VOWEL ELISION IN EBIRA

BY

UMAR OLAYINKA ADEDEJI

MATRIC NO: 20/202LIN/145

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DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND AFRICAN LANGUAGES,

FACULTY OF ARTS,

UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA.

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 NOVEMBER, 2024.

VOWEL ELISION IN EBIRA

BY

UMAR OLAYINKA ADEDEJI

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 MATRIC NO: 20/202LIN/145

A FINAL YEAR PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

LINGUISTICS & AFRICAN LANGUAGES, FACULTY OF ARTS,
UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIRMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF ARTS (B. A.
Hons) DEGREE IN LINGUISTICS.

NOVEMBER, 2024.

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 CERTIFICATION

This Final Year Project Titled Vowel Elision in Ebira, (Matric No:
20/202LIN/145), meet the requirement for the award of Bachelor of Arts (B.A.
Hons) in Linguistics and African Languages, Faculty of Arts, University of
Abuja, Nigeria.

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 Mr. Oluseye Adegboye

Project Supervisor
___________
Date

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 Dr Zuwaira Mahe

Head of Department
___________
Date

External Examiner ___________ Date

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 DEDICATION

I dedicate this work to Almighty Allah and my parents for the continuous love
and unwavering support they showed through my undergraduate journey.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My profound appreciation goes to almighty Allah whose mercy and favour has
followed me throughout this academic research and his immense protection
that as always been unending.

I also like to thank a father-like supervisor, Mr. Oluseye Adegboye, for his
guidance and support during this endeavor. I appreciate your advice and
patience. Additionally, I am appreciative of Dr. Zuwaira Mahe, Head of the

8
 Department of Linguistics and African Languages, for her leadership and
direction in ensuring the best possible outcomes for this esteemed department.
In addition, I am appreciative of my other lecturers, Prof. O.N. Maduka-
Durunze, whose dedication, diligence and intellect served an example to
emulate, Prof. Amos Dlibugunaya, Prof. Mufutau Tijani, Dr. Mohammed
Musa Inuwa, Prof. Abdulmalik Nuhu, Prof. G.S. Omachonu, Dr. Ifunanya
Cecilia Daniels, and Mrs. Khadijah Abdulrahman. I am so grateful to each
and every one of you for your support and guidance throughout my time in
the department. May the Lord continue to keep an eye on you and your loved
ones. For their unwavering support and encouragement, which have been a
source of strength and inspiration throughout my academic journey.

Family is the one that hold us together, I am grateful for the kind of family I
found myself, from my late father whose proverbial sayings and discipline has
put us on front foot to become who we are today, Late Mr. Arowona
Surajudee

N and my mother, Mrs Adedeji Balikis whose continuous prayer and guidance
has been resourceful to complete this herculean mission. My sponsor and
brother, who took the hurdle to carter for my need right from beginning, I am
forever grateful Mr. Adedeji Muritala Tunde, and my siblings, Mrs Adedeji
Suhaibat, Adedeji Hadizah, Adedeji Taiwo and Kehinde. I must also commend
my extended family who come through financially Aunty Arionla, Uncle Kola,
Olarewaju Meriam and my maternal grandparent, may almighty enrich your
pocket abundantly.

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A friend in need Is a friend indeed, I must appreciate the effort of my friends
from those we exchange academic material to those whose urgent financial
help was useful. Late, Mr. Ayodeji, a brother taken away by cold hand of
death, Apalara Abdulsalam, Olaniyi Okiki- mark, Olubaju Iranlowo,
Opadara Deborah, Nwasi Miriam Chisom, Musa Hamdalah, Abdulganiy
Habeebullah, Abidemi Ridwan, Abdulwasiu Abdulsamad, Salman Saheed,
Agwunenu Chidinma Victory and many others.

Friends who put food on your table are family, my utmost appreciate goes to
my best friend, Oseni Rokeeb Tunde, Aminullah Mustapha, Miftaudeen Idris
(Abu_laylah), Teslim Opeyemi (Blvckcrypt), Muhali Babatunde (Fawzan),
Abdulbasheet, Ayyub and many other, I am grateful for your support.

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 ABSTRACT

This research investigated vowel elision in Ebira language, with the aim to
analysis the contexts and patterns which elision takes in Ebira. Vowel elision
refers to when a vowel is dropped in particular phonological environments.
The study began with a general introduction to the study in order to provide
relevant information about the language. The study adopted a descriptive and
qualitative designed approach to provide and explain the phonological
processes of elision in Ebira. A structured interview and oral recordings was
utilized as instruments of the study. The information demonstrated which is
typical in tonal languages reveals that vowel elision in Ebira takes place
frequently to prevent vowel clashes or to make speaking easier and
comfortable. It was revealed that certain elision rules in Ebira exist such as
the tendency for vowels to elide in unstressed syllables or in proximity to
identical vowels. One of the study’s findings is a case of vowel replacement,
when a word’s vowel sound is entirely omitted and substituted with the
consonant sound /j/, which at first does not occur in the word but
unexpectedly appears during speech.

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12
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page - - - - - - - - - i

Certification - - - - - - - - - ii

Dedication - - - - - - - - - iii

Acknowledgements - - - - - - - - iv

Abstract - - - - - - - - - v

Table of contents - - - - - - - - vi

CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study - - - - - - - 1

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1.2 Statement of the Problem - - - - - - 3

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the study - - - - - - 4

1.4 Research Questions - - - - - - - -

4

1.5 Scope of the Study - - - - - - - - 5

1.6 Significance of the Study - - - - - - - 5

1.7. Basic Linguistic Information of Ikale and Owo - - -

6

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.0 Preamble - - - - - - - - 8

2.1 Conceptual Explication - - - - - - - 8

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 2.1.1 Phonology - - - - - - - - 9

2.1.3 Phonological Process - - - - - - 12

2.1.5 Vowel Elision - - - - - - - 18

2.2 Theoretical Framework - - - - - - - 22

2.3 Empirical Review - - - - - - - - 24

2.4 Summary - - - - - - - - 24

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction - - - - - - - - - 28

3.1 Area of Study - - - - - - - - - 28

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3.2 Research Design - - - - - - - - 28

3.3 Population and Sampling Techniques - - - - 29

3.4 Instrumentation and Source of Data - - - - - 29

3.5 Method of Data Collection- - - - - - - 30

3.6 Method of Data Analysis - - - - - - - 30

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

4.0 Preamble - - - - - - - 32

4.1 Vowel Elision in Phonological Contexts - - - -

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4.2 Vowel Elision in Morphological Processes - - - - 36

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4.3 Tonal Considerations in Vowel Elision - - - - 40

4.4 Vowel Replacement (consonant intrusion) - - - 42

4.6 Discussions and Findings - - - - - - 48

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Summary - - - - - - - - - 50

5.2 Conclusions - - - - - - - - - 51

REFERENCES - - - - - - - - - 53

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18
 CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

This research examines the vowel elision in Ebira language, which has to do with
an assessment on the phonological changes which vowels undergo in the language.

Vowel elision, the process where the vowels are omitted in spoken language, is a
common phonological phenomenon observed across various languages and dialect
(James, 2002). This linguistics process plays a crucial role in the development of
languages, influencing pronunciation patterns, word stress, and even the
grammatical structure of the sentence. This long essay essentially determines to
focus on vowel elision in Ebira language to bring to limelight the changes that has
occur overtime in this language pronunciation, the reason and phonotactics
constraint related to it vowel. According to Elugbe and Omanor (1991), vowel
elision often occurs in unstressed syllables, particularly in fast or casual speech,
and can result from historical language change, social influences, or the natural
tendency toward linguistics knowledge. This study aims to explore the patterns,
causes, and effect of vowel elision in Ebira language, examining its phonological
implications. By analyzing the conditions under which vowel elision occurs and its
impact on communication, this research will contribute to a deeper understanding
of language processing and development.

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Ladefoged and Johnson (2014) define vowel elision as “the phenomenon where a
vowel sound is omitted or dropped from a word during speech”. This often occurs
in connected speech, particularly in fast or casual conversation, where certain
vowels are not fully articulated. Crystal (2008) sees vowel elision as the omission
of a vowel word, especially when it occurs between two consonants, as in the
reduction of ‘family to fam’ly’ or ‘camera to cam’ra’. This type of elision is
common in casual speech and is influenced by the surrounding phonetic
environment. Also, Gussenhoven and Jacob (2011) define the phenomenon as
when a vowel sound, typically unstressed, is omitted from production of a word.
This process is often seen in rapid speech and serves to streamline the articulation
of words by reducing less prominent sounds.

Having establishes all what has been said by notable authors, it is important to
compliment this lacunal for vowel elision in Ebira language to be well known, this
study shall therefore take necessary steps in recognizing elision, elision process
and the need for them to enlighten both native speaker who deem the language fit
for mother tongue and curios learner who are anxious about the reduction of vowel
in the language.

