Constraints Interaction in the Syllabification in Olusuba

Abstract

This paper analyses the syllable structure of Olusuba. In the syllabification in Olusuba, just as in other languages, a principle of well-formedness is factored in by the speakers of the language through their use of brain faculties responsible for language formation and use. Well-formedness is understood to be a by-product of competing universal constraints – the constraints outdo their counterparts in the ranking, which is language specific, in the formation of an output. The job of constraint is, therefore, is to block all except the correct output. My analysis of syllabification in Olusuba is couched within the constraint interaction, a tenet of the Optimality Theory (OT) by Prince and Smolensky (2004). Data for analysis was collected through audio-recording of continuous speeches in natural settings. Audio-recorded speeches were then played back and transcribed using phonemic mode of transcription. From the transcript a corpus construct was made. The construct was a list of Olusuba words. Three native speakers of Olusuba were at different moments instructed to read naturally the words constituting the corpus construct by taking a breath word after word. The analysis of the data was descriptively done within the framework of OT’s principle of well-formedness which is grounded on constraint interaction. The findings of this study indicate that other than the universal syllable structure CV, Olusuba displays other syllable patterns formed from competing Universal Grammar (UG) representational constraints. Findings for this study give an insight to the morphophonological structure of Olusuba words; enable linguists understand internal structure of Olusuba syllables and enlighten linguists on phonotactic constraints behind syllabification of Olusuba words.