MORPHOPHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES IN THE NOUN: A CASE STUDY OF THE BENADIRI DIALECT OF SOMALI By ABDIRASAK DAHIR SULUB REG.NO. C50/10198/2018 A PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN LINGUISTICS, UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI JULY, 2020 DECLARATION This project is my original work and has never been submitted for examination to any other university. ………………………………….. ………………………….......... ABDIRASAK DAHIR SULUB Date This Research Project has been submitted for examination with our approval as the university supervisors. …………………….................. ............................................... Prof. JANE AKINYI NGALA ODUOR Date …………………………………… ….……………………............... Dr. MOHAMED ABDULMAJID AKIDAH Date ii DEDICATION I dedicate this work to My lovely mother Fatima Ali Owabdi My lovely wife Kadija Omar My lovely children, Mohammed Fatima Aisha Anas Asma And All my brothers and sisters They endured my long period of absence from home iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisors, Prof. Jane A. Ngala Oduor and Dr. Mohamed Abdulmajid Akidah for spending their precious time correcting my work. I also thank them for preparing me to be academically competent and to achieve my goal in this study. Many thanks go to Prof. Schröder Helga and Dr. Buregeya Alfred for coaching me in the various aspects of linguistics which served as a base for my success in this research work. I would also like to thank my fellow graduate students in the Department of Linguistics and Languages for providing the warmest environment that made the past two years an enjoyable experience. Some of these students deserve mentioning. They are Mr. Eric Osotsi, Mr. Brian Walumbe, Ms. Messy Soy, and Ms. Janice Makena. I benefited a lot from them through group discussions. I thank my respondents for their cooperation and the help they accorded to me in the course of data collection. They are Mr. Aweys Hussein, Mr. Abdiwali Addow, Kadija Omar, Deka Mohamoud, Matt Omar, Jibril Ibrahim, Bashir Yousuf, Idil Warsame, Ayan Yousuf, Jamal Omar and Hanad Warsame. They devoted their time to the study and allowed me to interview them without objection. Their contribution to this study shall always remain fresh in my mind. In a special way, I thank my wife, Kadija Omar Mohammed for shouldering the responsibility of taking care of our children and my in-laws during the course of my studies, thus giving me time and peace of mind to study. I also thank my sister, Deka Dahir and her husband Abdiwali Adan Ali for accommodating me during my studies in Nairobi. Thank you very much. God bless you all. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS Aff Affix AP Autosegmental Phonology C Consonant H high tone IPA International Phonetic Alphabet L low tone LP Lexical Phonology LR Lexical representation Pl plural PR Phonetic representation Sfs suffix Sg Singular Syll Syllable V Vowel VV long vowel ➞ Becomes > changes to // Phonemic (underlying representation) ~ Alternate with [ ] Phonetic representation # Word boundary v Table of Contents Declaration.....................................................................................................................ii Dedication………………………………………………………………..……...........iii Acknowledgement……………………………………………………..………...........iv List of Abbreviations and Symbols……………………………………………...........vi List of Tables…………………………………………………………………….......viii Abstract………………………………………………………………………............xiii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………….................1 1.1 Background to the Study……………………………………………........................1 1.2 Statement of the Research Problem………………………………………...............3 1.3 Research Questions…………………………………………………………............3 1.4 Objectives of the Study……………………………………………………..............4 1.5 Justification of the Study…………………………………………………................4 1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study……………………….………………..............4 1.7 Definition of concepts……………………………………………............................5 1.8 Literature Review……………………...………………………………....................5 1.8.1 Literature Review on Benadiri and related Works..................................................5 1.8.2 Review of Theorectical Literature...........................................................................7 1.9 1. Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………...............7 1.9.1.1 Lexical Phonology………………………….......................................................8 1.9.1.2 The Principles of Levels………….………….........................……..……...........8 1.9.1.3 The Principles of Ordering of Affixes…………..........................………...........10 1.9.1.4 The Level Ordering principles……………….........................…………............11 1.9.1.5. Principles of Neutral and Non-neutral Affixes...................................................12 1.9.1.6. The Bracket Erasure Convention........................................................................14 vi 1.9.2 Auto-segmental Phonology.....................................................................................14 1.10 Research Methodology…………..…………………………………………..........16 1.10.1 Data Collection Procedures………………………………..................................16 1.10.2 Data Analysis Procedures..........................……...…………………....................16 CHAPTER TWO: A PHONEMIC INVENTORY OF BENADIRI SOUNDS...................17 2.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………........................17 2.2 Benadiri Consonants……………………………………………………..................17 2.2.1 Nasals……………………………………………........................…………..........19 2.2.2 Stops……………………………………………………………............................19 2.2.3 Fricatives………………………………………………………….........................22 2.2.4 Affricates…...………………………………………………………......................24 2.2.5 Glides.............………..………………………………………………....................24 2.2.6 Trills………………………..………………………………………......................25 2.2.7 Laterals........................................…………………………………………............25 2.3 Vowels…………………………………………..........................………………......25 2.3.1 Front vowels………………………........................……………………………....26 2.3.2 Back vowels………………………………........................…………………….....27 2.3.3 Diphthongs……………………………………………........................……….......27 2.4 The Syllable Structure of Benadiri Dialect...............................................…..............28 2.5 Conclusion…………………………………………………………..........................30 CHAPTER THREE: LEXICAL MORPHOLOGICAL PROCESSES IN BENADIRI DIALECT..........................................................................................................................31 3.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................31 vii 3.2 Proposed Levels of Analysis.......................................................................................31 3.3. The Ordering of Affixes in the Benadiri Lexicon......................................................31 3.3.1 Level 2 Morphological Processes in Benadiri (Inflectional processes) .................32 3.3.1.1 Formation of the Definite Noun............................................................................32 3.3.1.2 Inflection for Number ( Singular and Plural)........................................................33 3.4.Level 1 Morphological Processes in Benadiri (Derivational Processes).....................34 3.4.1 Derivation of the Subject from Verbs (V→N)........................................................34 3.4.2. Derivation of Nouns from Adjectives (Adj →N)....................................................37 3.4.3 Derivation of Nouns from Nouns (N→N)................................................................38 3.5 Conclusion...................................................................................................................39 CHAPTER FOUR:LEXICAL PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES IN BENADIRI DIALECT..........40 4.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………..................40 4.2. Consonant Processes in Noun Plural Formation.......………………..........................40 4.2.1. Consonant Weakening..............……………….......................................................40 4.2.2 Consonant Substitution.............................................................................................44 4.2.3 Consonant Insertion..................................................................................................46 4.3. Vowel Processes in Noun Plural Formation...............................................................47 4.3.1Vowel Deletion…………………………..................................................................47 4.3.2 Vowel Lowering……………………………….......................................................48 4.4. Conclusion……………………………………………..............................................50 CHAPTER FIVE: TONAL CHANGES IN BENADIRI DIALECT....................................51 5.1. Introduction…………………………………………………...…………..................51 viii 5.2. Tone as a Lexical Function……………………………………………...…..............51 5.3. Tonal Changes in Plural Formation............................................................................52 5.4. Tone in Gender specification......................................................................................55 5.5. Conclusion………………………………………………...………...........................57 CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION...................58 6.1 Summary of the Findings………………………………………………....................58 6.2 Conclusion…………………………………………………………….......................58 6.3 Recommendations………………………………………………………...................59