There are a lot of works which have been done on Ebira language such as the study
of Ebenezer and Oyiza (2020) analyzed the pragmeme of admonishing in Ebira
proverbs, highlighting their role in social interaction. Despite limited research on
Ebira proverbs' pragmatic functions, this study applied Jacob Mey's Pragmatic Act
Theory to examine how admonishment is embedded in proverbs used during
significant cultural events like naming, marriage, and coronation ceremonies.
Using a survey design, twenty proverbs were purposively selected and analyzed.
Findings of the study revealed that admonishing as the predominant pragmeme,
with various allopracts contributed to the values of the community. The study

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concludes that Ebira proverbs are powerful rhetorical tools, fostering social
expectations and cultural consciousness within the community; Segun (2016)
conducted a study on “Clan politics and violent conflict in Nigeria: the Ebira Tao
experience”. This paper examines clan politics and violent conflict using Ebira Tao
Nigeria as a focal point of study. Some scholars believe that cultural differences are
responsible for inter-group conflict; hence, the study investigates this position.
Instrumentalist theory of conflict was adopted as a framework and survey research
method to gather data which were content analysed. 1200 copies of questionnaire
were administered, but only 850 were retrieved and used. Findings from the study
show that violence in Ebiraland is caused partly by clan-oriented politics that
hinges on struggle for political power, clan headship and supremacy among the
various clans in Ebiraland. The study suggests among others, the need for door to
door campaigns to sensitize people towards the negative impact of violent-oriented
clan politics; Chinemerem et al. (2021) developed a machine translation system
from English to Ebira using a rule-based approach. The system aims to assist
human translators, not replace them. With the help of Ebira native speakers and
English language tutors, a comprehensive study and analysis of both languages
was conducted. The system's components, including a bilingual dictionary, were
designed and tested using PHP. The system achieved an accuracy of 81.5% in
translating English text to Ebira, evaluated using the BLEU method. This
innovation facilitates accurate translation, bridging the language gap between
English and Ebira; The study of Zahra (2022) focused on “phonological process of
vowel deletion (elision) in Ebira Tao – comparing with other languages”. The study
revealed that there is deletion of vowels, especially at word boundary and the
dialect like any other languages, borrowed some words from languages like
Yoruba, English, Hausa, etc. The study utilized a qualitative research design with
two sources of data collection – primary and secondary sources tandem with

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retrospective evidence, extracting the research data from native speakers through
oral interviews which were conducted using mobile handset. 24 respondents (14
female; 10 males) were interviewed. Among the findings revealed in the study is
the fact that the phonological form of Ebira Tao does not accommodate cluster of
consonants regardless of the environment of occurrence. Therefore, borrowed word
that exhibit this feature (consonant cluster) undergo phonological reform, whose
process is known as “insertion”, that comes to play by inserting a suitable vowel to
split this cluster apart; Lastly, Timothy and Owaseye in 2021, carried out a study
titled “Pedagogical enhancement of the Yoruba language in secondary schools in
Ebira land”, in which purpose was to determine the effect of teaching resources on
students learning outcomes in Yoruba language in secondary schools in Ebiraland
in Kogi state, Nigeria. Two secondary schools located in Ebiraland were selected
as the study sample. The total number of students involved in the study was 130
from Junior Secondary School II Yoruba classes. The experimental group
comprised 72 students while the control group comprised 58 students. Aquasi
experimental design in form of non-equivalent contro group design was adopted
for this study. The two groups were pre-tested to determine their previous
knowledge. The result of the pre-test showed that the two groups were equivalent
groups. Then the two groups were taught for three weeks. The experimental group
was exposed to the use of teaching resources while the control group was not. After
the teaching, both groups were post-tested and scored. The study revealed that
there is a positive significant difference between the learning outcomes of students
taught with the use of teaching resources and their counterparts taught without
teaching resources. Based on the findings it was recommended that teachers of
Yoruba language should painstakingly teach students with adequate and relevant
teaching resources in order to ensure that students understand abstract concepts.

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From above cited works, it can be observed that none is the same as this study
which focuses on “vowel elision in Ebira”. As a result this, this study will provide
an insight on vowel elision in Ebira language, thereby contributing to the language
documentation.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Vowel elision is a crucial aspect of Ebira phonology, but it has been neglected in
linguistic research, which has focused on more widely spoken Nigerian languages
like Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa. As a result, there is a lack of understanding of the
phonological rules governing vowel elision in Ebira, making it difficult to describe
the language's phonological processes accurately. The relationship between vowel
elision and other phonological processes, such as tone and syllable restructuring, is
also underexplored. This knowledge gap has practical implications for language
teaching and preservation, as Ebira speakers' increasing contact with other
languages, like English, risks linguistic erosion. This study aims to address these
gaps by providing a detailed analysis of vowel elision in Ebira, identifying its
governing rules, and exploring its implications for the language's phonological
system, ultimately informing effective language teaching materials and
preservation efforts.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The study aims to assess the vowel elision in Ebira language while its specific
objectives include the following:

1. To identify and describe the patterns of vowel elision in the Ebira language.
To analyze the phonological rules governing vowel elision in Ebira.
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 2. To explore the interaction between vowel elision and other phonological
processes in Ebira, such as assimilation and tone.
3. To examine the sociolinguistic factors that influence vowel elision in
different contexts of Ebira speech.
4. To contribute to the documentation and preservation of the Ebira language
by providing a detailed phonological analysis of vowel elision.

1.4 Research Questions

The study is guided by the following research questions:

1. What are the patterns of vowel elision in the Ebira language?

2. In what ways do phonological rules govern the process of vowel elision in
Ebira?
3. How does vowel elision interact with other phonological processes, such as
assimilation and tone, in Ebira?
4. To what extent the sociolinguistic factors that influence vowel elision in
different speech contexts in the Ebira language?
5. In what manners does the analysis of vowel elision contribute to the
documentation and preservation of the Ebira language?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study is significance as it addresses the core part of sound pattern in Ebira
language by focusing on sound constraints, syllabic structure and vowel elision.
The study will contribute to the enhancement of Ebira language and put it at the
hallmark of focus as it can generate wide reading. The significance of this work
will also serve as a living library to the speech community and native speaker can
rely on the information for reference. It will also enlighten them on dialectal

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variation in Ebira language as well as improving phonetic efficiency of the
speakers. The study will also provide insights into the general phenomenon of
vowel elision, which occurs in many languages but manifests differently depending
on the language's phonological rules. By examining how vowel elision operates in
Ebira, the study can profer a comparative perspective that can be useful for
linguists studying vowel elision in other languages, particularly those in the Niger-
Congo family.

Finally, this work will enable every student to understand better what vowel elision
and its process is, thereby giving them chance to get first hand phonological rule.
This significance shall be theoretic and practical as it serves widespread
essentiality in Linguistics.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This study will examine the vowel elision in the Ebira language. The research will
focus on identifying and describing the patterns of vowel elision, analyzing the
phonological rules that govern the process, and looks into the interaction between
vowel elision and other phonological processes in the language. The study will also
consider the sociolinguistic factors that influence vowel elision, such as speech
context, speaker variation, and language contact.

1.7 Basic Linguistics Information of Ebira

The word “Ebira” refers to the people themselves, their language and their
geographical location. Using the name of the most popular town of the land, we
may refer to them as Ebira Okene. The Ebira Okene occupy the hilly stretch of
land southwest of the Niger-Benue confluence area and share boundaries with the
Yoruba-speaking people of Akoko, Owe and Ijumu to the west; the various Akoko-
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Edo people to the south and south west; the Hausa, Nupe and Ebira groups at
Lokoja to the north; and the River Niger to the east. Among many other Ebira
groups includes; Ebira Igu in Kogi and Koton Karfi local government areas of
Kogi state; Ebira Toto and Umaisha ofNassarawa (Toto) local government area of
Nassarawa state; Ebira Mozum of Bassa local government area of Kogi state; and
Ebira Etuno of Igarra District of Ako-Edo local government area of Edo state.
Other Ebira are to be found in Abaji in the Federal Capital Territory and Agatu in
Benue state.

1.7.1 Phonology of Ebira

Just like every virtual languages in the world, Ebira has its system of sound that
includes both consonants and vowels.

1. Letters of Alphabet

This language has a total of 27 alphabets, out of which eighteen phonemes of

consonants are formed:

A b c (ch) d e ẹ g h

i ị j k m n ng ny

o ọ p r s t u ụ

v w y

2. Consonant Sound

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 Source: Blench (2012)

NB: Sounds /s, z/ are heard as [ʃ, ʒ] when before a front-close vowel in syllable-
initial position;

[l] is in free variation with /ɾ/;

Voiceless sounds /p, t, k/ can also be heard as slightly aspirated [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ]

3. Vowel Sound

Ebira shows a pattern characteristic of Niger-Congo, having a nine-vowel ± ATR

system and five-vowel systems. Some Nupe-related languages have seven vowels,
with evidence that these are disappearing (e.g. Chumbow & Ejimatswa 1987).
Ebira have nine underlying vowels, with identical expanded and non-expanded
series for all vowels except /a/.

