Deletion, Coalescence and Denasalization in Yoruba Personal Names: A Lexical Phonology Analysis

Abstract

Yoruba personal names have long been discussed in linguistic literature. The majority of these works focus on the sociolinguistic and pragmatic essence of Yoruba personal names, with little attention paid to the interaction of sounds when they appear together in words or across morphemes. This study examines the processes of deletion, coalescence, and denasalization in Yoruba personal names. The study's objectives are to (i) investigate Yoruba personal naming practice, (ii) identify factors or methods for selecting personal names in Yoruba, (iii) investigate the interaction of morphology and phonology in Yoruba personal name's; and (iv) analyse the morphophonemic alternation in Yoruba personal names. Data were gathered from previous works on Yoruba Personal Names (YPNs), structured oral interview and participant observation. Lexical Phonology (LP) was used as the theoretical tool. LP uses a set of underlying representations of morphemes and convert them to their surface forms by passing through a series of phonological rules. Findings from the study reveal that both phonology and morphology connect in the formation of personal names in Yoruba language. The result of the study shows that vowel deletion, denasalization, and coalescence are prominent morphophonemic processes in the creation of YPNs. In conclusion, it was observed that morphophonemic processes play a crucial role in the derivation of personal names in Yoruba language as it helps second language learners to understand the intricacies of sounds joined together to form words in the language.