Aspects of the Olutura Syllable System

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the syllable structure types that occur in Olutura and their constitution. The study identifies the syllable structures of Olutura by showing the sound segments that constitute each of them. The data was analyzed using Generative CV Phonology which enabled us to identify the syllable structures of Olutura by showing the sound segments that constitute each of them. A purposive sampling technique was used to identify native Olutura speakers and to categorize the data into the required categories for analysis. Examples of words in which these sound segments occur are provided in order to show their positions in the syllable structures of Olutura. From the data analysis, Olutura has a total of seven syllable structures: V, VV, CV, CVV, CCV, CGV and GGV. This language variety has an open syllable structure because it does not allow codas. The VV and GGV syllable structures are marked because of their sparse occurrence in the overall phonological system of the language.