Source: Blench (2012)

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1.7.1 Name, Location, Demographic and Ethnographic Information.

Ebira (pronounced as /eh 'be ra/; also known as Igbira, Egbura, or Okene) It is
spoken by around 2 million people in North central Nigeria (Ethnologue, 2024).
The Ebiras are the agrarian Nupoid-speaking ethno-linguistic group located in the
Central Senatorial district of Kogi State (not far from the Niger-Benue confluence)
in Nigeria. The Ebira, through oral tradition, trace their descendancy to Wukari the
current Taraba where they were a constituent part of the Kwararafa confederation.
In about 1680 AD, they (along with the Idoma and Igala) migrated out of Wukari
majorly because of a chieftaincy dispute. A common physical feature of Ebiraland
is the noticeable presence of blocks of dissected hills and the metaphoric rocks
enveloping the greater part of the land. The hills rise to a peak of 2000 ft and
probably represent the remnants of an old post of Gondowana pedi-plain (Clayton
1957). The laterite soils are derived from metaphoric rocks of greyish-buff (18
inches) and clayed pan which overlay vascular iron stone (Omorua 1959:1). There
is also the Niger literic plain forming a lower terrace below the higher plains. This
is conspicuous in Ajaokuta, Eganyi, Ebiya and part of Adavi in the north and north-
east of Ebiraland. The soil formation of the rims is mostly skeletal, consisting of

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pale brown and orange brown sands and grits. Ohiare (1985) linguistically defined
Ebira as those who speak the language or dialect called Ebira or those who
recognize themselves as one but have lost touch of the ability to speak the
language as a result of some historical development. Describing their location,
Ozigi (2004) said that Ebira are predominantly in the Niger–Benue confluence area
and scattered in locations as Okene, Okehi, Adavi and Ajaokuta. Barth did observe
the superiority of the Ebira Woven cloth compare to other regions in the Kurmi
International Market, Kano when he visited the city during the same period (Barth
1990). Ebira succumbs to the existence of God with utmost reverence. The innate
belief of the people places Him, "Ohomorihi" (Supreme Being), first before any
other thing. These claims clearly confirms in the various attributes accorded
Supreme God by the people. In most cultures and even sciences, the essence of
living and life is tied to water. Other names and attributes of Ohomorihi includes
"adayi ebeba anayin abayi" (Our father above who owns us all), "Ikoko koi koi"
(The powerful, the Omnipotent), "Ovaraka dosi" (of limitless size, the magnificent
with unimaginable magnitude, the Omnipresent), "Ochiji mokariye" (the silent
arbiter, unpredictable dispenser of justice), "Ovaraka huduma" (whose stair roars
like thunder), "Oku`za ohuru, Oku`za atito" (adorns one with gunpowder and soil
with ashes), "Ogodo godo onuva`za eme tu" (so far removed from physical touch),
"Odu ajini osi ihuo teyi" (inflict pains today and inject gains tomorrow, create
sorrow today and restore joy tomorrow); oda yoza ri odoza here (feeds you and
drains you). From these names one can understand why He is the first point of
reference in all matters- secular, spiritual or ritual.

1.7.2 Genetic Classification of Ebira Language

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According to Greenberg's classification of African languages, Ebira belongs to
the Kwa group of the Niger-Congo family, which also comprises the Nupe, Gbari
and Gade (Greenberg, 1966). But Hoffman and Bendor-Samuel in their studies of
Nigerian languages set up Ebira as a separate entity (Adive1985). Though
Greenberg tried to resolve the problem of languages of the Niger-Benue
Confluence area, recent historical research by Benneth, Stark, Blench, Williamson
and other confirm the antiquity of the human population in the region. They
contend that by 4000 B.C., the Benue-Congo proto-language from which most of
the languages spoken in this area evolved had already developed. These studies
derive Ebira language from the Nupoid group (also called Niger-Kaduna), of
languages including Nupe, Gwari and Gade. The Nupoid, according to historical
jurists took off from a protolanguage described as the Benue-Congo from which
other language groups which included the Platoid group also evolved (Benth Stark
1992, Williamson 1967).

 Adapted from Blench (2012)

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1.7.3 Language Typology

Like several Niger-Congo languages, Ebira is an agglutinative language

characterized by creating words by appending affixes to base words, each of which
has its own grammatical meaning or function. This pattern combines morphemes
which include tense, aspect, number, and/or other grammatical categories
expressions in a single word form, particularly when verbs and nouns are being
constructed.

For example, the word “ezianíréhiúwé” which is translated as ‘students’ is a word

composed of a several morphemes as in:

Ezi + aníréhi + úwé

Child school book (i.e. students)

With this sample, it is evident that Ebira is strictly an agglutinative language

by nature.

Ebira, like many other languages, is tonal in nature, which implies that different
tones can change a word's meaning. There are three tones: a low tone, mid-tone,
and a high tone. Intonation has a significant effect in the Ebira language, which
alters the meaning of a word/phrase. Below are the examples of different tones in
Ebira language:

Uhì - animal (low tone)

Uhi - shame (mid-tone)

Uhí - story (high tone).

31
The following are the basic rules guiding the Ebira as a language.

1. All words end with vowels.

2. Nouns, pronouns, and adjectives always begin with vowels.
3. Except in the case of compound words, all vowels in a word are either
dotted or un-dotted.
4. Verbs and Adverbs always begin with consonants.
(Salami, 2014)

1.7.4 Sociolinguistics Profile and Dialect Situation

The word “Ebira” refers to the people themselves, their language and their
geographical location. According to Ododo (2001), the many varieties of Ebira,
Ebira-Igu or Koto, Ebira-Etuno, Ebira-Panda, Ebira-Oje, Ebira-Tao, and Ebira-
Agatu are all members of the same language group with very minor
differences.. The Ebira people are republican by nature, outspoken and very hard
working. Farming and cloth-weaving are occupations for which the Ebiras are well
known. The paramount ruler of the people is called Ohinoyi of Ebiraland. The
Ebira cherish their traditional festivals in spite of the infiltration of some negative
tendencies.

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Preamble

This chapter attempts to provide in-depth explanation of the topic by making

reference to tangible related works of other authors which will serve as a guide to
support, add or conclude on the rule of vowel elision. It explores conceptual in
collaboration with theoretical framework that incline with vowel elision in Ebira,
provides rigid analysis of conceptual key and models.

2.1 Conceptual Explication

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This section describes element and observe-able facts, unusual rules in relation to
the topic under this study.

2.1.1 Phonology

Crystal as one of the scholars that contribute to the field of phonology sees it as “a
branch of linguistics that studies the structure and systematic patterning of sounds
in human language” (1997:23). According to him, phonology is totally different
from phonetics in that it focuses on the abstract, cognitive aspects of sound and
that phonetics provides raw material for phonology, this is to say that where
phonetics ends, phonology begins.

Chomsky and Halle (1968) define phonology as the systematic study of how
sounds and their patterns are structured within the human mind. Their work
emphasizes the importance of phonological rules, which govern the organization
and transformation of sounds in linguistic contexts. They argue that these rules are
not merely surface-level phenomena but reflect deeper mental representations that
shape how we perceive and produce speech. By exploring these mental structures,
Chomsky and Halle highlight how cognitive processes influence language,
enabling us to understand the complexities of sound patterns in human
communication and the underlying principles that drive phonetic variation.

According to the definition of Jones (1950), “phonology encompasses the

examination of speech sounds' functional roles, patterns, and structural
arrangements within a language”. Phonology as a result of this, investigates how
sounds convey meaning, distinguishing between distinct words or grammatical
forms. It also assesses sound distribution, patterns, and combinations, including
syllable structure and phoneme sequences. More of the exploration of phonology is
sound changes, such as assimilation or deletion, and how sounds interact with

34
other linguistic components like morphology and syntax (Fries 1970). With the
knowledge of phonology, linguists identify the sound system of a language, and try
to understand how sounds convey meaning and contribute to linguistic
communication.

A language's phonological system encompasses various elements, including the

inventory of phonemes (distinctive sounds) that a language uses, the rules for how
these sounds are distributed within words, and how they can be altered based on
their context. Phonology is also concerned with prosody, the features that go
beyond individual sounds, such as intonation, stress, and rhythm (Peter, 1975).

2.1.2 Phonemes: The Basic Units of Phonology

A phoneme is the smallest distinctive unit of sound that can differentiate meaning
between words in a language. For example, in English, the words "bat" and "pat"
differ in meaning due to the phonemes /b/ and /p/. Phonemes are an abstraction of
sounds that speakers of a language recognize as distinct, even though they may be
produced differently depending on their phonetic environment.

Phonemes are often categorized into two major types: consonants and vowels
(Larson, 1990). Each phoneme in a language has particular features that determine
how it is produced, including whether the vocal cords vibrate (voicing), where in
the vocal tract the sound is produced (place of articulation), and how the sound is
produced (manner of articulation).

