Sotho Phonology - Syllable Structure

Syllable Structure

Sesotho syllables tend to be open, with syllabic nasals and the syllabic approximant l also allowed. Unlike almost all other Bantu languages, Sesotho does not have prenasalized consonants (NC).

1. The onset may be any consonant (C), a labialized consonant (Cw), an approximant (A), or a vowel (V).
2. The nucleus may be a vowel, a syllabic nasal (N), or the syllabic l (L).
3. No codas are allowed.

The possible syllables are:

• V ho etsa to do
• CV fi! ideophone of sudden darkness
• CwV ho tswa to emerge
• AV wena you
• N nna I
• L lebollo circumcision as part of male initiation

Note that heterorganic compounds count as single consonants, not consonant clusters.

Additionally, the following phonotactic restrictions apply:

1. A consonant may not be followed by the palatal approximant y (i.e. Cy is not a valid onset).
2. The labio-velar approximant w (or a labialized consonant) may not followed by a back vowel at any time.

Syllabic l occurs only due to a vowel being elided between two l's:

*molelo (Proto-Bantu *mu-dido) ⇒ mollo fire (cf Setswana molelo, isiZulu umlilo)

*ho lela (Proto-Bantu *-dida) ⇒ ho lla to cry (cf Setswana go lela, isiXhosa ukulila, Tshivenda u lila)

isiZulu ukuphuma to emerge ⇒ ukuphumelela to succeed ⇒ Sesotho ho phomella

There are no contrastive long vowels in Sesotho, the rule being that juxtaposed vowels form separate syllables (which may sound like long vowels with undulating tones during natural fast speech). Originally there might have been a consonant between vowels which was eventually elided that prevented coalescence or other phonological processes (Proto-Bantu *g, and sometimes *j).

Other Bantu languages have rules against vowel juxtaposition, often inserting an intermediate approximant if necessary.

Sesotho Gauteng ⇒ isiXhosa Erhawudeni