A phonological and lexical analysis of dialect variation in Kusaal

Abstract

This study investigates the phonological and lexical variations in the Agole and Toende dialects of Kusaal, a Mabia language spoken in the north-eastern part of Ghana using a synchronic dialectolgical approach. It employes a qualitative design in which both primary and secondary data were sourced for the analysis. Garu, Bawku, Binduri and their environs constitute the research centers for the Agole dialect while the Toende data were taken from Zebilla, Binaba, Sapeliga, and their surroundings. The study reveals that different phonological processes trigger the phonological variations in the dialects. It is shown that segment alternation, segment deletion and segment substitution are in the dialects where voiced segments at word-final position in Agole are often realised as voiceless segments or deleted in Toende. Also, the concepts of labialisation, palatalisation and glottalisation are present in Agole but absent in Toende. Nasalisation is also in Toende but absent in Agole at least, for some words. Vowel sequencing in Kusaal is also prolific as far as dialect variation is concerned. While Agole accepts diphthongs and other sequential vowels, Toende accepts only monophthongs within morpheme-boundaries. Finally, vowel harmony and consonant assimilation differences are salient factors for the phonological variations in the dialects. While round or spread harmonic features are optimal in Toende, they are not in Agole. On the other hand, [+/-ATR] harmony is also optimal in Agole but not in Toende. The study also depicts that lexical variation is an integral part of languages with dialects and Kusaal is not an exception. It is shown that the two dialects maintain their respective list of words referring to the same referent in the language. It is apparent that nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs contain the prominent variables in the dialects. It is observed further that nouns provide a tall list of lexical items showing differences in the dialects. This is possibly so because of language contact and easy borrowing of nouns. This is followed by verbs, adjectives and finally adverbs.