Distinctive features are the characteristics of phonemes that allow them to be

distinguished from one another Dantata (2016). These features are binary in nature,
meaning they are either present or absent in a given sound. Some of the primary
distinctive features include:

35
  Voicing: Whether the vocal cords vibrate during the production of a sound.
For example, /b/ is voiced, while /p/ is voiceless.

 Place of Articulation: Where in the vocal tract the sound is produced, such as
bilabial (both lips), alveolar (tongue against the ridge behind the teeth), or
velar (back of the tongue against the soft palate).

 Manner of Articulation: How the airstream is manipulated to produce a

sound, such as stops (complete closure of the vocal tract), fricatives (narrow
constriction allowing air to flow through), and nasals (airflow through the
nose).

Understanding distinctive features helps in analyzing how phonemes function in a

language and how they are organized into a phonological system. The work of
Jakobson, Fant, and Halle's (1952) on distinctive feature theory provides an
understanding of how these features are organized to distinguish phonemes in
human languages.

2.1.3 Phonological Process

Phonological processes are the numerous ways in which languages combine

individual sound segment into morphemes, words, phrases and even sentences to
communicate effective Omachonu (2011). This process can expand their
communication eloquence into fast speech, received pronunciation and even
dialectal pronunciation as each word in a language can be pronounced different in
different language.

Phonological processes as expressed by Dantata (2016), refer to the ways in which

phonemes are altered based on their phonological context, that is, the sounds that

36
come before or after them in a word or sentence. These processes are central to
phonology as they reveal how sounds interact and change in different
environments. Some of the most common phonological processes include:

a. Assimilation

Assimilation occurs when a sound becomes more like a neighboring sound in

terms of one or more features. This process can occur with respect to voicing, place
of articulation, or manner of articulation. For example, in English, the /n/ in "input"
is pronounced as /m/ in rapid speech, reflecting assimilation to the bilabial
sound /p/.

b. Dissimilation

Dissimilation is the process by which two similar sounds in a word become less
alike. This process is less common than assimilation but can be found in languages
such as Latin, where the word "peregrinus" (foreigner) is derived from
"peregrinus," with the /r/ and /g/ sounds changing to reduce similarity.

c. Deletion

Deletion is the removal of a sound in a particular phonological context. This

process can be seen in casual speech, where certain sounds are dropped to make
words easier to pronounce. For instance, in rapid English speech, the /t/ in "next
week" might be deleted, resulting in something that sounds like "nex week."

d. Insertion (Epenthesis)

Insertion, or epenthesis, involves the addition of a sound to a word. This can

happen to break up clusters of consonants or to make pronunciation easier. For
example, in some dialects of English, a vowel might be inserted between
consonants, as in the word "athlete" being pronounced as "ath-a-lete."

37
2.1.4 Elision

Elision is the omission of a sound or syllable in speech or writing. It usually occurs

in casual or rapid speech when certain vowels or consonants are dropped to make
production easier or smoother.

For example:

“I am” is elided to I’m (‘a’ is omitted)

“We are” is elided to we’re (a is omitted)

“I will” is elided to I’ll (‘w’ is elided)

“Did not” is elided to didn’t (o is omitted)

“Kind of” is elided to kinda (the “of” becomes unstressed and shortened)

According to David (2008), elision is defined as the omission of a sound or

syllable, often occurring in rapid speech or informal contexts. It refers to the
process where certain sounds, particularly vowels or weak consonant, are let out to
simplify pronunciation.

Oyebode (1998:63) defines elision as either vowel or consonant be being deleted in

an utterance. It is the process whereby a sound disappears or is not clearly
articulated in certain contexts. A process in connected speech by which sound is
left out to make articulated easier.

Elision is extremely common in spoken English. One familiar case is the

contracted form of the auxiliary verb.

E.g. They had gone…………… they’d gone

38
 Dialects are good……….. dialects’re good

I will write the exam……. I’ll write the exam.

2.1.5 Vowel Elision

The word elision is a Latin word meaning ‘striking out’, therefore, vowel elision is
the slurring or omission of a final unstressed vowel that precedes either another
vowel or a weak consonant sound (Baker, 1996).

Elision is called gradation by some and involves the loss of a phoneme in

connected speech. This tends to happen in unstressed syllables and, in a sense,
elision is an implication or economy made in rapid colloquial speech (Owolabi,
1989). In short, a natural learner of English need to be made aware of it more for
their ability to understand native speakers’ rapid speech than for their own speech
production.

According to Oyebade (2018), vowels are usually deleted when two or more
vowels occur across morpheme boundary. When such an occurrence is introduced
by morphological processes, the language may choose to drop the first or the
second of the contiguous vowels. This process is well illustrated in Yoruba with the
examples below:

A.
i. Idi + oko idiko (motor-park)
Base vehicle

ii. Aya + oba

Wife king Ayaba (queen)

39
 iii. Gbe + omo
Carry child gbomo (carry (a) child)

iv. De + ade
Wear crown dade (wear crown)

v. Eba + Odo
Mid river ebado (mid-river)

B.
i. Gbe + Omo
Carry child gbomo (carry-children)

ii. Gba + owo

Take money gbowo (take-money)

iii. De + ade
Wear crown dade (wear crown)

iv. Ki oba
Greet king koba (greet/salute (the) king)

As it can be examined, Yoruba elides the second of two connected vowels

(a) or the first of a sequence of vowels (b) when a language adopts this strategy, the
environment in which one type of elision occurs is clearly delineated from that of
the other. For instance, in the above examples of Yoruba, the second vowel is

40
deleted in compound (noun-noun) constructions while the first vowel is deleted in
a verb phrase. Whenever there is a seemingly contradiction in the operation of two
rules, it is almost certain that the language will carefully demark the kind of area in
which the one or the other can operate.

As clearly represented by Oyebade (2018) in the examples above, the

environment in which elision occurs in Yoruba is conditioned by the word class
combinations regardless of the word class that are combined. Thus, the two groups
of examples given in Yoruba will be represented likewise in Ebira to further
illustrate this fact.

Data in Ebira

1. Aha + oturagiri = ahutagiri (motor park)

Place motor

2. Ose + ohinoyi = osohinoyi (queen)

Wife king

3. Ozi + onyene = ozyonyene (girl child)

Child woman

However, the second vowel (i.e the vowel at word initial position on the
succeeding word) is deleted while the initial one is retained if and only if the vowel
at word final position is /u/ (a close front vowel) Thus:

4. Oku + iresu = okuresu (head cover)

41
 Cover head
Other examples are:

5. Ohu + irema = ohurema (the market behind)

Market behind

6. Omu + itopa = omutopa (itopa’s staff)

Staff itopa
7. chema + ozi = chemozi (carry a child)

carry child

8. re + upa = rupa (found the skin)

see skin

9. ku + aja = kwaja (wear a crown)

wear crown

10. ku + ohinoyi = kwohinoyi (salute the king)

From the group of examples above, we realize that elision in Ebira is not
determined by the class of words that occur together in a linguistics construction as
the same set of two words are used to clearly illustrate the two groups of examples
represented in Yoruba into Ebira.

2.2 Theoretical Review

42
Several phonological theories provide the basis for understanding vowel elision.
This study draws on three major frameworks to analyze vowel elision in Ebira:
Generative Phonology, Autosegmental Phonology, and Optimality Theory. Each
framework provides a comprehensive approach into the rules and constraints that
govern elision in any language.

2.2.1 Theory of Generative Phonology

The theory of Generative Phonology, developed by Noam Chomsky and Morris

Halle in The Sound Pattern of English (1968), provides a rule-based approach to
phonology. This theory posits that phonological rules are responsible for the
transformations of underlying forms into their surface realizations. In the context
of vowel elision, generative phonology helps explain the phonological rules that
govern the deletion of vowels in certain phonological environments.

In this framework, vowel elision can be seen as a transformation from an

underlying form, where the vowel is present, to a surface form, where the vowel is
deleted. The application of phonological rules is typically sensitive to the
phonological environment of the vowel. For instance, in Ebira, a phonological rule
might state that a vowel is deleted when it occurs in an unstressed syllable or when
followed by another vowel within a specific prosodic structure. These rules may be
language-specific and context-sensitive.

2.2.2 Autosegmental Phonology

Autosegmental Phonology, proposed by John Goldsmith in the late 1970s, offers a

non-linear approach to phonological representation, allowing for the analysis of
phonological processes such as vowel elision in a more flexible and hierarchical
manner. In Autosegmental Phonology, phonological features, such as vowel and
43
consonant sounds, are represented on separate tiers that interact with one another.
This approach is particularly useful for analyzing vowel elision in languages where
segmental and suprasegmental features, such as tone, interact closely.

In Ebira, which is a tonal language, vowel elision may affect not only the
segmental structure of the word but also its tonal pattern. Autosegmental
Phonology allows for the representation of tonal features on a separate tier, which
can help account for cases where vowel elision occurs without disrupting the tonal
structure of the word. By analyzing the interaction between segmental and tonal
features, this framework provides a more comprehensive understanding of vowel
elision in Ebira.

