Syllable Structure and Prosodic Word Boundaries in Ósósọ̀
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60787/jolan.vol6no1.482Keywords:
Syllable structure, Prosodic Word, Glide Formation, Vowel Elision, Ósósọ̀, EdoidAbstract
This paper investigates the syllable structure and Prosodic Word (PWd) boundaries of Ósósọ̀, an understudied North-Central Edoid language, spoken in Edo State, Nigeria. Drawing on Syllable Theory, Moraic Theory, and Prosodic Hierarchy Theory, the study establishes a clear distinction between the restrictive phonemic syllable inventory and its richer phonetic realizations. Phonemically, Ósósọ̀ permits only open syllables of the V and CV type, with CV as the canonical free template and monomoraic V syllables operate exclusively as bound prefixes. Phonetically, surface CCV clusters arise through vowel elision (notably before /r/) and glide formation. These productive, boundary-sensitive repair strategies resolve vocalic hiatus primarily at the edges of the Prosodic Word (PWd). The Prosodic Word itself is subject to size restrictions regulating the minimal free lexical PWd as a single CV syllable, while the maximal monomorphemic PWd is trisyllabic (V. CV.CV or CV.CV.CV). Larger forms result from compounding or reduplication. This work provides the first systematic account of syllable-PWd boundary interactions in Ósósọ̀, offering fresh data for Edoid phonology and West African prosodic typology.
References
Aziza, R. (1997). Urhobo Tone System. PhD.Thesis. Department of Linguistics. Univeraity of Ibadan. xviii - 360.
Blevins, J. (1995). The syllable in phonological theory. In J. Goldsmith (Ed.), The handbook of phonological theory (pp. 206–244). Oxford: Blackwell.
Casali, R. F. (1996). Resolving hiatus (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles).
Casali, R. F. (1997). Vowel Elision in Hiatus Contexts: Which Vowel Goes? Language, 73(3), 493-533. https://doi.org/10.2307/415882
Casali, R. F. (2011). Hiatus resolution. In M. van Oostendorp, C. Ewen, E. Hume, & K. Rice (Eds.), The Blackwell companion to phonology (pp. 1434–1460). Wiley-Blackwell.
Clements, G. N., & Keyser, S. J. (1983). CV phonology: A generative theory of the syllable. MIT Press.
Donwa-Ifode, S. (1982). The Phonology of Isoko. . PhD. Thesis. Department of Linguistics. University of Ibadan. xvi+205.
Eberhard, D. M., Simons, G. F., & Fennig, C. D. (Eds.). (2026). Ósósọ̀. Ethnologue: Languages of the world (27th ed., online version). SIL International.
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/oso/
Egbokhare, F. (1990). Phonology of Emai. PhD.Thesis. Department of Linguistics. Univeraity of Ibadan. xviii+405.
Elugbe, B. O. (1989). Comparative Edoid: Phonology and lexicon. University of Port Harcourt Press.
Goldsmith, J. (1990). Autosegmental and metrical phonology. Oxford: Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.8.258
Gordon, M. (2006). Syllable Weight: Phonetics, Phonology, Typology (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203944028
Hayes, B. (1989). Compensatory lengthening in moraic phonology. Linguistic Inquiry, 20(2), 253–306.
Hyman, L. M. (1985). A theory of phonological weight. Dordrecht: Foris.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110854794
Itô, J. (1989). A prosodic theory of epenthesis. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, 7(2), 217–259. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138074
Jakobson, R. (1962). Selected writings I: Phonological studies. Mouton.
Kahn, D. (1976). Syllable-based generalizations in English phonology (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Indiana University Linguistics Club.
Legbeti, A.T. (2022). Documentation of Ósósọ̀ language and Ovbiko initiation rite. Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR). https://elararchive.org/dk0676
Legbeti, A.T. (2024): Ósósọ̀ Orthography: A Proposal. Journal of West African Studies, 51 (1) 91-113 ,https://journalofwestafricanlanguages.org/downloads/summary/148-volume-51-number-1/816-ososo-orthography-a-proposal
Lewis, D. (2013). North Edoid Relations and Roots. PhD.Thesis. Department of Linguistics. Univeraity of Ibadan. xvi + 327.
Maddieson, I. (1984). Patterns of sounds. Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511753459
Nespor, M., & Vogel, I. (1986). Prosodic phonology. Dordrecht:Foris Publications. xiv + 327 Phonology. 1988;5(1):161-168.doi:10.1017/S0952675700002219
Pulleyblank, D. (1988). Vocalic underspecification in Yoruba. Linguistic Inquiry, 19(2), 233–270.
Selkirk, E. (2011). The syntax-phonology interface. In J. Goldsmith, J. Riggle & A. C. L. Yu (Eds.), The handbook of phonological theory (2nd ed., pp. 435–484). Wiley-Blackwell.
Selkirk, E. O. (1982). The syllable. In H. van der Hulst & N. Smith (Eds.), The structure of phonological representations (Part II) (pp. 337–383). Foris Publications.
Zec, D. (2007). The syllable. In P. de Lacy (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of phonology (pp. 161–194). Cambridge University Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of The Linguistic Association of Nigeria
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
