Liaison in Igbo phonology

Maureen Azuka Ezeani

Abstract


Liaison is a phonological process that deals with the insertion of a sound in between two words to serve as a connecting link between them. This paper is an investigation into the operation of liaison in Igbo with particular reference to the dialects spoken around Omambala region of Anambra State. A discussion on the nature and operation of the named phenomenon in the Igbo language is made, the true behavior reviewed and its operation in between words also ascertained. This is achieved through close examination of the formal and informal speech patterns of the native speakers of the communities within the region adopting the perceptual approach. The study found out that liaison in Igbo exists in three forms namely: when a linking lateral/l/ is inserted in between two nouns, when a vowel that ends the first word in a word boundary is lengthened and when a lateral is inserted across word boundaries, though the speeches where the linking lateral [l] is observed are rare in the language, and then the /m/- liaison. Based on the findings, it is recommended that further study on the operation of liaison be carried out to enable discovery of other possible manifestations of this phonological phenomenon in Igbo especially in those variants of the language that have not yet been explored.

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References


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