocal cords are not

vibrating. It is found in the following words and positions:

ko [kj] 'to write' ukoche [ ~ j k 3 ' ~ &'hoe'
]

ka [ka] 'to say' oko [6F.6]'farm'

ko [ko] 'to carry(pl)' oka [&i] 'one'

It does not occur in word final position.
[g]: Voiced Velar Plosive: The back of the tongue is pressed agairst the
soft palate and the
vocal cords are vibrating. 1'. occurs in the following words and positions:

go [g$ 'to swear' gge [igT] 'egg'

go [go] 'to look' ago Lag61 'waist'
ga [gg] 'to sew' iga [iga] 'net'

It does not occur word finally.

[kpj: Voiceless Labial- Velar Plosive: The Production of this sound

involves double articulation. The lips are pressed together as the back of the
tongue is pressed against the soft palate. The glottis is open as the vocal cords

do not vibrate. It is found in the following words::

kpa [kpii] 'to kill' okpo [bkpo] 'fear'

kpe [kpi] 'to divide' ikpa [ikpa] 'bag'
kpo . Ikp3l'not expensive' ukpota [bkpsti] 'famine'

~ y u jV. U I G ~ U~ c u ~ a - v e l arluslve,
1 equally, the production of this segment
gbo [gbo] 'to be old in age' agba [agba] 'basket'
gbo. [gbj] 'to heat igbi [igbi] 'snail'
gba [gba] 'to take/collect/receive' egbe [egbi.] 'grass'

[kw]: Labialized Voiceless Velar Plosive: The back of the tonjue is

pressed against the soft paiate accompanied with lip rounding. The Ivm
strictures are made and released at the same time. It is realized in the following
words and positions:

kwa [kwa] 'to cry/shoutl ikwu [ikwC~]'rope'

kwu [kwir] 'to die' ekwu [ i k h ] 'termite'
kwo [ k d ] 'get away' okwo. [3'kw'] 'spear'
[gw]: Labialized Voiced Velar Plosive; For the production of this sound,
the back of the tongue is pressed against the soft palate accompanied with lip
rounding together with voicing vibration. The two main strictures involved 2re
made and released simultaneously. It occurs in the following environments:

gwa [gwi] 'to greet' OGwu [bgvai] 'twenty'

gwu [ g ~'to] pound' egwa [kgwa] 'beans'

] wash'
gwe [ g w ~'to egwu [egvvlj] 'masquerade'

[gw] as well as [kw] does not occur w r d finally.

Note that the voiceless plosives of lgala attest aspiration [phl t', kh ] in

word initial position before vi~wels[a, o, and u], and palatalization 2s noled
earlier occurs before vow4 [i]. While palatalization in this language occurs with
both voiced and voiceless segments, aspiration is restrrctea to only tne
voiceless segments.
Ladefoged(1964 ) noted that the sounds called labial velars [kp gb,] are

produced in three different ways in west African languages: simple simu'taneous

articulation of k and p or g and b, a more complicated type involving two
closures as in Yoruba and 15ibio and the third type involving all the three

airstream mechanisms is fotmd in ldoma and Bini . The production of these

sounds in lgala language falls into the second type. However, contrary to

Ladefoged's submission that the articulation of this category or type invofves

both Velaric and pulmonic airstream mechanism, it is only the pulrnonic

egressive airstream mechacism that is used in producing [kp,gb] in lgala

language.

lgala Nasals

These sounds are producedwith velic opening so that air passes thrsugh

the nasal cavity. The basic characteristic of a nasal consonant is that t t e air

escapes through the nose as the soft palate is lowered. All nasal s o u n h in
lgala are voiced. Examples of nasal sounds involving primary and/or secordary
articulation in the language are:

[m]: Bilabial Nasal: The lips are pressed together and the soft piilate
lowered to allow air escape through the nose followed by a sudden releas?of

the stricture. It occurs in the following:

ma [m5] 'to know' oma [3m&] 'child'

mp [ms] 'to drink' omu [hii]'salt'
mu [mu] 'to catch' om? [Ym&]'boundary'
me [mi]'to borrow' uma [hma] 'knowledge'
[mj]: Palatalized Bilabial Nasal: The bilabial nasal becomes palatalized
when it occurs before or precedes a high front unrounded vowel /i/ as ir; the

following:
mi [mji] Yo swallow'
umi [Gmji] 'restlholiday'
imie [imjiE] 'dew'

Both [m] and [mj] do not o c a ~word

r finally.
I
[n]: Alveolar Nasal: Far the production of this sound, the Lade or tip of the
tongue is pressed against tPle alveolar ridge.

It occurs in the following wcrds and positions:

ng [nil 'to carry (load)' onu [bnG] 'king'

nu [nil 'to beat (drum)' one [onC] 'person'

no [n3] 'to be hardened' onuka Iontika] 'once'

It does not occur in word final position.

b]:Palatal Nasal: The front of the tongue is pressed aclainst the hard
palate as the velum is lowared to allow air escape through tl*.lt;
. en.-.-
I I U ~ G
I+ ;-.
realized in the following environments:

nyi [n il 'to put on (clothe)' unvi ICinil 'ho~~se'

 [QW]:Labialized Velar Nasal: For the production of this sound seqnient
the back of the tongue is pressed against the lowered soft palate, accompanied
with lip rounding. It is realized in the following:
nwa [qwa] 'to measure' Anwago [aqwigo] 'exams'
nwo [ q d ] 'to dry (of water)' inwa [iqwa] 'debate'/argurnentl
The occurrence of this sound in both word initial and medial positions is
restricted to preceding only vowels [a and zi] in the language as exernplif'ied
above.
[qrn]: Labial Velar Nasal: The production of this sound involves d 3~1ble
articulation. The lips are pressed together as the back of the tongue is pressed
against the lowered soft palaia. It occurs only word initially and medially before

vowels /i/ and 131 in lgala larlguage eg.

nrno [qrn?~]'to drink' anmo [aqms] 'water pot'
nmi [bmi] 'to rest' Unmi [hqmi] 'restlholiday'
The occurrence .of this sound is restricted to only some daects of 'gala
language.
-.
II Fricatives: The sounds in this category are produced with incomplete
h i r m air
rlnc~Ire n r hlnrkctna tn fha ~irctrnzarnat cnmo nnint in the mnr ~ t h
 61

. [fj]: The Voiceless Lnbiodenlal fricative attest palatalizationwhen it o x u r s

before a high front unfounded vowel Jil as in the example below;

olafia [3'!af~ia]'health'

ofi [ofji] 'name of fish'

ifi [ifji] 'groaning'
It can precede virtually all the vowels in the language but cannot c
finally.
[h]: Voiceless Glottal Fricative: The vocal folds are used as arti~ul~dtors
to obstruct or narrow the air flow from the lungs. Opinions vary on the a Aual
phonetic status of this sound (see 4.3.2.Glottal).
It occurs constantly only before the high front unfounded vowel lil and

therefore always palatalized both word initially and medially as shown below:
hi [hji] 'to cook' ahiaka [ahjiaks] 'story
hika [hjika] 'be quick' awohi [awohji] 'lefi side'
otihi [htihji] 'tail' ihiaja [ihjiadja] 'mid mornir g'
dohi [dohji] 'replylanxwer' ihiolo [ihjiolo] 'catarrh'

ohi [hhji] '(an)answctr' ihiabo [ihjiabel'name of pel-son'

iii Affricates: These are sounds produced with ,, ,..,-. --, .,r,-..+ -.---. - .- ,.,..--
by a fricative release. In otherwords, affricates share properties with botf- stops
and fricatives. lgala language has only the following two affricates:

