Contrastive Analysis of the use of palatalisation in Hausa & Kanuri languages

Abstract

This study investigates palatalisation in Hausa and Kanuri languages with particular attention to their phonological and morphophonological structures and functions. Drawing on Feature Geometry Theory, the study examines the typological similarities and differences in the distribution, conditioning environments, and outcomes of palatalisation between the two languages. Data were obtained from published literature and supplemented by native-speaker intuitions from the authors, who are native speakers of Hausa and Kanuri. A comparative descriptive approach was employed to analyse both automatic and non-automatic palatalisation processes. The findings reveal significant cross-linguistic variation in the nature and productivity of palatalisation. Hausa exhibits both automatic and non-automatic palatalisation, with morphologised palatalisation functioning productively across morpheme boundaries in processes such as plural formation and derivation. In contrast, Kanuri demonstrates a predominantly automatic and phonologically conditioned type of palatalisation that is largely restricted to assimilatory environments involving high front vowels and palatal glides. Unlike Hausa, Kanuri lacks extensive morphologised palatalisation and exhibits multiple palatalisation outcomes, including full palatalisation, affrication, and context-dependent consonantal alternations. The study further shows that while palatalisation is attested in both languages, the phonological segments involved, the conditioning environments, and the resulting palatal sounds differ considerably. Hausa illustrates a more advanced stage of phonologisation in which historical palatalisation has become integrated into morphological processes, whereas Kanuri retains a more conservative and primarily allophonic system.