EFFECTS AND FUNCTIONS OF EPENTHESIS IN THE TIV PHONOLOGY

Abstract

A phonological process of inserting sounds into words is not foreign to the speakers of the Tiv language because of the introduction of loan-words into the Tiv language. These English loan-words brought vowel and consonant insertions. The objectives of this paper are to: classify epenthesis; discuss the effects of epenthesis on the Tiv syllabic structures; state the functions of epenthesis in Tiv Language and formulate epenthetic rules in Tiv phonology. The paper adopts Generative Phonological Theory which was popularized by Chomsky and Halle (1968) which marked the emergence of generative phonology as a new theory and framework of description. It has been observed that insertion occurred mostly in loan-words and the reason is for easing the pronunciation of such borrowed words. It is therefore recommended that Tiv language be taught to students at primary, secondary and tertiary institutions so that they will know when to insert sounds. Epenthesis is not a phonological ‘crime’ but it is a way of breaking the consonant clusters.