Olanike Ola Orie
 

This paper examines phonological attrition in Trinidad Yoruba (TY), and argues that attested patterns result from convergence and language acquisition reversal. Warner-
Lewis (1997), based on comparative data from TY and Yoruba (Y) dialects of West
Africa, shows that 2nd/3rd generation TY speakers exhibit the following phonological
patterns. For example, labial-velar consonants (kp, gb) are simplified to labials or velars
(gbogbo ‘all’ bobo, gogo); complex tones are simplified to register tones (LLH becomes LH); nasal vowels are realized as nasal vowels or denasalized to oral vowels (sun becomes su ‘sleep’). Warner-Lewis analyzed these patterns as resulting from the convergence of TY, Trinidad English and French Creoles.
            However, some patterns are not accounted for in Warner-Lewis’ analysis, for instance: (1) [y] is shown to replace [l] in Y words such as demOlE ‘cover’ and lO ‘go,’ realized as demaye and yO; (2) a process of rounding harmony is attested in TY, which is not found in any Y dialect or the Trinidad Creoles. This process changes an unrounded word-initial vowel to a rounded vowel if the second vowel in the word is round: ekurO ‘palm kernel’ okurO; (3) the absence of complex tones is unexplained.
            It is argued that these patterns are not caused by convergence but by reversal in language acquisition (LA). Evidence is given from Yoruba first language acquisition and post-lingual deafness to show that TY patterns occur in earlier stages of acquisition. Finally, the fact that fully acquired forms (for example, nasal vowels) are found in TY, shows, contrary to Cook (1995), that phonological attrition in TY is not due to semi-speakers’ impeded and prematurely terminated learning process.