2.2.3 Optimality Theory

Optimality Theory (OT), developed by Prince and Smolensky in the early 1990s, is
a constraint-based approach to phonological analysis. In this theory, phonological
processes are understood as the result of competing constraints that rank different
phonological outputs. OT assumes that language-specific constraints determine the
optimal output of a phonological process, including vowel elision.

In the context of Ebira, vowel elision can be analyzed as a process in which

competing constraints, such as the need to preserve vowel harmony or maintain
prosodic balance, determine whether a vowel is elided. Constraints like Max-IO
(which penalizes the deletion of segments) and Dep-IO (which penalizes the
insertion of segments) interact with faithfulness and markedness constraints to
determine the optimal realization of words or phrases.

44
For this study, the researcher chooses the theory of generative phonology out of the
three theories discussed above as the basis of explanation and support for this
research framework.

2.3 Empirical Review

From a definition standpoint, an empirical review can be described as the review of

many aspects of an empirical study that hold some levels of significance to the
study being conducted. It involves identifying the potential relevant and significant
papers, journal, past research works, books, that are relevant to the domain of the
study.

Timothy and Owaseye in 2021, carried out a study titled “Pedagogical

enhancement of the Yoruba language in secondary schools in Ebira land”, in which
purpose was to determine the effect of teaching resources on students learning
outcomes in Yoruba language in secondary schools in Ebiraland in Kogi state,
Nigeria. Two secondary schools located in Ebiraland were selected as the study
sample. The total number of students involved in the study was 130 from Junior
Secondary School II Yoruba classes. The experimental group comprised 72
students while the control group comprised 58 students. Aquasi experimental
design in form of non-equivalent contro group design was adopted for this study.
The two groups were pre-tested to determine their previous knowledge. The result
of the pre-test showed that the two groups were equivalent groups. Then the two
groups were taught for three weeks. The experimental group was exposed to the
use of teaching resources while the control group was not. After the teaching, both
groups were post-tested and scored. The study revealed that there is a positive
significant difference between the learning outcomes of students taught with the
use of teaching resources and their counterparts taught without teaching resources.

45
Based on the findings it was recommended that teachers of Yoruba language
should painstakingly teach students with adequate and relevant teaching resources
in order to ensure that students understand abstract concepts.

In 2020, Ajiboye carried out a study titled “Vowel deletion in Urhobo Culture and
Tradition”. This paper is a morpho-phonological description of vowel deletion in
Urhobo spoken Language. It aims at providing relevant information which would
facilitate or enhance effective teaching and learning of oral communication in
Urhobo language. The study utilized a descriptive methodology for data collection.
The data used for the study are drawn from authentic materials gathered from
native speakers’ oral discourse of some Urhobo vocations and proverbs. For some
grammatical reasons vowels can occur in sequence. It was discovered, however
that morpho-phonologically, V1 often gets deleted where vowels occur in sequence
in Urhobo language.

The study of Zahra (2022) focused on “phonological process of vowel deletion

(elision) in Ebira Tao – comparing with other languages”. The study revealed that
there is deletion of vowels, especially at word boundary and the dialect like any
other languages, borrowed some words from languages like Yoruba, English,
Hausa, etc. The study utilized a qualitative research design with two sources of
data collection – primary and secondary sources tandem with retrospective
evidence, extracting the research data from native speakers through oral interviews
which were conducted using mobile handset. 24 respondents (14 female; 10 males)
were interviewed. Among the findings revealed in the study is the fact that the
phonological form of Ebira Tao does not accommodate cluster of consonants
regardless of the environment of occurrence. Therefore, borrowed word that
exhibit this feature (consonant cluster) undergo phonological reform, whose

46
process is known as “insertion”, that comes to play by inserting a suitable vowel to
split this cluster apart

Also, Akinjobi (2006) worked on “Vowel reduction and suffixation in Nigeria”.

This study investigates how speakers of Educated Yoruba English (EYE) produce
the vowels in typically unstressed syllables of English words whose suffixes
require a shift of stress and a consequent reduction of vowels, as
in atómic from átom and dramátic from dráma. Twenty suffixed English words
were read by one hundred Yoruba subjects, with a Briton who studied at the
University of London serving as the control. The focus is on Yoruba English
because of both its many speakers and the need for a ‘geo-tribal’ approach to
defining the concept Nigerian English. The data was analysed by converting tokens
of occurrence to percentages, the higher percentages being taken as the norm. The
acoustic analysis was done in a computerized speech laboratory. The study
establishes that vowels occurring in typically unstressed syllables in traditional
Standard English remain strong and full in educated Yoruba English.

Ebenezer and Oyiza (2020) conducted a study titled “The Pragmeme of

Admonishing in Selected Ebira Proverbs”. Proverbs are important aspect of social
interaction among the Ebiras. However, there has not been sufficient scholarly
research to explore pragmemes of proverbs in Ebira social discourses in spite of
different underlying pragmatic functions in them. Therefore, this paper explored
the pragmeme of admonishing in some Ebira proverbs, drawing on insight from
Jacob Mey’s Pragmatic Act Theory, an approach that has its roots in the
sociocultural view of pragmatics. The study adopted a survey design method and
obtained data through direct observation. Using purposive sampling, twenty (20)
Ebira proverbs, among several, were analysed. Research findings revealed that the
pragmeme of admonishing, together with many allopracts, is the dominant in Ebira

47
proverbs used in naming, burial, marriage, and coronation ceremonies. Therefore,
the study concludes that Ebira proverbs constitute very pungent rhetorical
stratagems building family and community role-expectations, and raising
consciousness towards and contributing to the development of the society.

Chinemerem et al., (2021) conducted a study and development on “A System for

Machine Translation from English to Ebira using the Rule-based Approach”. The
system was designed to consolidate on human translators’ effort and not to replace
them. A comprehensive study and analysis of the two languages was carried out
with the help of Ebira native speakers in Ebiraland Kogi central and some
professional English language tutors at FCE Okene. The knowledge gathered
provided the basis for the design and testing of the rule base, inference engine,
bilingual dictionary which are important components for the proposed automated
system for translation of English text to Ebira text using PHP. Making use of the
word in the bilingual dictionary, the system will successfully translate your English
text to Ebira. The system was evaluated using one of the popular automatic
methods of evaluating MT systems BLEU (Bilingual Evaluation Understudy). And
an accuracy of 81.5% in translation was achieved.

This section (empirical) has revealed existing works that have been conducted
which are similar but different to the scope of this study. As a result of this, it is
deducible that none of the works cited has the same focus as this study and that
validate the pioneering phenomenon of this research.

2.4 Summary

This chapter presents a thorough examination of literature review, which is

essential to understanding vowel elision in Ebira. It begins with a conceptual
explication section, where foundational terms and concepts relevant to the study

48
are clarified. By defining and elaborating on key terms related to phonology, vowel
elision, and language structure, this section establishes a solid basis for discussing
the Ebira language’s phonetic features. The next part of the chapter is the
theoretical review, which focuses on the theory of Generative Phonology, a central
framework underpinning this research. This theory, which posits rules governing
sound patterns in language, is particularly valuable for analyzing vowel elision as it
explores how phonological forms are transformed into spoken forms. In applying
this framework, the study can systematically explain the rules and patterns specific
to Ebira vowel elision, thus aligning with broader linguistic theory. The final
section, the empirical review, examines existing scholarly works related to vowel
elision and phonological processes in Ebira and other Niger-Congo languages. By
reviewing prior studies, this section emphasizes gaps in the current knowledge,
reinforces the need for further research, and provides knowledge into comparable
linguistic phenomena, by offering both context and justification for this study’s
focus.

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Preamble

This chapter outlines the methodology employed in the research study on "Vowel
Elision in Ebira." The aim is to investigate the patterns, contexts, and factors that
govern vowel elision in the language. To achieve this, a well-structured
methodology is necessary, as it guide the collection, organization, and analysis of
data. This chapter focuses on the research design, population and sampling,

49
instrumentation and sources of data, method of data collection, and method of data
analysis.

3.2 Area of Study

The area of study of this project is based on vowel elision, a phonological process
that covers majorly the Ebira language. Ebira is a major language spoken by the
Ebira people predominantly in Kogi State, Nigeria. It is also spoken in parts of
Nasarawa State, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and other nearby regions.
Ododo (2001) asserts that the different dialects of Ebira are; Ebira-Igu or Koto,
Ebira-Etuno, Ebira-Panda, Ebira-Oje, EbiraTao, and Ebira-Agatu belong to the
same language group with few variations. However, Okene Ebira (i.e. Ebira Tao) is
the area of focus for this study; the choice and motivation being that their Ebira is
the standard of all as well as the large concentration of native speakers, who
possess extensive knowledge of the language.

3.3 Research Design

A research design is a blueprint for conducting research. It details the methods and
techniques that was employed to gather and analyze data, in order to ensure that
the objectives of the study are met (Oyebode, 1998:63). For this study, a
descriptive and qualitative research design is adopted. This is because the study
primarily seeks to describe vowel elision in Ebira and explain the phonological
processes involved.

