A Phonological Study of the Gwari Lects (Summer Institute of Linguistics Language Data Africa Series, No 24)

A phonological study of the four Gwari lects (Nigeria): Northern and Southern Gbagyi, and Northern and Southern Gbari.

By making an analysis of each dialect, the author seeks greater understanding of the phonology of Gwari as a whole. Since palatalization, labialization, and nasalization are characteristic of Gwari, particular attention is given to these processes. Traditional segmental phonology is the theoretical framework of this study.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments

1. Introduction
   • 1.1 Gwari
     • 1.1.1 The people
     • 1.1.2 The language
   • 1.2 Background Information
     • 1.2.1 Purpose and methodology
     • 1.2.2 Linguistic theory
   • 1.3 Findings
2. Phonetic Description
   • 2.1 Consonants
   • 2.2 Vowels
   • 2.3 Tones
3. Phonological Description
   • 3.1 The phonology of Gwari as a whole
     • 3.1.1 The syllable structure of Gwari
     • 3.1.2 Consonants
     • 3.1.3 Vowels
   • 3.2 Southern Gbari (GIR)
     • 3.2.1 Phonetics
     • 3.2.2 Evidence of contrast
     • 3.2.3 Evidence of syllable structure
     • 3.2.4 Rules
     • 3.2.5 Phoneme chart of Southern Gbari
   • 3.3 Northern Gbari (GBB)
     • 3.3.1 Phonetic chart of Northern Gbari
     • 3.3.2 Evidence of contrast
     • 3.3.3 Evidence of syllable structure
     • 3.3.4 Rules
     • 3.3.5 Phoneme chart of Northern Gbari
   • 3.4 Southern Gbagyi (ARA)
     • 3.4.1 Phonetic chart of Southern Gbagyi
     • 3.4.2 Evidence of contrast
     • 3.4.3 Evidence of syllable structure
     • 3.4.4 Rules
     • 3.4.5 Phoneme chart of Southern Gbagyi
   • 3.5 Norther Gbagyi (PAP)
     • 3.5.1 Phonetic chart of Northern Gbagyi
     • 3.5.2 Evidence of contrast
     • 3.5.3 Evidence of syllable structure
     • 3.5.4 Rules
     • 3.5.5 Phoneme chart of Northern Gbagyi
4. Glides
   • 4.1 The palatal glide
     • 4.1.1 The phonetic realization of the palatal glide
     • 4.1.2 The distribution of the palatal glide
     • 4.1.3 The effect of the palatal glide upon vowels
   • 4.2 The labial velar glide
     • 4.2.1 The phonetic realization of the labial velar glide
     • 4.2.2 The distribution of the labial velar glide
     • 4.2.3 The effect of the labial velar glide upon vowels
5. Nasality
   • 5.1 Labial contrasts
     • 5.1.1 The nasal consonants
     • 5.1.2 The post-nasalized consonants
     • 5.1.3 The nasal(ized) vowels
   • 5.2 Alveolar contrasts
     • 5.2.1 Nasality and consonants
     • 5.2.2 Nasality and vowels
   • 5.3 Velar and labial-velar contrasts
6. Unity of Gwari - Gbagyi and Gbari
   • 6.1 Sociological unity
   • 6.2 Phonological unity - A recommendation for standardization
   • 6.3 On lexical counts and intelligibility
   • 6.4 Conclusion

References