Yoruba Alphabet ListPhoneme Orthography IPA Orthography Englisha a aga aga chaira a, a ika ika, ika termiteb b baba baba fatherd d d i di to plaitdʲ dy dʲ i dyi steald&ʒ j d&ʒɛ* je eate e se se cookɛ e, e- ɛ dʲɛ edye bloodf f fɔ* fo washg g gɛ ge to cutg&b gb g&balɛ* gbale to sweepi i ile ile housei i, i ɛ j 4 i eyi, eyi eggk k ka ka to readk&p p k&pak&pa papa fieldl l la la make

Yoruba Alphabet List

Phoneme Orthography IPA Orthography English

m m mu mu to drink

n, n7 n ɔ*nɔ* ono road

o o od&ʒo ojo rain

ɔ o, o- ɔ*mɔ* omo child

ɔ4 o4, o-, o, o- ɛ fɔ4 efo4, efo mosquito

r r rɔ* ro to fall

s s salo salo run

ʃ s, sh ʃire sire, shire to play

t t ta ta to sell

u u fu fu give

u u, u mu mu to drink

w w ɔ wɔ? owo hand

j y ijo iyo salt

Since nasal and oral vowels are all phonemes, they can be marked differently such as a, a, i, i, o, o, u, u. However, since nasal vowels are not common, it may be possible to under-differentiate them and mark them the same as oral vowels without difficulty for readers. This may be the better choice, especially if tone needs to be marked with diacritics above the vowels.

Alphabet Symbol Choices Review

What is the most important factor when choosing alphabet symbols?

Alphabet Symbol Choices Review

What is the most important factor when choosing alphabet symbols?

Acceptabilityː The orthography must be acceptable to the people who are going to use it; otherwise, they will not likely use it.

How does phonology help literacy development?

1. Phonology shows us which sounds in a language need alphabet symbols, and which do not. (Steps 1-14)

2. Sometimes sounds change when words or parts of words are joined in various ways. Phonology helps us find the best spelling rules for these difficult situations. (Steps 18-19)

Steps for finding spelling rules when words or morphemes come together (2 of 2)

18. Identify Morphophonological Changes19. Identify Word Boundary Changes

Exercise 1ː Divide these words up into parts with meaning (even if you can’t label the meaninɡ very well)

• cats• playinɡ• kicked• walker

Exercise 1ː Divide these words up into parts with meaning (even if you can’t label the meaninɡ very well)

• cat-s• play-inɡ• kick-ed• walk-er

MORPHEMEː The smallest part of a word with meaning; can be the entire word.

cat ‘type of animal’-s ‘plural’

MUNDARI Sudan Root Root + ɟa ‘Don’t’1. pɪ ‘asked’ pɪɟa ‘Don’t askǃ’2. gɔɲ ‘gave’ gɔɲɟa ‘Don’t giveǃ’3. ɟɔŋ ‘took’ ɟɔŋga ‘Don’t takeǃ’ 4. kɔn ‘did’ kɔnd[a ‘Don’t doǃ’5. ruk ‘replied’ ruggə‘Don’t replyǃ’6. d[uc ‘tangled’ duɟɟə ‘Don’t tangleǃ’7. mɛt [ ‘looked’ mɛd[d[a ‘Don’t lookǃ’8. rɔp ‘paid’ rɔbba ‘Don’t payǃ’

PHONEME: the smallest contrastive sound in a language

LUMUN [kaβɪk] ‘rain’

MORPHEME: the smallest part of a word with meaning

MUNDARI /pɪɟa/ ‘Don’t askǃ’

ALLOPHONE: a variant (alternate) sound of a phoneme in a different environment.

LUMUN [maɣal] ‘sesame’

ALLOMORPH: a variant (alternate) sound of a morpheme in a different environment.

MUNDARI /ɟɔŋga/‘Don’t takeǃ’

MORPHO-PHONOLOGICAL CHANGE(MORPHO-PHONEMIC CHANGE)ː Sound changes when morphemes

come together.