A descriptive research design allows the researcher to present language phenomena

as they naturally occur without any manipulation of variables. The qualitative
approach is ideal for this research since the study aims to reveal natural speech and
elicit the linguistic patterns associated with vowel elision in Ebira. Since the study
involves the examination of language data from native speakers of Ebira, this
50
approach allowed direct observation and analysis of linguistic phenomena in a
natural setting, particularly in conversations, spoken texts, and native speech
patterns. The descriptive method is complemented by phonological analysis
techniques that are keys to understanding and documenting vowel elision in
different syntactic and phonological contexts.

3.4 Instrumentation and Source of Data

The primary instrument for data collection in this study was structured interviews
and oral recordings. The following instruments and techniques were employed:

a. Interviews: Semi-structured interviews was conducted with participants to

elicit specific linguistic forms and to understand their insights into the usage
of vowel elision in different contexts. The interviews focused on
participants' knowledge of vowel elision, asking them to pronounce certain
words, phrases, and sentences where vowel elision might occur.
b. Audio recordings: Oral recordings was been used to capture natural speech
in a variety of contexts. Participants were been recorded in conversational
settings, to elicit natural speech data. Recordings allows for an accurate
analysis of vowel elision as it occurs in everyday spoken language. These
recordings were later transcribed and analyzed.
c. Secondary data: This source of data also utilized to complement the primary
data. These involved visiting studies that have previously examined Ebira
phonology to provide context and background for the current research.
Written materials in Ebira, including literature and oral histories, were
analyzed to examine written representations of vowel elision. Also, existing
linguistic dictionaries and guides on Ebira was referenced to understand
standardized spellings and vowel representations.

51
3.5 Method of Data Collection

The data for this study was collected from well-experienced language informants
who are native speakers of Ebira and resided most of their lives in Okene. Through
a variety of methods, including interviews, conversations, and direct observation of
language use to capture a naturally occurring speech forms. The following steps
were taken:

a. Elicitation of words and phrases: Participants were asked to pronounce

specific words and phrases that are likely to exhibit vowel elision. These
words were carefully selected based on known patterns in the language and
from prior research in phonology.
b. Natural speech recordings: Participants were been recorded during
conversations to capture spontaneous speech data. These recordings was an
insight into vowel elision as it naturally occurs in everyday discourse.
c. Participant observation: The researcher also engaged in participant
observation, taking part in conversations and observing how speakers elide
vowels in different contexts.
d. Transcription and coding: After the data has been collected, the recordings
was translated into English for analysis. This process allowed expressive
explanation based on phonological environments, syntactic structures, and
social contexts.

3.6 Method of Data Analysis

Since the analysis of the data is qualitative, to fully understand the patterns of
vowel elision in Ebira. The following was undertaken:

52
 a. Phonological analysis: The data was analyzed by identifying the specific
environments where vowel elision occurs. This involved examining the
position of the elided vowel in relation to consonants, syllables, and word
boundaries. The elision of vowels in both open and closed syllables was
documented.
b. Contextual analysis: The social and contextual factors that influence vowel
elision was also considered. For example, whether elision is more frequent
in informal speech or in fast speech will be examined.

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

4.1 Preamble

In this chapter, we present and analyze the data collected on vowel elision in the
Ebira language.

53
According to Abiodun (2007), the elision process involves an omission of sound,
which may be a vowel, a consonant, or a suprasegment. This study shows that
vowel deletion is very robust in the Ebira language. The process is technically
referred to as deletion. As the name implies, it is the loss of a vowel in the course
of derivation. On the effect of vowel elision in languages where it occurs,
Bamgbose (2006:56) comments that, “such a loss (of vowel) leads to the reduction
in the number of syllables in the word or phrase”. Thus, vowel elision, a
phonological process whereby certain vowels are omitted or deleted in connected
speech, is a common feature in Ebira. This phenomenon typically occurs to ease
pronunciation and maintain speech fluency. The chapter examine the environments
in which vowel elision takes place in Ebira, the rules governing the process, and
how it affects word formation and sentence structure. The data presented were
collected from native speakers through interviews and written texts in Ebira.

4.2 Presentation of Data on Vowel Elision in Phonological Contexts

Vowel elision in Ebira generally occurs in specific phonological contexts,

particularly when two vowels appear consecutively at morpheme or word
boundaries. In such cases, one of the vowels is elided to facilitate smoother
pronunciation. The following subsections outline the different contexts in which
vowel elision occurs.

4.2.1 Elision in Vowel-Vowel Sequences

One of the most common environments for vowel elision in Ebira is when two
vowels occur in a sequence, either within a word or across word boundaries. In
such cases, the first vowel is often elided. The examples below illustrate this:

11./u/ + /u/ → /u/:

54
 Evu + uno → ev'uno

Goat that that goat

In this example, the vowel /u/ at the end of the first word is elided to
form a smoother pronunciation.

12./e/ + /ɔ/ → /ɔ/:

Ehè + òbòri → eh'òbòri

Life barren life of a barren

Here, the final vowel /e/ of the word "ehè" is elided when it encounters the
initial vowel /ò/ of followed word "òbòri" (barren), resulting in " eh'òbòri."

13./u/ + /u/ → /u/:

Óku + úhwe → ók'úhwe

Corpse fowl dead fowl

The final vowel /u/ of the word "óku" is omitted during the pronunciation of
initial /ú/ of the next word “úhwe” that results to the articulation of “ók'úhwe”.

14./u/ + /i/ → /u/:

Ku + ìrèka → ku'rèka

Sound stomach stomach sound

55
 In the above sample, the final of preceding vowel /u/ of the word "ku" led to
the elision of the initial /ì/ of the word “ìrèka”, resulting to the production of
“kú'rèka”.

15./a/ + /o/ → /o/:

Àdá + ove → àd'ove

Father come Father has come

The final vowel /á/ of the word "àdá" is elided as the initial vowel /o/ of
followed word "ove" (come) affected it, resulting in "àd'ove" pronunciation.

From the examples given above, it is obvious that vowel elision in Ebira takes
many forms such as it can be through assimilation of the preceding vowel with the
followed one and/or vice versa, the initial of the followed influencing the
preceding one. This elision of vowel, in other words, in Ebira may be across word
boundaries, through morphological processes like compounding or reduplication or
within the constituents of a sentence during the make of utterances (i.e. connected
speeches). To elaborate this claim, researcher presents in the following section,
evidence of such as they occur in Ebira.

4.2.2 Elision across Word Boundaries

Vowel elision in Ebira frequently occurs across word boundaries, especially in

rapid speech or connected discourse. In such cases, the vowel at the end of one
word is deleted when the following word begins with a vowel. Consider the
following examples:

56
 16./u/ + /i/ → /u/:

Wú + íréyì → wú'réyì

Hear talk/issue Take heed

The vowel /i/ is elided at the boundary between the verbs.

17./a/ + /i/ → /i/:

Ísa + ine → Ís'ine

Thing stomach Food poisoning

“Ísa” + “ine” (‘thing’ + stomach’) → [Ís'ine] (‘food poisoning’) as presented

above, in this case, shows that vowel /a/ at the end of " ísa" (thing) is elided before
the initial vowel /i/ of " ine" (stomach).

18./ɔ/ + /e/ → /e/:

Ákó + èvá → ák'èvá

Cup two Two cups

The vowel /o/ is elided at the boundary between ‘ákó’ (cup) and ‘èvá’ (two),
resulting into ‘ák'èvá’ (two cups).

19./e/ + /o/ → /o/:

Ìwé + ozozà → Ìw'ozozà

Book good A good book

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 The vowel /o/ is elided at the boundary between ‘ìwé’ (book) and ‘ozozà’
(good), which is later pronounced as ‘ìw'ozozà’ (a good book).

4.2.3 Vowel Elision in Morphological Processes

According to Nida (1946), morphological process can be seen as a process used by

different languages to form their words. These processes include affixation,
reduplication, compounding, borrowing, coinage, blending etc.

Vowel elision in Ebira is a phenomenon that plays a role in various morphological

processes, particularly in compounding and blending. When morphemes are
combined to form new words, vowel elision often occurs at morpheme boundaries
to facilitate smoother pronunciation, such as:

4.2.3.1 Elision in Compounding

As defined by Yusuff (2020), compounding is a morphological process, which

involves collocation or combination of two nouns to form one. In compound word
formation, when two morphemes are joined together, vowel elision can occur at the
boundary between the two morphemes.

For example:

58
 20. /a/ + /e/ → /a/:

Àdá + ehi → àdáhi

Husband land Husband of the land (our father)

Here, the vowel /a/ at the initial of "ehi" (land) is elided, resulting in the compound
form "àdáhi."

21. /ei/ + /o/ → /o/:

Ehè + ozozà → Eh'ozozà

Life good A good life

In this example, the vowel /ei/ is elided at the boundary of the morphemes to
produce “eh'ozozà, which is a compound word formed out of “ehè” (life) and
“ozozà” (good).

