Consonant Clusters and Resyllabification in Black South African English

Abstract

Consonants have not been a significant focus of research in Black South African English (BSAE), apart from work on final devoicing and regressive voicing assimilation. Pronunciation differences between the acrolect and mesolect varieties have also not been examined in much detail, nor has attention been paid to spontaneous speech. This article examines the realisation of consonant clusters and the resyllabification of consonants in BSAE, comparing the acrolect to the mesolect in a transcribed corpus of spontaneous conversation. The major findings are that the mesolect data are subject to more extensive simplification of the distribution of consonants in onset clusters, coda clusters and even singleton codas. Resyllabification of codas also takes place more often in the mesolect, and when resyllabification takes place, intervocalic voicing frequently accompanies it, such that the voicing contrast in intervocalic obstruents is largely neutralised.

Keywords:

• Black South African English
• consonant clusters
• intervocalic voicing
• phonology
• phonotactics
• resyllabification