[tf]: Voiceless post-Alveolar Affricate: The blade of the tongue makes a

contact or is pressed a~ainstthe back of the alveolar ridse for the ~roduc%mof
this sound. It

che
cha
chu
chi

[d3]: V ~ r ; e upusr tvveular nrrrlwie: I rle ulaue or m e torlgue 1s prtzsseu

against the back of the alveolar ridge. The difference between [tfl and 1%) in
terms of articulation or production is the state of the glottis which is open f 8 x [a
and closed or vibrating for [a$].The voiced post-alveolar affricate occurs i I the
following words and positions in Igala:

je [@El 'to eat' ?I? [jdy2] 'food'

ji [ail'to bury' P%! [d@$ 'God'
ja [ail'to fight' uja [haa] 'a fight'
jo [djb] 'to burn' iji [i@rJ 'firewood'
Both [aand [a]do not occur in word final positton in lgala language.
 b3

that fits into this description in igala language is [r]. It is formed as the tip of the

tongue makes several taps on ;he alveolar ridge. It occurs in the follcwirlg
words and positions in the lanquage:

V. Approximants: They are the most open of all consonant categories. The

gap between the articulators is larger than for a fricative, and no turbulmce
Mecrnahon 1990). The category of sounds greaier in
(friction) is generated (6.

openness than this set are ibe vowels. Approximants are formerly known as
frictionless continuants and semi-vowels. They are all voiced sounds.

Examples in lgala are:

[I]: Alveolar Lateral Approximant: This is a lateral consonant in ~ h i c h
production the passage of air through the mouth does not go in the usual way
along the centre of the tonguq instead, there is complete closure betweer1 the
centre of the tongue and the alveolar ridge as air escapes along the sides o Fthe

I w I: Lama1 -velar Appoxlmanr: Inls souna mnaves pnonerlcalry w;e a

 Notlce the slmllarltles between the Yaruba [wa] 'come' and lgala pva1 'to
come' as well as the lgbo [Bw5] 'goat' and lgala [kwoj 'goat'. This brings to Sear
certain linguistic affinity existing between the languages in question, (Igbo lgala
and Yorubaj as belonging to the same language family-the New Benue Congo.
-

It also proves a point for the common core of !snguages. Notice also the
. .. ., . .. .-..
between the same set of languages as regaras tne wora, ~ u pm
s~rnr~arrties j cn
* ...
means 'joy' both in lgala language and the Northern lgbo (Nsukka). A k o the
word [ijE3 *ich means 'mother' in Igala, has something similar in Yoruba (see
4.3.2. Vowel Sounds

The most basic divk1i2fi for phonetic classification, ._ _.,

, .. . _

. .
- . . . . ,.riichntnmv
vowel-rnnnnnsnf , ". "" m
. !Alhile .
--' n'--.
m n'"'a n
""f arc! r roduced with s
"' " n nme ..nrrnr: -ma.- .
,..
,..
a

of obstruction to the airstream from the lungs at same point In me vocal tract,

VO'wels are produced with generally no obstruct~onto the airstream. In 3ther

-A-
b'v'OrGS,
- -1- -
vilttllls i;L;iiSiiiLiiE
.- operr stages
-. - - - - .- . I

bVilCiS
- .- _ .
me ourgang
I,. _.. -
alr Tlows Ireely
I _ - . - _ 1,. I-- . I

(Schane1973).

It is to be added that when vo~velsare prodriceu', air fi~ornths lmgs

passes out freely through the mouth alone or through both the mouth and the
nose, yielding oral v o t v ~ l sand nasal or nasalized vowels respectively. The

tion and classification of vowels are:

primary factors for identificatim descrip~
i. The height of the tongue i t..1 - - l - t : ~ A
reraiiur I
L A
~u bL..
hiit: ruur ui
AX &LA
Lr
-.... b LI .
~e rrrr.wir

Practically, in the production af all vowels, the sirlTace of the tongue is coi~vsx
when looked at in a mid-line section of the mouth (cf. Macmahon 1990:20). The

highest point of the convex lir,r?according, to him, is taken as the 'marker' oi the

vowel so produced. Vowels are in this cor~siderationmarked as close, close mid

open and open- mid
ii. The part of the tongue that is highest in the mouth during the

Prl the sub-division of vowels as front, central and

baLn I C J p C b L I V G I Y . I I IF UlaUS "ft6e tangue IShlghest tor the productton ot trant
vowels, the centre of the tongue for central vowels and the back for hack
VOW

shapt: "I W~ILIUI I UI LI I C llL13 W IIILI I 13 CTILI ICI IUUI IUUU UI UI IIUUI IUCU 11 I L I IE;

producti
4.3.2.1 lgala Oral Vowols

lgala operates a seven vowe

These sounds are prc'ducedwnen air passes our rnr-ougn me mou:n only,
hence they are designated as oral vowels.

[i]: Close Front Unrounded Vowel: The tongue is held up close to t'le roof
of the mouth and there is no lip rounding. It occurs in the following words and

positions in Igala:
ita [ita] 'proverb' ohiala [ShjialF~]'story'

iga [iga] 'net' etito [&its] 'new'

iwa [iwa] 'dirt' elile [itlik] 'big one'

eti [eti] 'ear'

aji [aQr]'river'

[h@eQlil 'meeting'

[ib6nti]'witness'

tongue and the roof of the mouth is now much greater. The corners of tile lips
moved away from each other, that is, the lips are slightly spr-d It n ~lrcli i l the

following:
 la
vowel as against ' p a w use !r,otner relatea literatures In igara. I his rs DecaL!se
the approximation of Lhe body of the Iongue in the production of vowel [aj is
more of front than central c~r back though a little bit centralized i.e. mid-way

between front and central (see fig. 2) . Besides, the position of the lips is
neutral. It could be found in the following environments:
ate [atk] 'bed' ukpalu [bkpalti] 'tongue'
aji [actju 'river' ukpahiu [C~kpahjiirl'power'
udama [ljdama] 'unity'

uta [irta] 'thigh'

131: Open-mid back rounded vowel: This vowel as it occurs in laala is

between the surface of the tongue and the roof of the mouth is more than what

obtains for [u]. The lips are rounded. It occurs in the following:

obo [obo] 'soup' oji [bail 'head /theft1 amon? [ a m k k ] 'peqde'

ejo [BQo] 'snake' anorre [an6nk] 'name of person' ekpo [ekpo] 'oil'
 [u]: close back rounder! vowel: Tl te tongue is held up close to the -orsf of
the mouth, accompanied with lip rounding. It is realised thus:
uba [liba] 'drum' a d w a [adirwii] 'prayer'

uja '. [ircfja]'(a) fight' anuga [adhga] 'name of person

ogwu [ o g ~'war'
] adu [adir] 'slave'

4.3.2.2. The lgala Nasal Vowel

According Miachi and Arrnstrong (1986), it is incorrect to assert that Igala

has lost all its nasal vowelss. It retarns[lr] and makes u s e of it to distinguish or
designate third person singblar object pronoun normally written as 'unl in the
modern lgala orthography e.2. [GI close back rounded nassal vowel as in [uq]

hirnlherlit.

