my-server
← Wiki

Urhobo language

Urhobo is a South-Western Edoid language spoken by the Urhobo people of southern Nigeria. It is spoken in Delta and Bayelsa States.

Phonology

Urhobo has a rather reduced system of sound inventory compared to proto-Edoid. The inventory of Urhobo consists of seven vowels; which form two harmonic sets, and .

It has a conservative consonant inventory for an Edoid language. It maintains three nasals, and only five oral consonants, , have nasal allophones before nasal vowels.

  • is interchangeable with only before nasal vowels.
  • can be heard as before non-front vowels.
  • Nasal consonants can have allophones of nasalized approximants as , , , .
  • Approximants are heard as nasalized approximants before and after nasal vowels.
  • Velar fricatives can vary from being heard as to lowered fricatives and approximants . can also be heard as a palatal fricative before .
  • Rhotics may have different realizations as alveolar or retroflex, and can be articulated as approximants , or taps . A retroflex lateral flap can also be heard in syllable-final position.

According to Anthony Ukere, Urhobo has two tones, a high tone and a low tone. These can also combine to form rising and falling tones.

Syntax

Urhobo has the subject–verb–object word order (SVO) constituent order type as illustrated with the example below:

References

General references