Syllable restructuring in early Solomon Islands Pidgin English

Abstract

The present paper looks at the various syllable restructuring strategies used in early Solomon Islands Pidgin English. These depend on the phonological shape of the etyma and consist of epenthesis, paragoge and consonant deletion. Also examined is the quality of the epenthetic and of the paragogic vowels. Contrary to claims recently put forth in the literature, vowel harmony appears to play no part in the selection of these intrusive vowels. Finally, syllable restructuring in early Solomon Islands Pidgin English is shown to have striking similarities to that attested in other early varieties of Melanesian Pidgin English.

Keywords

• syllable restructuring
• epenthesis
• paragoge
• deletion
• vowel harmony