4.3.2.3. Nasalized Vowels of lgala

There is sdmetimes t h ~tendency

; for five voweis out of the seven :ml

vowels to undergo nasalization in the environment of nasal consonants. -'his

kind of vowels are produced xlth air passing out through both the mouth m d
- r ~ A-: - - - L : - - -z - - - -
i : ~ . .-XS--L:- II..z--- 1 - a ~- -
:-LA~I . n i LL..
IIUS~. Ir ~ t u) t l e u u r i ui Iiasarlty ~ I I ~ISGrlurrrlally
L rrvrr! lei1 lo I iyilr \L-K~. aee rrw

data below for the exam~lesof such vowels. Nasalized Vowels do not o c w
 [s] a in ingo -+
engo 3

[u] as in ugwunu 3

unu 3

Front Ccnlral Back

d
U u

3 5
Open

Fig.2: Phonetic Vowel Chart of lgala

already identified and studled with a view to establishing their functicm and

distributional patterns.

The unit of study of phonology is precisely the phoneme. Attempts at

uerlrllrly H I E prlonerrre nave yreraeu rnree Daslc rneorles v ~ zpsycnolaglcal,

physical and functional theory of the phoneme. But for the purpose of this study
and the intended phonemic analysis, we have adopted the functional theorv
which sees a phoneme as any segment that functions distinc
contrastively in any given linguistic system. A phoneme i s precisely tnwcrore
a distinctive speech sound in a given language.
Phonemezcare linguistically significant sounds of a language. Threc: basic
nhnnpmir n r i n r i n l ~ cr a n l - 1 ~ 1 I I C P ~tn ecfahlich fhe nhnnomir c f a f t ~ cand Inr

seek to establish distinctivaness, the last, estab!ishes allophonic variations.

5.1 Determining the Phonemic Status of Segments Using Minimal Pairs

-
- -
r

in only one segment but also differ in meaning; in

5.1.1 Consonantal Segments

Minimal Pairs Test:

l p l and l b l as in /put 'to aend'

ibljl 'dilute' ( in an unpleasing manner)

It/ and /dl as in Itid 'to ssll'

I d a 'to pour'

I k l and l g l as in lkal 'to pluck'

lg5f 'to sew'

/kpI and lgb/ as in IakpBl 'scorpion'

Iagbel 'wound'
Ikwl and /gwl as in /kw3 'ta die'
Iguvirl 'to pound'

/m/ and In1as in IGmaI 'knowledge'

n
1
Zid 'fire'

In1 and I q l as in / h a / 'fire'

Jni and /qwl as in

lfl and lh/ as in Ibfil ' n ~ m e~f fish'
/&i/ (anj 'answer'

It$/ and lctjl as in /ilt$iif 'pot1

'(a) fight'
Ii~cfjal

I r l and /I/ as in lirral 'enjoyment'

IC~lal'fat'

/wl and l j l as in / ~ d'fishing

/ hook'
/$d 'joylsieve'
A minimal pair requires that the pair of sounds that diffar in the \ m d s
must occur in the same structural position as shown above. That settled, all the
sounds wbich effect change in meaning of the above words are said .c be
phonemic and therefore su,:h sounds are recognised as discrete phonen-es in

the language. Consequent upon the above, the following constitute

consonantal phonemes in lgala language: p, b, t, d, k, g, kp, gb, kw,

0, p, rjW,f , h, tJl a,r, ItW, ar~dj (23consonants).

Approximant :-I, w, j
 3'G 'to defeat' fldG 'slave'
-- -
ka 'to say' jko 'lips'
--
$3 'to look' 4a0 'waist' does not occ:Ar
4

t(pa 'to kill' &pa 'cloud' does not occllr

gbd 'be weak' does not occur
I.twir 'to die' ukw6 'death' does not occur'
-
~ w 'to
a oreet' cjn\hni 'twentv'

ma 'to know' 6mU 'salt' does not ocwr

7 u 'to beat (drum) does not OCCL r
--
imn5 'nnsitinn'

nyo 'to be good' Gnyi 'house' does not occur

-
nwA 'to measure' inwa 'debate' uues I tUL UCCUI
--
efu 'stomach' does not occur
- .--

1 lhl hi 'to cook' bhi (an) answer' does not occu

--
,

chii 'to defecate' ochu 'moon' does not occu;

- - --
jo 'to burn'
r6 'to pick (grains)'
li 'to see'
ejir 'eye'

ili 'root'
1--
does not occut'
does not occur
does not occur
- --

--.
ye 'to find' y e 'mother'
---.
I does
7---
not occur
.- --

wir 'to fly' iwa 'art'

 75

5.2.1 Vowel Segments: hlirrimal Pairs Test:

To estabiish the yt-~onetnic

status of the vowels in the language, one has
to show their contrastiveness by adopting the phonemic principle of mir'imal

pairs as attested in the data below:

/I/ and /u/as in l @ i l ' to bury (corpse)'

/Qir/ 'to blow (of wind)'

/el and lo1 as in Ihkpel 'dismanting'

/ekp6 1 'oil'

/a/ and lul as in . I a a a l 'marl<ett

lady3 'grand child'

Word Initial Word Medial Word Final

-
ili 'root' achikwti 'bone' et i 'ear'
-
ale 'poverty'
----
elii 'five' ilfedQ 'love' ate 'bed'
.- -

ala mouth ahiaka 'story' Bfa six

-- --
QmS'child' arn6rnachildren' it j 'urine' --
6m0 'salt' ewo 'town'
ule 'journey' k d u w 'prayer'
~ --
 The illustrations above (cf 5.2.1 & 5.2.2) shrsw that these seven oral
vowels: i,e, E , a, 3, 0, u are distinct phonemes, that is, they are linguisti:ally

significant sounds of Igala.

Summary: Front Vc,ivels: I, el E, a, (4)

Back Vowels: u, o, 2 (3)

Central Back

Fig. 4: Phonemic Vowel Cha-t of lgala

5.3.0 Segment Redundancy Rules

Distinctive k a tures specify the uniaua oi-lvricor'ooerties of seanents

by further decomposing the ?honeme ir I

determine the extent of similarities and dirrerer~cesuerween pnunernes 111rerrns

of their internal cohesion.
Naturally, it does appear that a coi~siderablenumber of features plqt no

significant role in the phonology of particular languages and therefore such

features are predictable at all stages of derivation. But in principle, asserts

Sommerstein (1977: 166) "the final output of k e phonological component must

specify all features". Hence the need to forrr~allyindicate all the reqrired
features for such derivation by marking partially specified matrix into a fully

specified one. In this regard, Oyebade (1998: 42) explains, "there must be a
formal indication of all values of all features representing the sounds of a

language". The point being made above is that, although tho underlying
representation is assumed to admit to no redundancy, both the articulatory and

acoustic signals of speech sounds must be unambiguously specified in the

phonetic representation.

To this end, segment redundancy rules are the set of rules needed to
mark partially specified matrix into a fully

matix represents the underlying level w h e ~

tM5 11t t ! IUIIY ~ ~ L L I I It=p~
W G ~ W 112,
I II IG

phonetic representation. These rules always work in inversely symmetrical p 3irs

 78

A segment redundarlcy rule may apply either universally or be lang~age

specific. Language universal rules are the kinds that hold for any language.

This kind of redundancies usually makes a cl8h about the configurational

possibilities of the articulators or a universal tendency of language. Lan p a g e
specific rules on the other hand, come about when a particular languag3 fails
to exploit all logically possible combinations of values and features.

The advantages of segment redundancy rules are: First, the sfstem

creates room for simplificaticn in the underlying representation; hence ME: say

that the representation at this level is sometimes abstract but yet the simpicst.
Secondly, it simplifies the presentation of the rule component in phonological
analysis.

