Syllable Structure in Fulfulde: A Study of Adamawa Dialect Speakers

This study presents an analysis of syllable structure in the Adamawa dialect of Fulfulde as spoken in selected communities in Adamawa State, North East Nigeria. Fulfulde is a widely spoken language across the Sahel, with multiple dialect clusters whose phonological structures have been unevenly documented in the academic literature. The Adamawa variety, though significant in terms of speaker population, has received limited attention in formal phonological description. The study adopts a descriptive phonological methodology within the theoretical framework of Optimality Theory. Data were collected from 40 native speakers through minimal pair elicitation tasks, word list recordings, and naturalistic speech samples. The analysis maps permissible syllable shapes, consonant cluster constraints, and word-final syllable patterns in the Adamawa Fulfulde system. Findings document a predominantly CV syllable canon with restricted coda positions and evidence of productive gemination as a syllable weight mechanism. The study also records several syllable structure features that distinguish the Adamawa dialect from previously documented West African Fulfulde varieties. These findings contribute to the typological literature on Nigerian languages and provide a foundational phonological description that can support future literacy and language education materials for Fulfulde-speaking communities. Keywords: Fulfulde, syllable structure, Adamawa State, Optimality Theory, phonological analysis.