22. /ei/ + /a/ → /a/:

Irehe + ámì → ireh'ámì

Name mine my name

The vowel /ei/ is elided at the boundary between ‘irehe’ (name) and ‘ami’
(mine), resulting in the production of the compound word, ‘ireh'ámì’ (my name).

23. /a/ + /i/ → /i/:

59
 Kà + ìzeyizà → k'ìzeyizà

Say truth say the truth

From the example above, the vowel /a/ is elided at the boundary of the morphemes
to articulate the word, “k'ìzeyizà” (say the truth), which is a compound word made
up of “kà” (say) and “ìzeyizà” (truth).

4.2.3.2 Elision in Blending

This is a morphological process in which two free morphemes of different concepts

are combined in word formation. Yule (1996), defines blending as the combination
of two separate forms to produce a single new term. Blending is accomplished by
taking only the beginning of a word and joining it to the end of the other word.

Ebira uses blending for various grammatical functions, and vowel elision often
occurs in this process. In the morphological process of blending, the initial of a
word is joined with part or end of another word to form new word. Vowel elision is
used to make the blended word formed to be more phonetically acceptable.
Consider the following:

24. /ɔ/ + /ɔ/ → /ɔ/:

Óno + òtà → ónotà

That friend that friend

In this example, the final vowel /ɔ/ in the word ‘óno’ (that) is blended with initial
of ‘òtà’ to become one that formed "ónotà" (that friend).

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 25. /a/ + /i/ → /a/:

Àzà + iremá → àzàremá

People back supporter

The sample above shows that the final vowel /a/ in the word ‘àzà’ (people) is
blended with initial /i/ of ‘remá’ (back) to become "àzàremá" (people’s back -
supporter).

26. /i/ + /ɔ/ → /ɔ/:

Íréyì + ovà → íréyovà

Issue husband bad husband

The final vowel /i/ in the word ‘íréyì’ (issue) is blended with initial of ‘ovà’
(husband) then become "íréyovà" (bad husband).

27. /u/ + /o/ → /u/:

Evu + ójóji → evujóji

Goat black a black goat

In the above example, the initial vowel /o/ in the word ‘ójóji’ (black) assimilated
with the final /u/ of ‘evu’ to become one which formed "evujóji" (a black goat).

28. /i/ + /ɔ/ → /ɔ/:

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 Òza + òbóro → òzòbóro

Real person good person

The final vowel /a/ in the word ‘òza’ (real) is blended with initial of ‘òbóro’
(person) to become "òzòbóro" (a good person).

4.3 Tonal Considerations in Vowel Elision

Vowel elision in Ebira has great tonal impact because Ebira is a tonal language,
and vowels carry tonal information. Obisesan (2012) gave simple explanation of
tone as the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning -
that is, to distinguish or to inflect words. When vowels are elided, the tone
associated with the vowel is often transferred to the adjacent vowel, as a way of
preserving the tonal integrity of the word. The following examples illustrate how
tone is handled during vowel elision:

a. High Tone ( ): a high tone is a quite high pitch level implemented to a

syllable, utilized in tonal languages to distinguish meaning. Changing the
tone of a phrase can modify its meaning absolutely, making tone vital in
languages like, Yoruba, and Zulu. In Mandarin, as an example, "mā" with a
high- level tone means " mom," while in Yoruba, high tone is marked with a
acute accent, as in " okó" for "to collect." high tones have a better pitch due
to improved vocal cord tension, putting them other than mid or low tones.

29. /a/ + /ɔ/ → /ɔ/:

Dá + òròmì → dóròmì

Cut orange cut the orange

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 The tone from the elided vowel /a/ is preserved in the following vowel /ɔ/.

30. /ei/ + /a/ → /u/:

Úhwe + ámì → úhwámì

Fowl mine my fowl

The tone on the adjacent vowel /a/ is still retained in spite of the initial vowel
/ei/ which has been elided and whose tone is different.

b. Low Tone ( ) : In linguistics, an low tone is an pitch sample in an tonal

language that is spoken with an lower pitch and falling intonation. In tonal
languages, every pitch sample, or tone, is related to a particular which means. as an
example, the same word said with an excessive tone and an low tone may also
have specific meanings.

31. /i/ + /e/ → /e/:

Ózí + èvá → ózévá

Child two two children

The low tone of the elided vowel /i/ in the ‘ózí’ (child) is transferred to
the adjacent vowel /e/ in ‘èvá’ (two).

32. /a/ + /a/ → /a/:

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 Àzà + ámi → àzámi

People mine two children

The high tone on the elided initial vowel /a/ in ‘àzà’ (people) is not
transferred to the adjacent vowel /a/ in ‘ámi’ (mine), which is a low tone.

c. Mid Tone ( - ): is a pitch level this is impartial or level, and is spoken among
high and occasional tones. Mid tones are frequently represented with a IPA
diacritic, the macron accent [ ˉ ], or with an superscript number among. In Ebira
and most Nigeria Niger-Congo languages, mid tone is not often represented but
usually the unmarked vowel in the word. Such as;

33. /ↄ/ + /o/ → /o/:

Ónorú + ozozà → óno'ro'zà

Boy good good boy

The low tone of the elided vowel /u/ in the word, ‘ónorú’ (boy) is not
transferred to the next vowel /o/ in ‘ozozà’ (two). In this regard two syllables
were elided, /u/ in the first word and the first CV (consonant vowel) in second
word was elided.

4.3.1 Vowel Replacement (consonant intrusion)

A rare phenomenon is discovered in Ebira which is hardly found in other Nupoid

languages. This is named "vowel replacement” because an elided vowel, which in

64
every case is /i/, is completely replaced by a consonant (voiced palatal
approximant) /j/.

Examples are:

34. /i/ + /j/ → /j/:

Íréhi + ójóji → íré'jójóji

House black a black house

35. /i/ + /j/ → /j/:

Óchí + òròmì → óch'jòròmì

Tree orange Orange tree

36. /i/ + /j/ → /j/:

Ózí + ónorú → óz'jónorú

Child boy a male child

37. /i/ + /j/ → /j/:

Íréyì + òtà → íré'jòtà

Issue friend Issues of friend

38. /i/ + /j/ → /j/:

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 Íréhi + ovà → íré'jovà

House husband Husband's house

4.3.2 Progressive Elision in Ebira

Progressive Elision: progressive vowel elision is a phonological system where a

vowel in one syllable is overlooked or "elided" due to impact from a preceding
vowel or syllable. This system helps to create smoother, greater green speech waft
by way of fending off adjoining vowels that may sound awkward or gradual down
pronunciation. How modern Vowel Elision Works In languages that employ vowel
elision, positive situations often trigger this system. as an instance, modern vowel
elision would possibly occur if: - two vowels seem consecutively throughout
syllables. - The language's phonology favors a selected rhythm or syllable shape.

Below are additional examples of vowel elision in Ebira, showing different

phonological contexts.

39./u/ + /u/ → /u/:

Evu + uno → ev'uno

Goat that that goat

40. /a/ + /a/ → /a/:

Iremá + àrú → irem'árú

Back cloth back of a cloth

41./e/ + /a/ → /i/:

Irehe + ámì → ireh'ámì

66
 Name mine my name

42. /a/ + /a/ → /a/:

Ohóvà + áyi → ohóv'áyi

In-law ours our in-law

43. /a/ + /a/ → /a/:

Èbìrà + àzà → èbìr'àzà

Thing stomach food poisoning

44. /a/ + /i/ → /i/:

Za + ìrèhì → z'ìrèhì

Catch cricket catch a cricket

45. /a/ + /i/ → /i/:

Chàká + íresú → chàk'íresú

Break head break a head

46. /a/ + /i/ → /i/:

Kà + ìzeyizà → k'ìzeyizà

Say truth say the truth

47. /a/ + /o/ → /o/:

Ìrehá + ozozà → ìreh'ozozà

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 Name good a good name

48. /a/ + /o/ → /o/:

Chákánda + ohì → chákánd'ohì

Book/paper response result sheet

49. /a/ + /o/ → /o/:

Ìremà + òzè → ìrem'òzè

Back door behind the door

50. /a/ + /o/ → /o/:

Àdá + ove → àd'ove

Father come father has come

51. /a/ + /o/ → /o/:

Íreta + òyikusa → Íret'òyikusa

Stone (for) grinding grinding stone

52. /a/ + /u/ → /u/:

Òvaviremà + ùhwo → òvavirem'ùhwo

After tomorrow after tomorrow

53. /a/ + /u/ → /u/:

Avaká + úhwe → avak'úhwe

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 Wings fowl fowl wings

54. /a/ + /u/ → /u/:

Kára + ùvènè → kár'ùvènè

Fold mat fold a mat

55. /i/ + /o/ → /o/:

Íné + ójíji → ín'ójíji

Mortar black black mortar

56. /u/ + /u/ → /u/:

Óku + úhwe → ók'úhwe

Corpse fowl dead fowl

4.3.3 Regressive Elision in Ebira

/a/ + /a/ → /a/:

Iremá + àrú → irem'árú

Back cloth back of a cloth

57./a/ + /o/ → /o/:

Àdàvá + óbóro → àdàv'óbóro

Shoe original an original shoe

58./u/ + /i/ → /u/:

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 Kú + ígórigo → kú'górigo

Pack penny seed to pack a penny seed

59./u/ + /u/ → /u/:

Òkú + ùsì → òkú'sì

Cover pit the cover of a pit

4.4 Discussions and Findings

The data presented show that vowel elision in Ebira is a highly regular
phonological process that occurs in predictable environments, particularly in
vowel-vowel sequences at morpheme and word boundaries. The elision process

70
simplifies pronunciation and is influenced by tonal considerations. Vowel elision
performs an important role in morphological and syntactic processes, helping to
streamline speech in contexts. Additionally, vowel elision in Ebira has great tonal
impact because Ebira is a tonal language, and vowels carry tonal information.
When vowels are elided, the tone associated with the vowel is often transferred to
the adjacent vowel, as a way of preserving the tonal integrity of the word. Among
the study’s findings is an instance of vowel replacement in which a vowel sound of
a word is completely elided and replaced by a consonant sound /j/ which initially
does not exist in the word but out of nowhere found itself during utterance making.
This phenomenon is not common in most languages, especially those belonging to
the subgroup of Niger-Congo family.

