Òun, ohun, ohùn
This article reports the results of an experimental study of the realisation of /h/ in Yoruba. The aim was to determine whether the 1974 orthography convention requiring that òun “3rd Sg” be written without “h” while ohun “thing” be written with the letter in order to distinguish between the two w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nordic Africa Research Network
2019-05-01
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| Series: | Nordic Journal of African Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.njas.fi/njas/article/view/397 |
| _version_ | 1797700706877046784 |
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| author | Kolawole Adeniyi |
| author_facet | Kolawole Adeniyi |
| author_sort | Kolawole Adeniyi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
This article reports the results of an experimental study of the realisation of /h/ in Yoruba. The aim was to determine whether the 1974 orthography convention requiring that òun “3rd Sg” be written without “h” while ohun “thing” be written with the letter in order to distinguish between the two words had any empirical basis. The results show that “h” is rather more frequently realised in òun than in ohun. It is then argued that òun has a V-CV structure in harmony with other Yoruba pronouns, and that the dichotomy introduced in the 1974 orthography convention both lacks empirical support and breaks the pattern of Yoruba pronouns.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:26:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-063b0c0e87204d2d8e2422960ece0625 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1459-9465 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:26:30Z |
| publishDate | 2019-05-01 |
| publisher | Nordic Africa Research Network |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordic Journal of African Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-063b0c0e87204d2d8e2422960ece06252023-09-03T10:19:37ZengNordic Africa Research NetworkNordic Journal of African Studies1459-94652019-05-0127410.53228/njas.v27i4.397Òun, ohun, ohùnKolawole Adeniyi0Department of Linguistics and African Languages, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria This article reports the results of an experimental study of the realisation of /h/ in Yoruba. The aim was to determine whether the 1974 orthography convention requiring that òun “3rd Sg” be written without “h” while ohun “thing” be written with the letter in order to distinguish between the two words had any empirical basis. The results show that “h” is rather more frequently realised in òun than in ohun. It is then argued that òun has a V-CV structure in harmony with other Yoruba pronouns, and that the dichotomy introduced in the 1974 orthography convention both lacks empirical support and breaks the pattern of Yoruba pronouns. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. https://www.njas.fi/njas/article/view/397YorubaorthographytonevariationpronounWest Benue-Congo |
| spellingShingle | Kolawole Adeniyi Òun, ohun, ohùn Nordic Journal of African Studies Yoruba orthography tone variation pronoun West Benue-Congo |
| title | Òun, ohun, ohùn |
| title_full | Òun, ohun, ohùn |
| title_fullStr | Òun, ohun, ohùn |
| title_full_unstemmed | Òun, ohun, ohùn |
| title_short | Òun, ohun, ohùn |
| title_sort | oun ohun ohun |
| topic | Yoruba orthography tone variation pronoun West Benue-Congo |
| url | https://www.njas.fi/njas/article/view/397 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kolawoleadeniyi ounohunohun |