To bring this point home, we shall try to exemplify the issue raised z bove
by looking at the sound system of lgala (consonants and vowels). Besides,
identifying the features that define this system follows the dictate of generative

f
1
 All of the predictable redundancies can be expressed as fill-in rules csllled

IF-THEN segment structure constraints.

11. IF:[+son] IF:[-Voice] 1-angua~euniversal rule: sonor:!nts

are

THEN:[+ Voice] THEN:[-son] always voiced segments

..
II IF:[+son] IF:l+str] lanfluage universal rule; stridents rrrs

1 T
THEN:[-str] THEN:[-son] non-sonoants

...
111 IF:[+nas] IF:[+cont] language specific rule; snne
languages have nasalized fricatives
and approximants

iv IF:[+cont] IF:[+rd] language cmiver

to find labialized
 llzj+str] language specif~c rule; some

languages have labialized sibilarlts

vi lF:[+iah] IF:[+del rel.] language universal; postalveolar

affricates aie

THEN:[-del. rel.] THEN:[-lab] not likely to possess labial quality.

vii IF-f+nas] IF.[+ del rel-] language universal rule;

affricates do not attest

1 1
THEN:[-del.. rel.] THEN:[-nas] nasalization

v
viii IF:[+ant] IF:[-kdel. rel.] language universal; affricates are

normally

TtiEIJ:[-ant] postalveolar sounds

5.3.2 Justification of Consonant Features

5.3.2.1 Sonorant: These are sounds produced with a vocal tract configuration
sufficiently open that the air pressure inside and outside the mouth is
approximately equal. This feature separates nasals, liquids and glides from
other consonants.
 X2

5.3.2.2 Coronal: This sol af soc~nds:ire produced by raising the tongue blade

toward the teeth or hard palate. Coronal distinguishes between the nasal
consonants of the language; it separates [m, r], qw]from [n, p].

5.3.2.3 Anterior: These are sounds produced with a primary constriction ar or

in front of the alveolar ridge. It separates bilabials and alveolars from other
stops or plosives.

5.3.2.4 Labial: Labial sounds are formed with a constriction at the lips. T'tiis

feature separates labio-velars and labiatizedvelars from velar stops or plosives

5.3.2.5 Continuant: These sounds are produced or formed with a vocal t r x t

configuration allowing the airsiream to flow through the mid- sagittal region of

the oral tract. It separates fricatives [f, h] from affricates [if, @,I and stops or

plosives.

5.3.2.6 Rounded: This feature defines sounds produced with protrusion of the

lips. It separates liabialized velars [kwg v a d [qrfrom other velar consonants.

5.3.2.7 Strident: It represen!s sounds produced with a complex constriction

forcing the airstream to strike two surfaces, producing high intensity fricative
noise. This feature distinguishes between labiodental fricative and glwtal

fricative.
5.3.2.8. Voice: Voiced soun& are produced with a larngeai configurat:on

permitting periodic vibratior! of the vocal cords. It distinguished betwean

voiceless sounds and their voiced counterpart5

 82

5.3.2.2 Coronal: This set of sounds are produced by raising the tongue blade

toward the teeth or hard palate. Coronal distinguishes between the nasal
consonants of the language; it separates [m, q, qw]from in, p].

5.3.2.3 Anterior: These are sounds produced with a primary constriction at or

in front of the alveolar ridge. It separates bilabials and alveolars from other
stops or plosives.

5.3.2.4 Labial: Labial sounds are formed with a constriction at the lips. This

feature separates Iabio-velars and labialized veiars from velar stops or plosives

5.3.2.5 Continuant: These sounds are producod or formed with a vocal trect

configuration allowing the airstream to flow through the mid- sagittal region of
the oral tract. It separates fricatives [f, h] from affricates [tf, cfj] and stops gr

plosives.

5.3.2.6 Rounded: This feature defines sounds produced with protrusion of the

lips. It separates liabialized velars [k g r and [qwlfrom other velar consonants.

5.3.2.7 Strident: It represents sounds produced with a complex constriction

forcing the airstream to strike two surfaces, producing high intensity fricative
noise. This feature disting1.1ishes between labiodental fricative and glot.;al

fricative.
5.3.2.8. Voice: Voiced sounds are produced with a larngeal configurakiun

permitting periodic vibration of the vocal cords. It distinguished betwftan

voiceless sounds and their voiced counterpart5

5.3.2.9Nasal: Nasal sounds are produced by lowering tho velum and allowing
the air to pass outward through the nose. It separates nasal sounds from oral

sounds especially other sonorants [r,l,w,j]

5.3.2.70 Del. Rel: This feature is only applicable to sounds produced in the

mouth cavity with a stop closure but a later fricative release. It distinguishes
stops from affricates [tf,@].

5.3.3 Segment Redundancy Rules for Vowels

Fig. 6: Distinctive Feature Mafix for lgala phonemic Vowes (partially specified)
All of the predictable redundancies can be expressed as fill-in rules called
IF-THEN segment structure constraints
"-III IF:[+low] IF:[+ATR]

f 5
THEN:[-ATR] THEN:[-low]

iv IF:[+ high] IF:[-ATR]

5.3.4 Justification of Vowel Features

5.3.4.1 High: These sounds are produced by raising the body of the tongue

towards the palate. This featiire separates high vowels ti, ul from other vowels.

5.3.4.2 Low:Vowals in this class are produced when the body of the tongue is

lowest in the mouth. This feature distinguishes between the low front vowel la1
and other vowels.

5.3.4.3 Round: This category of vowel sounds are produced with protrusion of

the lips. This feature separates rounded back vowels from the front unrounded

vowels.
5.3.4.4 ATR: This feature is made by drawing the root of the tongue forward,

enlarging the pharygeal czvity and often raising the tongue body as well. It
separates li,e,o,u/ from other' vowels.

5.4.0'Syl table Structure and Phonotactics

A syllable refers to a pronounceable unit at a higher level than that of a

phoneme, but distinct from that of a morpheme or word. In other words, it is an

intermediate level of phonological organization, that is, intermediate between

 135

individual segmental units (consonants and vowels) and&eir combination into

words or morphemes. It is this combinatory syllabic sequence which a tangunge
allows, that is referred to as the syllable structure of the language.
Phonotactics as the term implies, deals with the tactics, arrangement or
the systematic pattern and/or the acts of combining phonemes in a language.
However, constraints abound in the phonotactis of (a) language(s), which
means that certain combinatory sequence(s) are not allowed in languages. For

instance, the non-occurrence of (h) and (q) in certain environments in Englkh

is a phonotactic constraint in the language, likewise the non-occurrence of

nearly all lgala consonants word finally. We shall discuss this presently.
The clear -cut syllable structures of lgala language are identified in 1lw
forms of [v, cv, cvv and N]. In lgala language we have instances of single

vowel sound(s) forming syllab!e(s) as shown below

5' as rn I 'neck'
& as in . f a 'six1

b as in irbi 'back'

[vl .