SUFFIXː a morpheme attached to the ends of words.ENGLISH -ed in walked

MUNDARI -ɟa in pɪɟa ‘Don’t askǃ’

PREFIXː a morpheme attached to the beginnings of words.ENGLISH im- in improper

CAIRO ARABIC il- in ilkursi ‘the chair’

Exercise 2ː Find the morpheme and its allomorphs that makes the change in meaning from column 1 to column 2. Write the morpheme or allomorph separately to the left.

CAIRO ARABIC Morpheme/Column 1 Column 2 Allomorph

1. kursi ‘chair’ ilkursi ‘the chair’2. baːb ‘door’ ilbaːb ‘the door’ 3. ɡeːb ‘pocket’ ilɡeːb ‘the pocket’4. dars ‘lesson’ iddars ‘the lesson’5. nimra ‘ɡrade’ innimra ‘the ɡrade’6. satr ‘line’ issatr ‘the line’

Exercise 2ː Find the morpheme and its allomorphs that makes the change in meaning from column 1 to column 2. Write the morpheme or allomorph separately to the left.

Before which phonemes does the sound change and why?

CAIRO ARABIC Morpheme/Column 1 Column 2 Allomorph

1. kursi ‘chair’ ilkursi ‘the chair’ il-2. baːb ‘door’ ilbaːb ‘the door’ il-3. ɡeːb ‘pocket’ ilɡeːb ‘the pocket’ il-4. dars ‘lesson’ iddars ‘the lesson’ id-5. nimra ‘ɡrade’ innimra ‘the ɡrade’ in-6. satr ‘line’ issatr ‘the line’ is-

Complete Assimilation (+ = morpheme break)CAIRO ARABIC Original Sounds like /l/ /d/ before + d /il-dars/ /iddars/ ‘the

lesson’ /n/ before + n /il-nimra/ /innimra/ ‘the grade’

/s/ before + s /il-satr/ /issatr/ ‘the line’

/il-kursi/ /ilkursi/ ‘the book’

The final /l/ assimilates completely to the followinɡ consonant when that consonant is alveolar (as is the /l/)

PHONOLOGICAL PROCESS: common sound change in a particular environment in roots

MORPHOLOGICAL PROCESS: common sound change in a particular environment where words or morphemes come together.

Voicing and weakening assimilationLUMUN Sudan/k/ [ɣ] in-between vowels [k] elsewhere

/kakɛk/ [kaɣɛk] ‘tree type’

Complete assimilationCAIRO ARABIC/l/ /d/ before + d /n/ before + n

/s/ before + s /il-dars/ /iddars/ ‘the lesson’/il-nimra/ /innimra/ ‘the grade’/il-satr/ /issatr/ ‘the line’

Morphological Processes

LabialisationPalatalisationVoicingAssimilation to the place of articulationComplete assimilationDeletion (Elision)Insertion (Epenthesis)[+ATR] spreadingRaising

Many of these processes also occur in roots

Voicing and weakening assimilationLUMUN Sudan/k/ [ɣ] in-between vowels [k] elsewhere

Original Sound In roots /kakɛk/ [kaɣɛk] ‘tree type’Across morpheme /ɔ-kɪn/ [ɔɣɪn] ‘REF-they’ boundary

Exercise 3ː Find the morpheme that makes the change in meaning from column 1 to column 2. What changes in the verb when the morpheme is added?

EJAGHAMColumn 1 Column 2

1. aɡɔm 'he fines' aɡɔma 'he always fines'

2. atɛŋ 'he braids’ atɛŋa 'he always braids’

3. apini 'he tumbles' apina 'he always tumbles'

4. akɔɛ 'he couɡhs’ akɔa 'he always couɡhs'

Exercise 3ː Find the morpheme that makes the change in meaning from column 1 to column 2. What changes in the verb when the morpheme is added?

EJAGHAMColumn 1 Column 2

1. aɡɔm 'he fines' aɡɔma 'he always fines'2. atɛŋ 'he braids’ atɛŋa 'he always

braids’3. apini 'he tumbles' apina 'he

always tumbles'4. akɔɛ 'he couɡhs’ akɔa 'he always

couɡhs'

When the verb ends in a V (vowel), that V is deleted (disappears).

