Gbari Orthography: A Misrepresentation

Abstract

The committee for Gbari orthography attests for only oral vowels and single consonants in the sound inventory of the language (Philips and Sheshi, 2004). However, it is observed that nasalized vowels and nasally released consonants are accounted for in the orthography. This is done with only the letter ‘n'. This inconsistency drives this research into an investigation of what is truly obtainable in Gbari, a Nupoid language of the New Benue-Congo phylum. Data is collected with a Nexton digital audio recorder. Words showing nasality and their oral counterparts are extracted from the 1700 SIL wordlist. Minimal pair of classical phonemics is used to show contrast. Segmentation and analysis are carried out using Praat. The results show that nasalized vowels contrast in the language but are not represented in the sound system therefore did not reflect in the orthography. Conversely, the nasally released plosives are not phonemic but are represented in the orthography. It is also observed that what holds presently in the orthography is a misrepresentation of sounds. The researchers recommend that the letter ‘n', inserted between a consonant and the adjacent vowel, be used to represent nasalized vowels and that it should replace that of nasally released consonants for more accurate and consistent orthographic representation.