The [cv] pattern could be seen in the following words:

JtfjZl 'to eat' /hi/ 'to give birth'

/mil 'to swallow' Im3l 'to drink'

m u 'to catch' Ikal 'To say'

The [cvv] syllable structure is found in the followings:

I ! 'to defile'

ldirtjl 'every'
Ibis/ as in 5 b i i 'do$
/mas as in amaa 'h~t'

cw
Finally, the [N] pattern is seen in the following examples:

141 as in un
- 'himlherlit (object pronoun)
/Q/ as in bun 'he/she/it'
/q/ as in <ufi 'thing'

Apart from the separate examples given above, the various syllable structures

or patterns could be combinorl especially in polysvllabic words of the language

thus:
[V & CV] as in I<& mU 'child'

l a R( did 'load'

l B & tdl 'father'

[V&CVw a s i n /5&biat 'dog'

/e & big! 'seven'
. /i & pi31 'mud'

[V&CV&N] as in i~8 dji: & 6 'food'

yV&CV&CV] as in 6 & n u & kwii 'friend'
[V & CV & CV & CV] as in o R n6 & nZ, 8 @o 'stranger'
-. As it is in other languages, the basic and most common syllable structure

in lgala language is [CV]; being that it has the widest distribution (as evidenced
from the data above) and car1 occur word initially, medially and finally. Notice
also that vowel sounds predominantly form the necleus (peak) ofthe syllable in
IgaIa language hence we haue single vowel sound(s) forming syllable(s) in the
language. This is the pattern in many languages. lgala language maintains

predominantly open syllable structure because consonants do not end syllsb!es

 57

andlor words in the language r>xcept[ Q ] ; a case of svllabic nasal. It is obser~zd

a constant mid-tone irrespective of the tone of
that the syllabic nasal maintair.~

the preceding segment.

Besides, whereas the ianguage permits vowel seqwnce, it does not allcw

consonant clusters. Notice that even the vowel sequence (except the vovmls

are identical) is restricted to only vowel /i/ occurring either before or after
another vowel (a phonotactic constraint) as shown in the data below
Iabiid'dog' IebiGl'seven' I k p M 'and'

l?qii/ 'machet IEbia 'blood' hIai/ 'soul'

1?1tad~ij0'cap' lipial 'mud' Iakpail '(a) muslim'

Most Goun are vowel ini:ial while most verbs are consonant initial in Igola.

This pattern occurs also in Igtm and Yoruba. Exzrnples in lgala include:
Nom Verb

l ~ m 3 'child'
f lbil 'to I've birth'
/ a t 3 'father' /gwt/ 'to wash'

lid--a'fish' JkwLjl 'to die'

/ornil 'water' /r5/ 'to r o ~ s t '

/hy3 'food' / t i / 'to sell'
Fig 7: Phonotactic Cons;raint: Consonants vs. Vowels

It is clear from the above analysis that tkough some consonantr'a occur
freely before all the seven vowel sounds, others do not. In other words, certain
consonants do not precede contain vowels freely in the language. The most
restricted is the voiceless glottal fricative [h] which must liccur before only [i]
troth word initially and rnedrally as shown below:
hi 'to cook' An iB kg 'story'
hika 'be quick' 5nohi 'left side'

otihi 'tail'
.iI-~~aja
,,..
'mid morning'

dohi 'reply' ihib16 'catarrh'

oh '(an)answer' ihiabe 'name of person'

ahima 'louse' khimini 'sea'

Notice also that /W and /g/ do not occur before l u l because the forms 'ku'
and 'gu' do not exist in lgala language; instead, it is 'kwu' and ' g w '

respectively. A similar pattern occurs in Nupe where /Wand /g/ for instance
become labialized before /u/ and palatalized before ti/ (cf. Hyman, 1975).
Besides, suspicious segments such as affricates [tf and a]and diagraphs
like [kp, gb, kw, gw, ng, nw, ny] have been analysed as unitary segments instead

of sequence of sounds. This is achieved using the principle of econotry of

syllable structure which constrains the analyst from proliferating syllable
structures e.g. consonant cluster is unallowed here.
Unacceptable Acceptable

/tJl=t+J [CC] 1q/= [C]

I@/= d + 3 [CC] /@I = [C]

Ikpl= k + p [CC] Ikpl = LC]

/gb/ = g + b [CC] /gb/ = [ C ]

lkwi = k + w [CC] Ikwl = [C]

lgwl = g + w [CC] Igwl = [C]

I n g l = n + g [CC] Ingl = [C]

/nw/= n + w [CCI /nw/ = [CI
/nyl = n + y [CC] lnyl = [C]
 90

5.5.0 Phonological Processes

In most cases when two morphemes or words come together, changes

affecting contiguous segmmts are bound to take place. The segments of the

various morphemes may inft~enceeach other in different ways. Therefore in

what follows, we shall examine some of the phonological processes in lgala as

they relate to language specific and language universal phonological rule!;.

5.5.1. Assimilation

Assimilation in lgala language manifests in the following forms:

5.5.1 .I.Consonant Assimilating Vowel Features

This usually occurs in secondary articulation e.g. palatalization in lgala

language
abia + [abjiii ]'dog'

ebie -, . [&bjE] 'ssven'

opia + [ipjia]'machet.
epio [Cpjia] 'mud'
imie [imjik] 'dew'
umi 4 [brnji] 'holiday or rest'
olafia -+ [harjia] 'health'

Rule 1: A consonant becomes palatalized before high front unrounded vo~vel.

[+ cons]

+ high
- back
5.5.1.2 b Vowel Assimilating Consonant Features

This process is attested in form of nasalization, that is, a process

whereby vowels get nasali:rad in the environment of nasal consonants. 'Tha
effect is normally from left to right [L-R] in lgala language as demonstrated
below.

ami 3 [$rn'i] 'amen'

ingo [ir$] 'bee'

angejo + [dl$Qi] 'tortoise'

unyi -t [I.$I~] 'house'

Rule 2: A Vowel becomes fiasalized after a nasal consonant.

5.5.1.3. Vowel Assimilating Vowel Features: This goes beyond Vowel-Vow4

assimilation to vowel copying as shown in the data below:

odo # alsia -+ [jdaibjia ] '~QCJ's

liver'
unyi # ajuwe + [upaadjljwq 'po~~ltry/house
for fowls.

gwa # ugwa [gwirtjgwa]'to greet'

gwo # itali + [gwiitali]'to flog with cane'

Rule 3: Vowel one becomes vowel two when it occurs before vowel two.
PI # V2] + p 2 V2] I-[V2]
 92

5.5.1.4 Consonant Assimilating Consonant Features:

Consonant-Consonan! assimilation as it occurs in Ankpa dialect and Afia

community in Ibaji dialect of lgala language is seen in terms of two processes

in one, nasal insertion as well as homorganic assimilation:

oka oNka 4. [orjka]'onel

obe oNbe 4 [ i m b ~'knife'

]
ukgde ukoNde - [Cikjhd~]'spoon'

egwaka egwaNka [&gwaGka]'eleven'

Rule 4 (a): A nasal is inserted between a vowel and a stop

(b): A nasal agrees in place of articulation with the following consonant.

5.5.2. Deletion

Deletion or e!ision r ~ f e r sto the process where sound segments get

deleted or elided in normal speech. Consonants as well as vowels undergo this

process in lgala language.

5.5.2.1.

Vnwel WISIUI I V L L U I ~1 1 1 lyala Idrlyuayt: d e n two or more vowels occur.

rpheme boundary. Usually, it is the first morpheme that loses its final
vowel-in the process (see the data below):
(i) Noun - Noun Collocation

qma # ere 4 [jmZr~] toe

child leg
efu # oko 4 [hfbko] 'bush'
stomach farm

ola # pda + [;5da] 'law'

word command
aja # ega + [8djgga] riverside market'
market riverside

(ii) Verb - Noun Collocation

je # gje 4 [@;a$]
'eat food'

eat food
ne # uma + [numa] 'beknowledgeable'
get 1 have. knowledge

gba # qk* + fgb:kj] 'collect money'

receive/collect money

Rule 5: Vowel one become deleted before vowel two.