In a bid to provide answers to the research questions asked in 1.4, which are;

1. What are the pattern of vowel elision in Ebira language?

Vowel elision in elision can take different context which can include
phonological context such as;
 Vowel in unstressed syllables are commonly elided such as in example of
30,34,35,36 etc.
 Vowel elision occurs to avoid hiatus (two adjacent vowels sounds) as
seen in example 1,4,5,6 and 10.
 In connected speech, vowels in weak positions such as schwa are often
dropped.

Aside the phonological aspect, vowel elision can take a different pattern in
morphological context such as;

 Elision of compounding to avoid contradiction

71
  Elision in blending to explain the togetherness between two different
words.

Finally, the pattern of vowel elision in Ebira can occur due to fast and causal
speech, it can also occur due to rhythmic compression which is not often common
in Ebira language.

2. In what ways do phonological rules governs the process of vowel elision in

Ebira?
Answer: Vowel elision in Ebira is governed by a set of phonological rules that
describe when and why a vowel sound is omitted in certain linguistic contexts.
These rules are language-specific but often follow predictable patterns. Below
are some common phonological rules associated with vowel elision in Ebira:

a. Hiatus Resolution (Avoidance of Adjacent Vowels)

Rule: A vowel is elided when it occurs between two adjacent vowels to prevent
hiatus (the sequence of two separate vowel sounds).
General Rule: V → ∅ / V __ V
b. Schwa Elision
Rule: The schwa (/ə/), a weak and unstressed vowel, is often elided in casual or
fast speech, especially in positions where its omission does not hinder
intelligibility.
General Rule: ə → ∅ / C __ C
c. Unstressed Vowel Elision
Rule: Vowels in unstressed syllables are omitted, particularly in polysyllabic
words or rapid speech.
General Rule: V[unstressed] → ∅
d. Weak Vowel Elision

72
 Rule: Vowels that are acoustically weak or occur in prosodically weak positions
(e.g., at the end of a word) may be omitted.
General Rule: V[weak] → ∅ / __#

These rules interact with phonetic, phonological, and contextual factors to

produce vowel elision, allowing languages to streamline pronunciation while
preserving intelligibility.

In conclusion, this study has revealed many contexts in Ebira where vowel elision
occurs and it is discovered that such may be found in certain environment – which
in most cases at word boundaries leading to either progressive or regressive
assimilation of preceding and/or adjacent sound (vowels). This has provided
answers to research questions and many other unasked question which will help in
preserving in Ebira and enlighten readers on vowel elision of Ebira.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

5.1 Summary

73
The chapter one of this studies investigates vowel elision within the Ebira
language, analyzing the phonological modifications vowels go through for the
duration of speech. Vowel elision, the omission of vowels in spoken language, is a
significant phonological phenomenon impacting pronunciation, phrase strain, and
grammatical structure. In Ebira, this take a look at pursuits to find the styles,
causes, and outcomes of vowel elision, especially in unstressed syllables or rapid
speech, encouraged through phonotactics constraints and social elements.
Referencing scholars along with Ladefoged and Johnson, defines vowel elision as
not unusual in informal or connected speech, wherein unstressed vowels are not
noted to streamline articulation. The chapter one also covers the objectives of the
study, the statement of the problem and the questions that must be answered before
the research can be considered complete for undergraduate study. Finally, chapter
one also focuses on historical overview of Ebira, the language family, it culture,
sociolinguistics relation, profession and of course relevance in Nigeria language
presently which covers geographical and population entirely. According to
Greenberg's classification of African languages, Ebira belongs to the Kwa group of
the Niger-Congo family, which also comprises the Nupe, Gbari and Gade
(Greenberg, 1966).

The two chapter of this study focuses on literature review of related works,
Phonology, as defined by pupils, is the branch of linguistics that examines the
shape and systematic styles of sounds within human language. David Crystal
(1997) distinguishes phonology from phonetics, noting that phonology makes a
specialty of the cognitive, summary factors of sound, while phonetics affords the
raw auditory records. Chomsky and Halle (1968) emphasize phonological
guidelines, which mirror mental structures shaping sound notion and
manufacturing, highlighting the cognitive tactics underlying sound styles. Jones

74
(1950) expands on this by defining phonology because the study of the useful roles
and styles of speech sounds within a language, addressing how sounds carry that
means and have interaction with morphology and syntax. Additionally, phonology
explores sound adjustments and interactions, along with assimilation and deletion,
whilst additionally considering prosody—intonation, pressure, and rhythm—as
essential to a language’s sound device. The chapter two also explore both
theoretical and empirical review of scholarly work by providing numerous
examples from both English, Niger-Congo language and Ebira, contrasting them
and making positive conclusion.

The chapter three focuses on the methodology used in gathering data and
information, it explore the area of study which is based on vowel elision, a
phonological process that covers majorly the Ebira language. Ebira is a major
language spoken by the Ebira people predominantly in Kogi State, Nigeria. It is
also spoken in parts of Nasarawa State, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and
other nearby regions. Ododo (2001) asserts that the different dialects of Ebira are;
Ebira-Igu or Koto, Ebira-Etuno, Ebira-Panda, Ebira-Oje, EbiraTao, and Ebira-
Agatu belong to the same language group with few variations. The chapter three
also explains research design used in the work, design allows the researcher to
present language phenomena as they naturally occur without any manipulation of
variables. The qualitative approach is ideal for this research since the study aims to
reveal natural speech and elicit the linguistic patterns associated with vowel elision
in Ebira. Since the study involves the examination of language data from native
speakers of Ebira, this approach allowed direct observation and analysis of
linguistic phenomena in a natural setting, particularly in conversations, spoken
texts, and native speech patterns. The descriptive method is complemented by
phonological analysis techniques that are keys to understanding and documenting

75
vowel elision in different syntactic and phonological contexts. The chapter three
also explains instrument of data which are primarily interview, sound recording
through conversation together with secondary data which are gotten from different
authors across nations.

The penultimate chapter explains comprehensively the presentation of gathered

data, how they are represented, circumstances that warrant vowel elision in Ebira
and numerous examples as collected from many native speakers. These chapter
also present vowel elision in morphological processes such as blending,
compounding and affixation in Ebira as a guideline to how much more elision can
occur, this made it verdict that vowel elision in Ebira is not just in Affixation alone
but almost all morphologically process.

Finally, chapter four explains discussion of finding which provides answers to

different questions asked in statement of the problem of chapter one, it explains
different challenges encountered by the researcher in the course of finishing the
project. A segment was also segregated to explain regressive and progressive
elision by giving relatable examples in the language to aid the understand of
readers.

5.2 Conclusion

76
The findings of this study stress the integral role of vowel elision in Ebira
phonology. Vowel elision in Ebira is a highly regular phonological process that
takes place in predictable situations, especially in vowel-vowel sequences at
morpheme and word boundaries, according to the data presented. Tonal factors
play a role in the elision process, which streamlines pronunciation. In
morphological and syntactic processes, vowel elision plays a crucial function in
streamlining speech in various settings. Furthermore, because Ebira is a tonal
language and vowels convey tonal information, vowel elision has a significant
tonal impact. In order to maintain the word's tonal integrity, the tone associated
with an elided vowel is frequently moved to the adjacent vowel. One of the study's
findings is a case of vowel replacement, when a word's vowel sound is entirely
omitted and substituted with the consonant sound /j/, which at first does not occur
in the word but unexpectedly appears during speech. Most languages, particularly
those in the Niger-Congo family subgroup, do not exhibit this phenomena. As a
result of this study, numerous Ebira circumstances where vowel elision occurs
have been identified. These contexts are typically found at word boundaries, where
they cause either progressive or regressive assimilation of previous and/or adjacent
sounds (vowels).

77
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