A DESCRIPTION OF CONSONANT DELETION IN STANDARD YORUBA

Abstract

This study is a descriptive analysis of consonant deletion at the synchronic level in the standard Yoruba language. The study investigates those consonants that usually undergo deletion, and the grammatical environments and conditions that permit their deletion. Data were gathered from Yoruba native speakers who are proficient in the use of the standard form of the language. Resource persons or language helpers were sourced from Ọ̀yọ́, Ọ̀fà, Ìbàdàn, Iléṣà and Adó Ekiti. These are major towns in Yoruba land where speakers of the standard dialect live in their thousands. The study is descriptive in orientation; thus, data are presented, analyzed and discussed. The study reveals that consonant deletion is not restricted to specific consonants, as almost all the consonants in the language can be deleted in specific environments. Any consonant, for instance, be it plosive, fricative, approximant, trill and others, undergoes deletion in nouns that are derived through reduplication and vowel affixation. There are other constructions that also permit deletion of some consonants. The study further reveals that the process of consonant deletion appears not absolutely obligatory in a number of environments where it operates. It is further revealed that vowel assimilation invariably applies obligatorily in almost all cases where consonant deletion operates. The study gives a better understanding of consonant deletion in the Yoruba language by showing that the process is neither robust nor systematic in the language.