Initial Consonant Mutation in Fulfulde: An Optimality Theoretic Account

This paper examines initial consonant mutation in the Sokoto dialect of Fulfulde within the tradition of Optimality Theory. Initial consonant mutation in this dialect is seen to follow the stop – continuant pattern rather than the stop – continuant – nasal pattern found in other Fulfulde dialects. Loss of prenasalisation in word-initial position in the Sokoto dialect is responsible for this difference. Based on data collected from fieldwork, it is found that Sokoto Fulfulde mutation pairs are, except for the nasal grade, exactly as those found in other dialects. The data for this research come from 53 native Fulfulde speakers. Out of these, only one was female (aged 60). The informants were mainly elderly people aged between 45 and 80: there were 35 informants in this group, out of which 7 had formal education and 28 never. Younger subjects under the age of 45 were 18, with 8 educated and 10 uneducated speakers. Altogether, the data comprise 9, 251 lexical items; a lot of which are repetitions of regularly occurring words, particularly those referring to flora and fauna. Findings reveal that since the mutation feature in this dialect is [+continuant], and the feature docks on the left edge of stems, Alignment Constraint [ALIGN] is crucial and undominated. The study uncovers other constraints, thus providing an explanation for the occurrence of some unexpected mutation pairs such as k/h, ʧ/s and d/r. The study concludes that mutation in variform stems in the Sokoto dialect of Fulfulde can be accounted for by seven constraints; six of which must be undominated.