Vowel Variations in Obolo language

Abstract

This paper provides a descriptive analysis of the vowel variations that exist in four dialects of Obolo, a Lower Cross language belonging to the Benue-Congo sub-phylum, namely Ataba, Ngo, Ilotombi, and Agwut-Obolo. Data elicitation was carried out with four competent native speakers using the Ibadan four hundred wordlist. The findings revealed that although the six vowel phonemes in the language /i e a ɔ o u/ occur in all positions of the word, /i/ and /u/ have a very high distribution word-initially, /ɔ/ and /o/ are predominant in the wordmedial position, /a/ is mostly found in word-medial and word-final positions, while /e/ has free distribution across the three word positions. Furthermore, it was observed that vowel variation in the dialects was based on the part of the tongue, involved only four vowels /e a ɔ o/, and occurred in word-initial and medial positions. The alternations occurred between /a/ and /ɔ/ in word-initial and medial positions, between /a/ and /o/, and /e/ and /o/ in word-initial position. Factors conditioning vowel variation included labial assimilation and vowel harmony based on tongue backness. Contrary to earlier works that state that Obolo does not operate vowel harmony, the vowel variations discussed in this work provide evidence for a vowel harmony that is based on tongue backness and distinguishes between front and back vowels.