ONSET CLUSTERS AND ELICITED EPENTHETIC VOWELS IN SPOKEN ENGLISH OF SELECTED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RINGIM, JIGAWA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigates onset cluster simplification through vowel epenthesis in the spoken English of Senior Secondary School students in Ringim Local Government Area, Jigawa State, Nigeria, within the framework of Prince and Smolensky’s Optimality Theory. A qualitative research design was employed for the analysis, complemented by quantitative approach employed to identify frequency patterns. The population comprised sixty students, who are Hausa natives, selected from one privately-sponsored and five government-funded senior secondary schools through purposive sampling based on the strength of gender balance and communicative competence. Data were elicited through oral reading tasks consisting of 152 lexical items with onset consonant clusters, organised into four groups according to vowel nuclei (/a/, /ai/; /ɛ/, /e/; /i/, /o/; /ɔ/, /u/). Reading sessions were audio-recorded with a smart cell phone device, and transcribed using phonetic transcription in line with the IPA, i-Chart 2025. The findings of the study reveal that vowel epenthesis in onset clusters is primarily conditioned by vowel harmony, particularly Advanced Tongue Root (ATR) and front/back alignment, and secondarily by consonantal co-articulation effects. Four high vowels, [ʊ], [ɪ], [u], and [i], were identified as the principal epenthetic segments. The epenthetic vowels demonstrate predictable patterns in relation to surrounding segmental features. However, consonantal properties such as labiality, rhoticity, and frication do override harmonic expectations. The results highlight a two-tier conditioning system in epenthetic vowel selection. This reflects the influence of Hausa phonotactic constraints on Hausa variety of Nigerian English. Framed within World Englishes, the research contributes to understanding regional variation in Nigerian English and its implications for multilingual education.