UDA CONSONANT SYSTEM

UDA CONSONANT SYSTEM

CHAPITRE ONE

INTRODUCTION

Language can refer to either the essentially human aptitude for learning and utilising sophisticated communication systems or to a specific instance of such a complex communication system. When used broadly, “language” refers to the cognitive faculty that enables humans to learn and use complex communication systems. Language learning is firmly entrenched in us, just as walking, grasping objects, and recognizing faces are. There are no significant differences between youngsters living up in packed urban slums, secluded mountain communities, or rich suburban mansions.

Language is obviously highly complex, and humans do not acquire a language simply by memorizing sentences and storing them in some massive mental dictionary. The collection of words is limited, but no dictionary can contain all of a language’s sentences, which are limitless in number. Individuals instead learn a set of rules that allows them to make and interpret sentences, the majority of which they have never produced or heard before. Children, like adults, utilize language in novel ways.

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, language is a system of communication in speech and writing used by individuals in a specific region or area.

Linguistically, language is defined as a system of arbitrary voice symbols used by humans to communicate. Consonants and vowels are among the vocal symbols. This work focuses on consonants in Uda, Akwa Ibom State’s Mbo Local Government Area.

A consonant is a speaking sound that is uttered with the vocal tract completely or partially closed. These sounds can be found in natural languages. Consonant sounds in Uda have not been identified because they lack an orthography, despite the fact that they exist.

1.1 The Study’s Background

Phonology is the discipline of linguistics that investigates language sound systems. Any language’s sound system, however, consists of vowels and consonants. Phonology’s goal is to identify the rules that regulate how sounds are structured in languages and to explain the differences that occur. We start by studying a single language to see which sound units are employed and what patterns they produce. Vowels and consonants make up the sound system of any language. The goal of phonology is to discover the fundamental principles that regulate how sounds are structured in languages and to explain the differences that occur. We start by analyzing a single language to identify which sound units are employed and the patterns they form to form the language’s sound system.

Whereas phonetics studies all possible speech sounds, phonology studies how a language’s speakers systemically use a subset of these sounds to express meaning.

“There is another way of drawing the distinction,” Crystal (2005) writes. Because no two speakers have anatomically identical vocal tracts, no one produces sounds exactly the same way…However, when we use our language, we can ignore much of this variation and concentrate on only those sounds, or properties of sound, that are important for communicating meaning. Even though our fellow speakers do not use the “same” sounds, we believe they do. The study of how we discover order among the chaos of spoken sounds is known as phonology.

Phonetics, as opposed to phonology, investigates the physical world while taking into account the anatomical and physiological features of man that give rise to them. Both phonology and phonetics are concerned with speech. The distinction between the two themes is oversimplified because the distinction is not clear or precise. This is because, in most circumstances, one cannot study phonetics without referring to phonology; similarly, one cannot study sounds in a vacuum without referring to their function.

1.2 The Study’s Scope

Consonants are the sounds generated when the airstream is completely or partially occluded at some point along the vocal tract. As a result, this work will concentrate on Uda’s sound system, specifically the consonants.

1.3 Uda People Background Information

Uda denotes both a dialect and a people. As a result, this section contains information about the people of Uda as well as the Uda dialect.

1.3.1 The Origin and Movement of People

Uda is a major group in what is now the Oro nation. It is a lower cross language spoken in Akwa Ibom state’s Mbo local government area. Uda traveled from Israel and settled first in Uganda (South Africa), then crossed the Sahara desert to settle in North Africa. They later relocated to Cameroon, then Calabar, and eventually Ibaka in Akwa Ibom State. Ibaka is a town in the Uda group whose name is derived from the phrase “Iba eka,” which means “two have gone.”

The chiefs and elders of Uda worship a “Azurubu” god, according to the chiefs and elders. When their canoe sinks, Azurubu is the god who keeps them from drowning. It is the mother of all other gods, making it the greatest of all (gods). The residents of the Uda community, on the other hand, acknowledge the presence of the Almighty God, whom they call Jehovah. They avoid eating crab because it represents their biggest god, “Azurubu.”

According to legend, twin children and their mothers were never accepted in Uda, but twin children have been welcomed since the beginning of Christianity. Uda’s community life is pleasant, quiet, attractive, and devoid of altruism.

1.3.2 Geographical Location and Population

After Ebughu, Uda is the second largest settlement in Mbo Local Government Area. They were the last settlers in the Oron community to share boundaries with others.

The shared boundary with Esit Eket in the north, Ebughu/Urue Offong Oruko in the west, Enwang in the south, and Oron/Cross River State in the east.

According to Hon. Chris Abasieyo, a former commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, Uda is made up of eight villages: Eke-uda, Affi-uda, Uyenge, Ujoh-Entighe, orukinm Udinghi, Ampramprang, and Ibaka, the largest. Still speaking, he stated that all of these villages share the same vital heritage and are united.

They have the best topography in the vicinity, with fertile soil, marsh savannah, and aeriable land.

According to the 2006 population census, the Uda people had 500,000 people, making them the second largest in Mbo and the fifth largest in the Oro nation as a whole.

Occupation

Uda’s residents are primarily fishermen and farmers. A child of 15 years old is thought to be capable of paddling a canoe and using a net adequately in the sea.

1.4 The Uda Language

Lower cross languages are spoken in three Nigerian states. Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River. The Uda dialect is spoken in the Uda community’s eight villages. Eke-Uda, Affi-Uda, Uyenge, Ukoh-Entighe, Orukin, Udinghi, Apranprang, and Ibaka are among them.

The diagram below depicts Uda’s genetic link with other New Benue Congo languages.

Benue – Congo – New

Benue Congo’s Eastern Region

Crossing of the Bantoid

River crossing

Delta Air Lines

Lower Cross Ogoni Central Delta Ogoni Upper Cross

Obolo

Iko CLC Ebughu Ilue Enwang-Uda Usaghade Iko CLC Ebughu Ilue Enwang-Uda Usagh

Mbonuso Efik Etebi Okobo Itu Mbonuso Efik Etebi Okobo

Annang Eket Oro Ibeno Ibuoro Annang Eket Oro Ibeno Ibuoro Annang E

Enwang Uda Ito Ibibio Mbo (Efai) Ito Ibibio Mbo (Efai) Ito Ib

Nkari Ukwa’s formal name is Nkari Ukwa.

1.5 Statement of the Issue

Since its inception, Uda has had no officially sanctioned orthography.

As a result, the focus of this study will be on establishing Uda’s sound system, particularly the consonant sounds.

1.6 The Study’s Objectives

To find out how many consonants there are in Uda,

To characterize Uda’s consonants

To determine how and where these sounds occur in Uda

1.7 Importance of the Research

Any language that lacks an officially sanctioned orthography is considered undeveloped. In view of this, the relevance of this study will be as follows:

It will facilitate future research in the Uda language.

It will prevent the extinction of the Uda language.

It will aid in the development of an acceptable writing system for the Uda language.

There are also many undergraduate studies on consonants, however these are conducted in various dialects. So, in terms of consonants in Uda, this would be a groundbreaking work.

Methodology (1.8)

Introduction

The collection and analysis of data to determine how many consonants depart in Uda was done methodically. As a result, this section outlines the methods used to collect data to illustrate how many consonants exist in Uda.

1.8.1 Research Methodology

The goal of this endeavor was to record natural discourse data from the Uda community. This was accomplished in part through the use of a descriptive research approach. This means that study questions, sampling procedures, data gathering procedures, and a descriptive approach were used.