Vowel Deletion (Elision) ( = nothinɡ; / = in the environment of)

EJAGHAM V before + V or

V / ___ + V/apini-a/ /apina/ ‘he always tumbles’

This meansːA final root vowel is deleted before the first vowel of

a suffix.

Exercise 4ː Find the morpheme and allomorph that show each noun class. Write the morpheme and allomorph below each column. What environment causes the change to the allomorph?

LARU SudanNoun Class 1 Noun Class 3d[ɔ*tɔ* ‘CM-lizard’ gɛ*n ‘CM-mountain’

d[ ᶦd[ʊ*ɽɪ * ‘CM-stool’ gᶦrɪ ?na ‘CM-roped[ ᶦmɔ*ɽa ‘CM-snail’ gᶦɲɛ*n ‘CM-dog’d[ ᶦmud ‘CM-lynx’ gᶦbə*ɽu ‘CM-cloud’

Exercise 4ː Find the morpheme and allomorph that show each noun class. Write the morpheme and allomorph below each column. What environment causes the change to the allomorph?

LARU SudanNoun Class 1 Noun Class 3 (CM = concord marker)d[ɔ*tɔ* ‘CM-lizard’ gɛ*n ‘CM-mountain’

d[ᶦd[ʊ*ɽɪ * ‘CM-stool’ gᶦrɪ ?na ‘CM-rope

d[ᶦmɔ*ɽa ‘CM-snail’ gᶦɲɛ*n ‘CM-dog’

d[ᶦmud ‘CM-lynx’ gᶦbə*ɽu ‘CM-cloud’

d[- Noun Class 1 morphemeg- Noun Class 3 morpheme

d[ᶦ- Noun Class 1 allomorph gᶦ- Noun Class 3 allomorph

d[-, g- are used before vowels; d[ ᶦ-, gᶦ- are used before consonants.

Vowel Insertion (Epenthesis)LARU

[ᶦ] after C and before + Cor [ᶦ] / C ___ + C

/ d[-d[ʊ*ɽɪ * / / d[ᶦd[ʊ*ɽɪ * / ‘CM-stool’

This meansːThe vowel /ᶦ/ is inserted when consonants are joined

together through morphology.

Exercise 5ː Find the morpheme and its allomorphs that makes the change in meaning from column 1 to column 2. Underline the morpheme and its allomorph. What environment causes the change to the allomorph?

LARU SudanColumn 1 Column 2

/ɪ/ d[ ᶦlɪ *ŋɪ *d[ ‘insect’ d[ ᶦlɪ *ŋɪ *d[alʊ* ‘on insect’/ɛ/ d[ ᶦɽɛ*bɛ*n ‘stone’ d[ ᶦɽɛ*bɛ*nalʊ* ‘on stone’/a/ d[aⁿd[aŋ‘lizard’ d[aⁿd[aŋalʊ* ‘on lizard’/ɔ/ d[ɔ?gɔ?r ‘tree t.’ d[ɔ?gɔ?ralʊ* ‘on

tree t.’/ʊ/ d[ʊ?rtʊ?n ‘tablet’ d[ʊ?rtʊ?nalʊ* ‘on tablet’/i/ gid[ in ‘chicken house’ gid[ inə?lu ‘on

chicken house’/ə/ d[ə?ⁿd[ə?ŋ‘knife’ d[ə?ⁿd[ə?ŋə?lu ‘on knife’/u/ gugun ‘hare house’ gugunə?lu ‘on hare house’

Exercise 5ː Find the morpheme and its allomorphs that makes the change in meaning from column 1 to column 2. Underline the morpheme and its allomorph. What environment causes the change to the allomorph?

