ABSTRACT
This study focuses on the Aspects of the Phonology of the Igueben dialect of Esan. This work identifies the various phonological processes found in the dialect. Igueben, a local government area in Edo state is classified under the proto-north central Edoid family. Data was elicited from competent speakers of the Igueben dialect before the ages of 50 to 70 years. The instrument used for data collection here is the Ibadan 400 Wordlist and an audio recorder. The theoretical framework adopted for the analyses of the data is the Generative theoretical framework. From the analyses of the data, we found out that there are twenty-eight consonant and twelve vowel sounds . The vowel segments which are all phonemic include /i, e, ɛ, u, o, ᴐ, a, ĩ, ã, ũ, ε̃, ɔ̃/ while the consonant sounds are identified as [p, b, t, d, f, v, s, z, k, g, kp, gb, h, β, x, ɣ, ʃ, ʒ, ʧ, ʤ, m, ɱ, n, ɲ, l, w, j, r]. The following phonological processes were also attested; Vowel elision, glide formation, consonant deletion, vowel harmony, insertion, assimilation, nasalization and reduplication. In this study, it was also detected that most persons in the speech community do not speak their language, this added to the motive for the proper documentation of the aspects of phonology found in this dialect. The investigations carried out for this purpose is to ensure proper awareness, proper documentation and proper recognition of the language. It further explains ways in which other dialects in esan need to be documented. A comparison of the segments of Igueben and Esan need to be carried out. The findings of the study are critically discussed in lieu of further research.