[VII +

5.5.2.2. Consonant Deletion

This process occurs especially in fast speech (see the data below):
ddudu pdc] 'morning'

ochochi + [ihtJi] 'truth'

baba mi [biarn'i] 'my father'
 04

5.5.3. Vowel Insedion

A language may insert segments to break up unallowed clusters or to

rnako foreign word borrowed into the language conform with the phonotactics
of the host language. In lgala language, borrowed m r d s from English and other
languages receive this nativlzation process thus:
ENGLISH l GALA GLOSS .
Ibaibll ibaibulu bible
/skull ichekwulu school
lteibll itebulu table

IGALA GLOSS

gaskya og~cha truth

lafiya ~lafia health
sadaka clhidaka sacrifice

tiusseini. ccheni name of person

Notice that apart from the insertion of vowels, Is/ is replaced with either

I h l or tJlI because lgala larcjuage has no Is1 in her sound system. Besides,

vowel insertion word initially as seen above is necessitated by the fact that the
language does not permit ccmsonant initial for noun class words.
#? P 1 \ I l ---I -------

: of death'

IS servant'
5.5.5. Vowel Harmony

lgala displays only partial or incomplete vowel harmony. Examples cf the

partial vowel harmony as it exists in lgala language are shown below as one
converts the following verbs into their noun forms:
[do] 'to dwell/settleJ [odh] '(a) settlement'
[gbb] 'to be weak' [egbo] '(a) weakling'
[@El 'to eat' [hjk]'food'
[mi] 'to borrow' [Srn€] 'debt'

From the data above, one notices a fairly consistent [e-o] and [c: -31
harmony. There are however some exceptions which indicate that vowel
harmony in this language is only partial. Examples:

[ro] 'to bear fruit' [kro] 'fruit'

[di] 'to fry' [ P ~ 'frying'
E
[ka] 'to write' !leks] 'writing'

5.6.0 Tone

lgala operates a register tone system with the three basic tonemes of

high marked as [I], low which is marked as n] and mid tone which is usually
unmarked in the language. These three tones are used contrastively in the
language as attested in the data below:

I 'to steal' / g b a 'to sweep'

I 'to block e.g. hole' I g b a 'to read'
/ail 'to bury'
 96

5.6.1. Tone Distribution and TBUs

The tone bearing units (T8Us)as observed from the data collected, are
vowels and the syllabic naszl. Tone distribution in the language shows that high

and low tones can occur word initially, rnedially and finally but the language
does not allow mid tone word initially for noun class words. The data below
illustrates clearly the points being made above.

/HI [m6] 'to catch1 [Lkpalfi]'tonguel [akpa] 'insect'

IHHI [bail 'headltheft' [6ti]'ear1

lHHHl [agbbai] 'leader1 [iigw~lnl.r]'vulture'

IHHHHI [6@ljgwChlj] 'vulture's head'

/U [la] 'to buy' [otJotJi] 'truth' [Bdh] 'load'

/LU [odb] 'settlements' [&i] 'back'

lLLU [3gkdi]'banana' [~bala]'cat'

ILLLU [~rnkrnkIC]'original'

/M/ . 'to eat' [amGnEj 'people' I] 'nothing'

/MMI * 'does not occur
IMMMI * 'does not occur

IMMMMI * does not occur

 97

Besides, corltour lones ss in &kpa (maiza)ond kw6 (get away) occur in

-
the language.

5.6.2. Functions of Tone in lgala

Tones in lgala language perform lexical as well as syntactic functions.

5.6.2.1 Lexical Function

In lgala language, torw serves very well in establishing meaning

differences between identical lexical items, that is, words with identical spelling

arrangement can be differentiated in the area of meanings scored through tone

marking. Examples are:

[awo] 'guinea fowi' [apka] 'cloud'

[awo] 'stat' [akpa] '(a)muslim1
[awo] '(a) slap' . [akpa] 'insect'

[awd] 'cornb' [akpa] 'hard wood'

[iwo] 'hole (on a tree)' [Zkpa] 'maize'

[hwb] 'an increase (quantity)' [akpa] 'killer'

5.6.2.2. Syntactic Function

This is the grammatical function of tone which involves distinguishing

between syntactic structures - phrases and verb forms which are otherwise
identical e.g.

[i Ie] 'he has gone'

[i 181 'he went'

[aje hji] cookedJ

[ale hji] ye weaved (c1o;:he)'

[awa gwC] 'we pounded'

[awa .gwrj] 'we climbed'

[awa gw!i] 'Awa pounded'
[awa gwiil 'Awa climbed'

5.7.0 Intonation

This constitutes an important component of the suprasegmental

phonology of languages. It is c!escribed as the RISE and FALL of PITCH of the

voice in spoken utterances. It therefore goes without saying that the domain of
operation for intonation in language is the whole utlerance which could be a
phrase, clause or sentence.

Every language makes use of the fluctuations of pitch in speech, but the

realization of pitch patterns and the functions which they perform in

communicative interactions do often vary with languages. In lgala language for
instance, intonation (Rising and Falling) performs certain grammatical functions
andfor convey attitudinal meaning(s).
The global pattern of intonation as attested in many languages seems to
be the pattern operating in lgala language. While falling tune is usually
perceived in declarative statements, command and wh-questions, rising tune is
associated with polar (yesho) questions, greetings, listing items a n ~ i o r

counting.
5.7.1. Falling Tune
Declarative statement: ~ k w i r k 6ch&
, it
~ k k b tdid

ti mi de&
'that is my father'

Command: G k a n e t 'sit down'

Dago 'r 'stand up'

Dir wa &mi k 'biing it here'

~ n eche yi? I ' W o did this?'

~ g b oe nyi? %'Where did you go?'

dnii B ta? 'Hcw many did you sell?'

5.7.2 Rising Tune

The rising tune features prominently in yeslno question formation in

laala besides sreetings and counting or listing items as mentioned earlier.

~ t mi
a di%? F 'is that my father?'
Ma lia mee? r 'Have they come?'
Greetings:

Me a gba [Mi t gba] r "thank you (pl.)'

Nagb6ii r 'thanks (to show excitement)'
Counting or listing items
inye &jj fl Btii ..
&I& e11i r . . .

One two three four five

13chO r Q ~ rB
.J
akpa fl akpQko .r kpai . . .

Yam grains maize Pepper and. . .

 CHAPTER SIX

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

6.1 Summary

This study started with an introduction which gave us the background to

the study, statement of the problem, research objectives and research
questions, justification of the study, scope and limitation. Thereafter, a fairly
detailed critical review of the relevant literature comprising theoretical as well as
empirical studies was conducted (cf. 2.4.). The method for elicitation of
segments was mainly perceptual. And with the help of the resource.persons
(cf. 3.2.1), through oral interviews and the use of the "lbadan Worldlist", the
consonantal and vocalic segments of the language were established using the
basic phonological paradigms.
Although this work may not have covered all the necessary aspects of this
subject, it has dealt, as much as possible, with significant aspects of phonetics
and phonology relevant to the lgala language studies.

