Syllable Structure of Mecha Oromo in Optimality Theory

Abstract

This study deals with the analysis of the syllable structure of Mecha Oromo in optimality theory. The major aim of this study is to describe the syllable structure of Mecha Oromo using the markedness and the faithfulness constraint set. To achieve the objectives, an elicitation method was used. In this study, a typical word list, felicity judgment/repetition of reading, and spontaneous speech were used. In this study, basic phonemes and their distribution in the words were consulted as inputs for the analysis of syllable structure of Mecha Oromo. The study provided the basic syllable types, the restricted syllable types, possible distribution of syllables, and word structure and stress pattern in Mecha Oromo. The basic syllable types in Mecha Oromo are CV, CVC, CV: and CV: C. Vowel initial and syllable with consonant cluster in word-initial and word-final are prohibited in the Mecha Oromo, but not more than two consonant clusters are allowed at word-medial position. The syllable structure of Mecha Oromo was also analyzed based on markedness and faithfulness constraint sets. In Mecha Oromo, word-initial vowel is prohibited to satisfy ONSET constraint by the glottal stop /ʔ/ which is epenthesis to break a vowel initial in a syllable structure. Mecha Oromo allows coda; hence, NOCODA constraint is least ranking violation. In Mecha Oromo, complexity in initial and final position of the words is restricted but not allowed more than two consonants in word-medial position. The syllable structure of Mecha Oromo is also analyzed using the universal faithfulness constraints where DEP-IO:-every segment in the output must have a correspondent in the input (no epenthesis), MAX-IO: - every segment present in the input must have a correspondent in the output (no deletion). IDENT (PLACE): -Distribution of place feature in the input and output is identical. Hence, in Mecha Oromo, DEP-IO is ranked as least-violation and MAX-IO is optimal. Similarly, in the language, IDENT-IO (PLACE) is ranked as least –violation as the place feature changes from input to output during assimilation and metathesis.