Aspects of Gurenɛ Phonology
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Date
2018-03
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University Of Ghana
Abstract
The thesis provides a detailed description of aspects of the phonology of Gurenε, a Gur language
under the language family of Niger-Congo and a dialect of Farefari spoken in the Upper East
Region of Ghana. The aspects of Gurenε phonology discussed in this thesis are the phonemic
system, the syllable, tone, harmony and other phonotactic processes. The analyses were pursued
within linear and non-linear phonology frameworks. Within the Linear Phonology approach, the
Distinctive Features Theory was used to describe the sound system of Gurenε. While within the
Non-Linear Phonology framework, the Moraic Theory was used to account for the syllable
structure and the Autosegmental phonology was employed to analyse tonal and segmental processes
at the different points of the Gurenε syllable and word. The findings show that Gurenε has twentyfive
consonants consisting of twenty-one simple consonants, four complex consonants, which
include a pre-nasal labial velar sound. Gurenε also has sixteen distinct vowels and one derived
vowel, which is the schwa. These vowels comprise nine oral vowels and seven nasal vowels. All the
nine oral vowels can be nasalized. Isolated vowel syllables have also been observed in Gurenε. The
CV and CVC are the basic or core syllable types, while the mora is the tone-bearing unit in Gurenε.
It has also been established that Gurenε has three light and three heavy syllable types. It is observed
that harmony is widespread in Gurenε. Thus, the types of harmony that occur in Gurenε include
vowel harmony, vowel-consonant harmony, and nasal harmony. It has also been established that
there are three level tones (low, mid and high) and two contour tones (falling and rising) in Gurenε.
The verb has a default low tone while the tone of the noun varies depending on the context in which
it occurs (a simple word, compound or phrase). Tonal processes in Gurenε include downdrift downstep, tone shift, tone preservation and tone spreading or assimilation. Data for this research
come from two sources: primary data and secondary data. The primary data consist of recordings of
utterances of native speakers of the language. The secondary source of data includes the Gurenε English dictionary and other Gurenε literature. In addition, the researcher’s intuition as a native
speaker of the language and insights from key native speaker linguists of the language has been
very useful.
Description
PhD.
Keywords
Gurenɛ Phonology