A systemized explanation for vowel phoneme change in the inadmissible phonological structure /VV/ in Zulu
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32690/56.1Keywords:
vowel changes in the inadmissible phonological structure /VV/ in Zulu, vowel coalescence, vowel deletion, semi-vowel insertion, vowel juxtaposing, vowel hiatus in ZuluAbstract
This article offers a systematic and comprehensive account of vowel changes that take place in the inadmissible phonological sequence /VV/ within a word in Zulu. Instead of discussing vowel changes in terms of vowel coalescence, vowel elision and glide insertion (as is conventionally done) this approach discusses the vowel changes with regard to the position of the two juxtaposed vowel phonemes on the vowel chart. The resultant form is predictable in terms of five basic combinatory possibilities, namely that the first vowel is a higher vowel than the second; the first vowel is a lower vowel than the second; the first vowel is a front vowel while the second is a back vowel; the first vowel is a back vowel while the second is a front vowel or the two vowels in the inadmissible sequence /VV/ are identical vowels. This article furthermore demonstrates that palatalisation is triggered by a semi-vowel generated by the inadmissible phonological structure /VV/ in the case of diminutives and locatives derived from nouns containing a bilabial or alveolar consonant in the final syllable.
References
Harford, C. 1997. “When two vowels go walking: Vowel coalescence in Shona”. Zambezia 34(1). 69-85.
Herbert, R.K. 1977. “Morphological palatalisation in Southern Bantu: A reply to segment al fusion”. Studies in African Lingusitics 8(2).143-171.
Kadenge, M. 2010. “Some segmental phonological processes involving vowels in Namyba: A preliminary descriptive account”. The Journal of Pan African Studies 3(6). 239-252.
Mudzinga, C. & M. Kadenge. 2013. “An analysis of the ghost augment in chiShona”.
South African Journal of African Languages 33(1). 87-93.
Mudzinga, C. & M. Kadenge. 2014. “Coalescence as a hiatus resolution strategy in chiKaranga – a dialect of chiShona”. South African Journal of African Languages 34(2). 127-136.
Mudzinga, C. & M. Kadenge. 2011. “Comparing hiatus resolution in Karanga and Nambya: An Optimality Theoretical account”. Nordic Journal of African Studies 20(3). 203-240.
Posthumus, L.C. 1978. “‘n Gesistematiseerde verantwoording vir vokaalassimilasie in Zulu”. Limi 6(1, 2). 74-81.
Sibanda, G. 2011. “Ghost segments in Nguni”. Selected Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference on African Linguistics: African Languages and Linguistics Today, ed. by
E.G. Bokamba, R.K. Shosted & B.T. Ayalew. Somerville: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. 130-145.
Sibanda, G. 2009. “Vowel processes in Nguni: Resolving the problem of unacceptable VV sequences”. Selected Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, ed. by M. Matondo, F. Mc Laughlin & E. Potsdam. Somerville: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. 38-55.
Simango, S.R. & M. Kadenge. 2014. “Vowel hiatus resolution in ciNsenga: An Optimality Theory analysis”. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 32(1). 79-96.
Van der Spuy, A. 2014. “Bilabial palatalization in Zulu: A morphologically conditioned phenomenon”. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus 44. 71-87.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Studies in African Languages and Cultures

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The SALC is a BOAI-compliant open access journal. The journal content is freely available on the journal website. All journal content appears on the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of the first publication, the work is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Authors are required to sign and send copies of Article Publishing Agreement and Fields of Exploitation statement prior to article's publication.