LARU SudanColumn 1 Column 2

/ɪ/ d[ ᶦlɪ *ŋɪ *d[ ‘insect’ d[ ᶦlɪ *ŋɪ *d[alʊ* ‘on insect’/ɛ/ d[ ᶦɽɛ*bɛ*n ‘stone’ d[ ᶦɽɛ*bɛ*nalʊ* ‘on stone’/a/ d[aⁿd[aŋ‘lizard’ d[aⁿd[aŋalʊ* ‘on lizard’/ɔ/ d[ɔ?gɔ?r ‘tree t.’ d[ɔ?gɔ?ralʊ* ‘on

tree t.’/ʊ/ d[ʊ?rtʊ?n ‘tablet’ d[ʊ?rtʊ?nalʊ* ‘on tablet’/i/ gid[ in ‘chicken house’ gid[ inə?lu* ‘on

chicken house’/ə/ d[ə?ⁿd[ə?ŋ‘knife’ d[ə?ⁿd[ə?ŋə?lu* ‘on knife’/u/ gugun ‘hare house’ gugunə?lu* ‘on hare house’

[+ATR] Rightward SpreadingLARU V [+ATR] after V[+ATR] +or V [+ATR] / V[+ATR] + ____

/gid[ in-alʊ*/ /gid[ inə?lu/ ‘on chicken house’

This meansː[+ATR] quality spreads from the vowels of roots to

the vowels of suffixes

Exercise 6ː Find the morpheme that makes the change in meaning from column 1 to column 2. What changes in the verb when the morpheme is added? Write the changes on the right.

LARU Sudan Vowel

Column 1 Column 2 Change

/ɪ/ d[agɽɪ? ‘to chew’ d[ə*gɽid[ i ‘Chewǃ’/ɛ/ d[ɛ*dɛ? ‘to cut’ d[ id[ i ‘Cutǃ’/a/ ŋaŋa ‘to rub’ ŋə*ŋə*d[ i ‘Rubǃ’/ɔ/ rɔ? ‘to grind’ rud[ i ‘Grindǃ’/ʊ/ rʊ? ‘to be changed’ rud[ i ‘Be

changedǃ’/i/ pi ‘to beat’ pid[ i ‘Beatǃ’/ə/ pə? ‘to nail’ pə*d[ i ‘Nailǃ’/u/ d[ru ‘to sip’ d[rud[ i ‘Sipǃ’

Exercise 6ː Find the morpheme that makes the change in meaning from column 1 to column 2. What changes in the verb when the morpheme is added? Write the changes on the right.

LARU Sudan VowelColumn 1 Column 2

Change/ɪ/ d[agɽɪ ? ‘to chew’ d[əgɽid[ i ‘Chewǃ’

ɪ i/ɛ/ d[ɛ*dɛ? ‘to cut’ d[id[i ‘Cutǃ’ ɛ i/a/ ŋaŋa ‘to rub’ ŋə*ŋə*d[ i ‘Rubǃ’

a ə/ɔ/ rɔ? ‘to grind’ rud[ i ‘Grindǃ’

ɔ u/ʊ/ rʊ? ‘to be changed’ rud[ i ‘Be

changedǃ’ ʊ u/i/ pi ‘to beat’ pid[ i ‘Beatǃ’/ə/ pə? ‘to nail’ pə*d[ i ‘Nailǃ’/u/ d[ru ‘to sip’ d[rud[ i ‘Sipǃ’

[+ATR] Leftward SpreadingLARU V [+ATR] before + V[+ATR]or V [+ATR] / ___ + V[+ATR]

/ ŋaŋa-d[ i / / ŋə*ŋə*d[ i / ‘Rubǃ’

This meansː[+ATR] quality spreads from the vowels of suffixes

to the vowels of roots

Vowel Raising (with [+ATR] spreading)LARU /ɛ/, /ɔ/ /i/, /u/ before + V[+ATR]

/d[ɛ*-d[ i/ /d[id[i/ ‘Cutǃ’

/rɔ?-d[ i/ /rud[i / ‘Grindǃ’

When [+ATR] quality spreads to the vowels /ɛ/, /ɔ/, these vowels are raised to the [+ATR] vowels /i/, /u/. We expect these vowels to become the [+ATR] vowels /e/, /o/, but they don’t because these vowels don’t exist in Laru.

Class Assignmentː1. Find all Yoruba verbs with continuous aspect

(those with ing in the English translation). What is the morpheme and its allomorphs that give these verbs the continuous meaning?

2. What environment causes the change to the allomorph? Make a rule in words or symbols for this change. Give one example word for each allomorph change.

Reading AssignmentA Guide to Phonological Analysis pg 86-88; 146-147