Abstract
This paper aims to describe the phonological processes of glottal
/ʔ/ deletion in Ut-ma’in, a
northwest Kainji language, under the Niger-Congo phylum. The paper employs an ethnographic
method for data collection and adopts a distinctive features theory postulated
by Chomsky and Halle (1968) in analyzing the glottal deletion in the language. The
paper identifies, describes, and analyses glottal /ʔ/ deletion in the language, and the rules governing the process.
The paper claims that the glottal stop
/ʔ/ is deleted when it occurs at
a word-final position; at syllable-final position, followed by another syllable
and at a morpheme boundary in the language in a rapid speech. This claim is
backed with several instances of words, compound words and verbal phrases. The
paper discovers that the phonological process of deletion is very common in the
language, and it plays a vital role in making speech easy. It also discovers
that such a process results in a change of syllable structure another process
of vowel lengthening and a change of noun class in the language.
Keywords: Ut-ma’in, phonology, deletion, glottal, Kainji, Niger-Congo, rules
DOI: www.doi.org/10.36349/tjllc.2024.v03i01.005
author/Almustapha Wali Sambo
journal/Tasambo JLLC | 15 February 2024 | Article 05