The major findings from the investigation among others include:

lgala language operates a seven vowel system of [i, e, E , a, qo,u]
arranged in a symmetrical form. The vowel /a/ had been identified as a slightly
centralized front vowel as against "hack" found in other.related literatures.
Besides, out of the seven vowels, only two [e and o] do not attest nasalization

in the environment of nasal consonants in the language. The effect of such

nasal assimilation is from left to right [L 4 R] (cf. 5.5.1.2). lgala attests only
partial or incomplete vowel harmony as there are some instances where such
constraints are not found.
 L 32

The clear c ~ lsyllable

t structures of lgala are identified in the forms of [V,

CV, C W ] but the most common is [CV]. This is because it has the widest
distribution as it is found word initially, medially and finally. The syllable
structure and phonotactics of the language reveal that although it permit vowel

sequences,

after another vowel e.g.

abia [hbjia] 'dog' kpai [kpai] 'and'

ebie [ebjiE] 'seven' olai [jlai] 'lifelsoul'

. .
abie [6bji&] 'blood' akpai [akpai]'(a) muslim'
epiq [ipji?i] 'mud' okai k k a ~ ]'name of person'
opia [jpjia] 'matchet atai [atag 'name of person1
lgala language maintains Predominantly an open syllable structure, '.hat

is, consonant do not occupy syllable or word final position except the syllaSic

velar nasal [Q]as in (in] 'thing' [oG]helshe it [bo]his/hers [hd$@ 'food'.

Notice that the syllabic nasa! in the examples above maintains constant mid

tone irrespective of the tone of the precedinq

- segment.
-
Furthermore, nouns are mainly vowel initial whereas verbs arE
predominantly consonant initial as shown in the data below:
hln~
I."..I
inI .
\/orb"I Y

[gmii] 'child' [@'El 'to eat'

[ata] 'fathe< [@J]'to defecate'

[adjq 'river' [dGj 'to defeat1

[oko]'farm' [mi] 'to swa!low'
/ /
[z~ka]'money' [ail'to Steal'
VCV CV
 Contrary to the popular vlew that the voiceless alveolar fricative Is1 rS
universal (cf. Schane f973),lgala language had no 1st in her sound system.
Even the so called glottal fricative /hl is highly resiricted to occuring only before
high front unrounded vowel Iil in this language (see the data below):

hi [hji] 'to cook' awohi [awohji] 'left'

hika [hjika]'bequickl ahiaka [ahjiaka] "story'

ohi [ohji] '(an) answer' ihiolo jihjiolo] 'catarrh'

otihi [otihji] 'tail' ohimini [ohjimini]'seal

ahima [ahjim6]'louseJ ihiaja [ i h j i a i ] 'mid-morning

Tone and intonation f~;lctiondistinctively in lgala language. lgala ::; a

register tone language. It u s ~ three
s basic register tones (tonemes); High, Mid

and Low contrastively. Tone :or instance performs both lexical and syntactic
5. 5.2). However, the language does not allcw
functions in the language ( s e ~

mid tone word initially for noun class words.

Intonation on the other hand performs certain grammatical functions

andlor convey attitudinal meanings in utterances in the language (see unit 5.7).
Lastly, phonological processes such as assimilation, deletion, insertion,

metathesis and coalescence as available in the language are disztisseci with

copious examples and the appropriate rules postulatedl derived and formalized

Were necessary (cf. 5.5.).

6.2 Conciusion

An objective investigation into any aspect of a language by a native

spaaker-following the basic canons of linguistic or scientific descriptions, has

something new and refreshin3 to add to the study of that language. The study
of the phonetics and phonology of the lgala language at this level by a native
speaker, is a sure sign of the many good things to happen to the lgala language
studies. The result thereof is promising and rewarding.
Following the published orthography of 1986, the lgala language has
thirty two (32) phonemes comprising the seven vowels and twenty f ~ v e(25)
consonants. This investigator however suggests thirty (30) as/Un/ sometimes
written as lnwul (traigraph) by the Ika press, is realised as velar nasal /Q/ in
actual production, that is 'oun' and 'eun' transcribe as [d?] and [ifi]

respectively.
Besides, iml as in /m3/ "to drink" and [umji] 'rest or holiday' is pronounced
as [qm5] or [~f-jrnji]respectively in some dialects of the lgala language. Since
this is only a case of dialectal difference, I would suggest that [qm] be treated
as an allophone of lml and not a separate phoneme, in the standard lgala

language. This is because follcwing the equi-phomemic principle (one of the

principles of orthography); to a set of dialects specific phonemes which are in

regular correspondence must be assigned a grapheme. For instance, a good

orthography must ensure consistency and uniformity in soundlphoneme to

grapheme correspondence or representation in a language.

Dialect A B Gloss

- [m4 'to drink'

[Mil 'to rest1

[Gmji] . [iirlmji] 'rest or holiday'

[amrr] [iir~m~] 'water pot'

 105

This is do lsure uniformity in the written form of the language and

also to avoid proliferation of phonemes in the language.

Another argument in favour of this position is that /m/ and /nm/ occur in
free variation in some dialects of Igala. Recall that sounds in free variation are

better analysed as allophones of the same phoneme e.g.

[mz] [rlmsl 'to drink'

[am;] [a rlrn>l 'water pot'

[ir mji] [Cqrnji] 'rest or holiday'

In the above examples, the word on the left many be pronounced ss

those on the right without causing any change in meaning. As mentioned
earlier., when two sounds occur in free variation in a language, the two may be
anatysed as allophones of the same phoneme in certain contexts and therefore
may not be accounted for as separate phonemes. It should be noted however

that the one which has wider distribution in the language is chosen or usec in
the standard written farm of tho language. Hence our choice of Iml as the basic

ahernant (phoneme).
It was also observed that /hi and Irl hord finally as in especially names

such 'Attah' and 'Achor' are unacceptable likewise the double 't' and 'b' in P.ttah

Attah/Atah Ata
 AltorIAkoh A ~ Q
Achor Achq
AttabohfAttabor Atabo

Adejoh Ad~jo

Afor Afo
AbbahIAbah Aba
EgwudahlEguah Egwuda
Eguche Egwuche

Akuboh Akwub~
Onekutu Onekwutu

ogulOgwuh Ogwu

As pointed out earlier, there exists a yawning academic vacuum in the

study of lgala language owicg to the dearth of analytical and quality linguistic

works in the language generdly and the speech sound aspects in partic~lar.

Put in another way, lack of standard reading materials on lgala language had

rendered the teaching and laarning of the language difficult for both students
and teachers. This work has come to fill-in the gap as regards the phonetics
and phonology of the langusge.

6.3 Recommendations for Further Research

It is a bit puzzling that in spite of the fact tP at Igala language does not
anesr i s / in rler sourla sysrern, rr~ostrlarlve speaKers of the language keep using
IS/ for fJl in pronouncing English words e.g. Shirt 1ss:tIfor lJxtlsheet /sit/ for /lit/
shine Isainf forllainl.Even the most surprising is the fact that they (Igala native
speakers) equally use Jsl for Itfl in English despite the fact that lgala has iql.
 i 07

Examples are:

chain /sea/ for /gea/

choke lsanW for ltJaokl

child /saildl for /tfaild/

It might be interesting to investigate the how and why of s ~ i c h

occurrences or events.

Another issue worth ir~vestigatingis the seemingly occurrence of floating

t lgala language Mere.

tone especially in the lbaji d i ~ l e c of
ta # mi -1. [tarnil 'shoot me'

- shoot me

kpa # w2 4 [kpawG] 'kill us'

kill US

tii # w2 [rawa] 'pay us'

Pay US

There has been a hot debate among some sections of the lgala

community whether cortain dialects of lgala like lbaji, Akpanya and Ogwuywu

are actually dialects of lgala @rdistinct languages on their own. This argur~ant

is borne out of the low level of intelligibility that exist between them (those

dialects) and the standard lgsla I: mguage. A comparative dialectological s t ~ d y

could be put in place to clear the doubt.

