Variations of [ɾ] in Dagbani female names
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2019-11-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SOUTHERN AFRICAN LINGUISTICS AND APPLIED LANGUAGE STUDIES
Abstract
The article examines the sociolinguistic variations of the alveolar tap [ɾ] in Dagbani female
names, a Gur language spoken in the northern part of Ghana. It focuses on how the language is
losing the pronunciation of the alveolar lateral /l/ in some female names through sound substitution.
The sound [ɾ] does not occur in word-initial position in Dagbani, but it is currently prominent in the
pronunciation of some Dagbani female names. The article shows that the pronunciation of the
alveolar tap [ɾ] in Dagbani speech communities provides the complexity of linguistic variation and
language change. It also reveals that while the alveolar lateral /l/ variety is the prestigious form in
Dagbani, the alveolar tap [ɾ] variety is spreading due to the Arabic education in the area. The article
supports the Labovian paradigm and presents quantitative analysis of the data. The article suggests
that the alveolar tap [ɾ] is frequent in the speech of the younger generation, while the alveolar lateral
/l/ is frequent in the speech of the older generation
Description
Research Article
Keywords
sociolinguistic, Ghana, Dagbani female names, linguistic variables
Citation
Abdul-Razak Inusah, Evershed Kwasi Amuzu & George Akanlig Pare (2019) Variations of [ɾ] in Dagbani female names, Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 37:3, 191-209, DOI: 10.2989/16073614.2019.1671878