www.idosr.org Ukpai ©IDOSR PUBLICATIONS International Digital Organization for Scientific Research ISSN: 2550-7966 IDOSR JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 5(1): 41-57, 2020. A Comparative Study of the Sound Systems of Ikwo Igbo and Standard Igbo Dialects Ngozi Uka Ukpai Department of Languages and Linguistics Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT Development is often associated with challenges. The inability to study the numerous available dialects of Igbo language is one of the identified challenges facing the development of Igbo language particularly in the area of Igbo language teaching and learning, structural development of Igbo language, computation, and reconciliation of Igbo language with Information and Communication Technologies. Therefore, there is need to study the varying dialects of Igbo language before we can set a standard structure for the language which will facilitate a better teaching and learning of Igbo language, and harness the reconciliation of Igbo language with information and communication technologies. The present study investigated the structural differences between the sound system of Ikwo Igbo and Standard Igbo dialects. Descriptive research design was adopted for this work. However, it was largely discussed focusing on an aspect of generative phonology called feature theory. From this research, we discovered that the sound system of the two dialects are the same, except that while standard Igbo has thirty-six (36) phonemes; comprising eight (8) vowels and twenty-eight (28) consonants, the Ikwo dialect has forty-five (45) phonemes; comprising nine (9) vowels and thirty-six (36) consonants. It was observed that the sounds /s/ and /z/ cannot occur before /i/ or /ị/ in Ikwo dialect, rather /s/ and /z/ changes their forms to [ʃ] and [ʒ] respectively when the high front vowels [i] or [ɪ] is occurring after them. Vowel sounds occurring at utterance final positions in Ikwo dialect is usually elided as utterances are ended more abruptly than in Standard Igbo. Whereas certain phonemes occur in some environments in Standard Igbo, they assume different forms in Ikwo dialect. Apart from these differences, other features of Ikwo dialect, including the tonal structure corresponds with the Standard Igbo dialect sound system. Keywords: minimal pairs, contrastive distribution, complementary distribution, language, dialect, phonemes INTRODUCTION The linguistic diversity dominant in Igbo linguistic similarity with other region led to the development of a neighboring dialects like; Izhi, Ezza, Standard Igbo variety to help unify the Ezzamgbo, Ohaozara, and other Abakaliki speakers of the different dialects of Igbo dialects. Ikwo is bounded to the east and language. Igbo language is classified as south by the Cross river state, west by the one of the languages of New Benue-Congo Ezza south local government area, and under the Niger-Congo family [1]. Ikwo is north by the Abakaliki local government one of the dialects of Igbo language area of Ebonyi state (Izhi), [2]. spoken in Ikwo local government area of Currently, Ikwo local government area has Ebonyi state, Nigeria. It is important to been divided into six (6) developmental know that Ikwo dialect shares certain centers which include: Ikwo south, 41 IDOSR JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 5(1): 41-57, 2020. www.idosr.org Ukpai central, East, south-east, Ndufu Ikwo, and are both offshoots of structural grammar Ikwo development centers. The structure [4]. (phonological, morphological, syntactic, The early comparative study of languages, etc) of the Ikwo dialect remains the same began with the Indo-European languages, in all the communities in Ikwo L.G.A, but has expanded to several other except in those communities who share languages [5]. The major goal of the boundary with other Local Governments comparative study of languages that and states. For instance, the Opherekpe, began in the early eighteenth century was Ndegu-Anmegu, and Okpuitumo to find out the reason for the communities who share boundary with interrelatedness of languages, establish the Cross-river state has dialectal features language families, and reconstruct that differ very slightly from the Ikwo prehistoric proto languages. dialect but these differences does not With the advent of information and exist at the level of phonology. communication technologies, which has Linguistically, it is natural to have come today to be a major means of variation in dialect form at boundary determining the development of a regions. Traditionally, it is divided into country, technology has been introduced five (5) divisional zones and comprising into language use, study, and of seventeen (17) communities. The five development. Of course, the Igbo divisional zones are; Ụnwẹka zone (it language will not be exempted from this. comprises three communities), Alike zone We are quite aware that a number of (comprises of four communities), Ẹchara persons have been working tremendously zone (comprises two communities), to reconcile the Igbo language with Mgbabụ zone (has six