As it stands now, one cannot claim exhaustive treatment of a subject

ma@ in a mar-unwritten language like lgala where one scarcely findings
analytical works on virtually all the aspect of the language. It is hoped that
further intensive research in this direction and other areas, especially as

recommended above, will ada !o our knowledge of the phonetics and phonology

of Igala.
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 APPENDIX B
Names and Addresses of lniormants

Ankpa
Name: lsah ldakwo
Age: 35 years
Sex: Male
Marital Status: Single
Occupation: Civil Servant
Address: Independent.National Electoral commission, Ankpa
Other languages spcrken: English, Hausa and ldoma

Akpanya
Name: W. S.Onogwu
Age: 42 years
Sex: Male
Marital Ststus: Married
Occupation: Public Servant (Lecturer)
Address: Kogi State College of education, Ankpa
Other languages spcken: English and lgbo

3. Dekina
Name: Esther Ejura Akw
Age: 32 years
Sex: Female
Marital Status: Married
Occupation: Business
Address: Iji-Anyigba
Other languages spoken: English, Yoruba and Hausa

4. ldah
Name: Margaret Acherna
Age: 28 years
Sex: Female
Marital Status: Single
- .- -. , .
uccupatron: stuaent
Address: Ofukolo-ldah
Other languages spokzn: English

lbaji
Name: John On~ojah
Age: 53 years
Sex: Male
Marital Status: Married
Occupation: Business
Address: Uruh-Odeke-!baji
Other languages spoken: English and lgbo

QWwwu
Name: Ocheni Agada
Age: 45 years
Sex: Male
Marital Status: Widower
Occupation: Farming
Address: Ofante 0 ywuqwu
Other languages spoken: English, lgbo and Idoma
 118

APPENDIX C

IBADAN WORD LIST OF 400 BASIC ITEMS

Trial (English) Version
.
n:. ...
Investigator's name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Investigator's address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
........................................................
Informant's name; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Informant's age (or approximate age) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : . . . . . . . . . .
Informant's language (A) Official name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(0) Name used by speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
What other languages does the informant speak? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
........................................................
lnfcrrmant's home town or village; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
How long has informar,! lived in home town or village? . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Where is this town? (a) List the nearest larger towns and stzte
their distance and direction: . . . . . . . . . . . .
........................................
(b) Name the local Govt. Authority; . . . . . . . . . . . .
(c) Name the District or Country: . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(d! Name the division: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(e) Name the Province . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(f) Name RegionIState . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(g) Name the Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Name by which speakers of language are known:
(A) Officially . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I[uj .....................
R \ rdmnnn thamcnl\rclc.
w l d w l 13t~ I L I I I ~ U I V G ~ .

(11) Does the language have a written form? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(12) If it doesn't name the language whose spelling is taken as the basis for
the spelling of the words in the list, (e.g. English, Hausa).

What other towns (or Districts Divisions, etc.) Speak the same languages
as the one under investigation.
head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
-Nose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mouth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tongue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
 Chin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Beard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Neck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Breast(fema1e) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Belty (external) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stomach (internal) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Navel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Arm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nail (finger or toe) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Buttocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Penis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vagina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thigh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Leg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.Knee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Skin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + . . . . . . . . . .
Blood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Saliva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Urine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Faces . . . :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Souplsaucelstew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . - .
Meat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fish ........................................
Oil , .......................................
Sa!t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
WinelBeer (general word) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Palmwine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Yam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cassava . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Guineacorn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Millet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Maize . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Beans .......................~I...........................
(51) Pepper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(52) Okro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
lG?\ Plantsin
Banana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Orange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Groundnut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kolanut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tobacco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cotton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Oilpalm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Grass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Leaf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bark (of tree) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Root ....................................................
Thorn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Firewood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Charcoal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Smoke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Waterpot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cookingpot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Calabash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Grindingstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mortar . : . . . . . . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Knife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Axe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Matchet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spear(war) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.................
 (230) Thirteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(231) Fourteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(232) Fifteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(233) Sixteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(234) Seventeen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(235) Eighteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(236) Nineteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(237) Twenty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(238) Twenty-one . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(239) Twenty-two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(240) Thirty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(241) Fofiy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(242) Fifty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(243) Sixty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(244) Seventy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(245) Eighty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(246) Ninety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(247) Hundred . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. (248) Twohundred . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(249) Fourhundred . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(250) Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(251) White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(252) Red . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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(264) Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(265) Good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(266) Bad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(267) Sweet(tasty) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(268) Heavy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(269) Full . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(270) Strong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(271) Hard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(272) Eat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(273) Drink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(274) Swallow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(275) Bite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(276) Lick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(277) Paste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(278)-Spilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(279) Vomit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(280) Urinate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(281) Defecate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(282) Givebirth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(283) Die . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(284) Stand(+) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(285) Sit(down) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(286) Kneel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(207) Lie(down) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(288) Sleep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(289) Dream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(290) Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(291) Come . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(292) Return(intro) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(293) Arrive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(294) Enter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(295) Climb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(296) Descend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(297) Fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(298) Walk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(299) Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(300) Jump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(301) Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(302) Pass(by) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(303) Turn round (intr.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(304) Follow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(305) See . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(306) Hear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(307) Touch(with hand) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(308) Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(309) Remember . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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(315) Sing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(316) Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(317) Play(games) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(318) Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(319) Great (salute) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(320) Abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(321) Fight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(322) Call(summon) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(323) Send (someone to do something) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(324) Say (direct speech) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .
(325) Ask(question) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(326) Reply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(327) Ask(request) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(328) Refuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(329) Like . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(330) Want(desire) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(331) Lookfor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(332) Lose (something) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(333) Get (obtain) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(334) Gather (thing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(335) Steal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(336) Take(onething) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(337) Carry(load) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(338) Show(something) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(339) Give . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(340) Sell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(341) Choose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(342) Buy ....:................................................
(343) ..Pay (for something) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(344) Count . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(345) Divide(share out) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(346) Finish (intr.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(347) Catch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(348) Shoot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(349) Kill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(350) Skin(flay) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(351) Cook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(352) Fry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(353) Roast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(354) Pound(in mortar) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(355) Grind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(356) Pour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(357) Throw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(358) Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(359) Burn(tr.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(360) Extinguish(tr.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(361) Plait(hair) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
 (362) Weave(cloth) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(363) Spin (thread) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(364) Sew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(365) Put on (clothes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(366).Take off (clothes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(367) Wash(things) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(368) VVash(body) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(369) Wring (clothes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(370) Pull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(371) Push . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(372) Beatlperson) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(373) Beat(drum) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(374) Break (pot, calabash) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(375) Break (a stick) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. (376) Tear(tr.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(377) Spilt(tr.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(378) Pierce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(379) Hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(380) Dig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(381) Sow (seeds in holes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(382) Plant (tubers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(383) Bury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(384) Build (house) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .,' .
(385) Mould(pot) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(386) Carve(wood) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(387),Make . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(388) Hold (in hand) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(389) Tie(rope) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(390) Untie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(391) Cover(apot) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(392) Open(door) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(393) Close . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(394) (Be) rotten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(395) Stink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(396) Swell (intr.) (Of boil) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(397) Blow [with mouth) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
:
(398) ~ l o w i o f w i n d ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(399) Surpass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(400) n..,*ll
UWGII ...................................................