Nasal Vowels in Ika Igbo

Nasality distinguishes the Ika dialect from other Igbo dialects. This dialect has a high degree of nasality. This paper shows that, in addition to nasal consonants and nasalized consonants, Ika has eight nasal vowels. The existence of nasal vowels (established from the existence of minimal pairs constituted by these sounds) in this dialect makes it stand out among other Igbo dialects which only have nasal consonants and nasalized consonants. Furthermore, this study reveals that nasalization is systemic in Ika and is highly unpredictable. Therefore, these nasal vowels are not allophones of their oral counterparts but rather have phonemic status. Adapted from the source document