communities), developing technologies (an aspect known Ọkpitumo zone (has two communities). as computational linguistics), but because A white man, Meier organized a team of of certain challenges which have been left Ikwo speakers like; Elder Thomas Uzim, unresolved, these woks have many flaws. Mr. Elias Uguru, and Mr. William Akichi Therefore, to overcome these challenges and collected word lists in Ikwo, from and promote the development of Igbo which, they developed orthography for language there is need to study and writing the Ikwo dialect in 1972. During identify the structure of every dialect of this period, they translated lot of books Igbo language, beginning from the sound from English to Ikwo. Example; they structure to syntactic structure, from translated the holy bible to Ikwo dialect. such study we can set a standard for Igbo They also wrote series of texts in Ikwo language. The Igbo language is one of the dialect like; „Oreke Gụa Ikwo volume 1, 2, three major languages spoken in Nigeria. and 3‟, since then, no one has attempted a The Igbo land is a common linguistic and linguistic study of the Ikwo dialect again. cultural region in southern Nigeria, The branch of linguistics that investigates characterized by a high degree of cultural the sound structure of languages is and linguistic diversity [6]. [7], claims that known as phonetics and phonology. the Igbo people are found at the Sound is the basis of every language [3]. Southeastern part of Nigeria. Language acquisition begins with the The dialects of Igbo are; Ngwa, Ohuhu, observation and learning of the sounds Onitsha, Orlu, Owerri, Nsukka, Umuahia, existing in the particular language of Nike, Anam, Nzam, Asaba, Agbor, study. However, the two notable Ogwashi-Ukwu, Aboh, Kwale, Ndoni, approaches to phonological study are; the Ahoada, Ozuzu, Ibeku, Elele, Ikwere, Classical approach and the Generative Diobu, Ndoki, Azumini, Oratta, Ezinihitte, approach. These approaches focus on the Umunoha, Idemili, Mbaise, Obowo, sound structure of human languages and Ndirimo, Amaraku, Agbaja, Okigwe, Isuitem, Uzuakoli, Aba, Abata, Ohafia, 42 IDOSR JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 5(1): 41-57, 2020. www.idosr.org Ukpai Bende, Ihiala, Nnewi, Akaeze, Uburu, the Niger Igbo cluster is located around Awgu, Udi, Enugu-Ezike, Isuama, the West of River Niger, in what is Umuezeohaka, Ozara, Ogba, Ekpeye, Igbo currently known as Delta state. To her, Izugbe, Eha Amufu, Ikwo, Izhi, Ezaa, Niger Igbo has two main dialects namely; Mgbo, Okposi, Afikpo, Arochukwu, and Ika Igbo and Aniocha (Enuani) Igbo. Ika, (for more details, see [8] [9]. Aniocha has Asaba, Ibusa and others as However, [10] presents a classification of satellite dialects while Ika has Agbo, the Igbo dialects into clusters using both Ukwuani, as satellite dialects. the phonological and grammatical [11] classified the Igbo dialects into these criteria. Based on these criteria, she groups; West Niger group of dialects, East grouped Igbo dialects in five clusters Niger groups, East Central group, Cross namely: the Niger Igbo, Inland West Igbo, river group, South Western group, North Inland East Igbo, Waawa Igbo/Northern Eastern group, North group, and North Igbo, and Riverain Igbo. She noted that West group of dialects. MATERIALS AND METHODS The primary method of data collection is The analysis of Ikwo consonantal introspection; selected speakers were phonemes used where necessary. Several trips to all According to [12], consonantal sounds the different communities in Ikwo, were show greater constriction of the vocal made to observe the sound pattern of tract than vowel sounds and have less speakers (male and female, old and young prominence. Consonant sounds are speakers of different ages) in order to described in terms of where constriction validate the true sound structure of Ikwo. is made, how it is made, and what kind of This was done to observe variations in the phonation supports it. speech forms of Ikwo speakers. The data There are 36 consonants observed in is purely analyzed descriptively. Ikwo. Presented as shown below Phonemic Comparison Between Sounds [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [g], [kp], [gb], [kʷ], [gʷ], Of Ikwo Igbo And Standard Igbo [pʲ], [bʲ], [ϕ], [f], [v], [s], [z], [ɣ], [h], [ʃ], [ʒ], Graphical presentation of the phonemes [ʃʷ], [pf], [bv], [ts], [dz], [tʃ], [dʒ], [m], [n], of the two varieties under study is the [ŋ], [ŋʷ], [ɲ], [ʘ], [l], [ɹ], [w], [j], best way to reveal their similarities or From the 36 consonants, 34 are otherwise. These are shown with the aid phonemic. The consonants are of tables below. phonetically described and their phonemic status justified below [p] and [b] are bilabial stops. While [p] is voiceless, [b] is voiced. They occur as in: Voiceless bilabial stop [p] Voiced bilabial stop [b] [épépé] „half‟ [èbèm] „lightning‟ [òpù] „flute‟ [ ḿbá] „country‟ [m̀pò] „horn‟ [òbòdò] „town [ḿpʲó] „tiny hole or opening‟ [ḿkpótúbó] „navel‟ [m̀pʲà] „secret‟ [bʲá] „come‟ Whenever the bilabial plosives occur before the sounds [i] and [ị] in the dialect, they are usually palatalized.