Phonotactic Constraints in Uchoi: Evidence From Syllable Structure

Abstract

The paper is an attempt to understand the phonotactic constraints and syllable structure in Uchoi, a Tibeto-Burman language, under Bodo-Garo sub group. It is mostly spoken in Gomati district of Tripura in Karbuk subdivision. There are about 2447 people living here. The term Uchoi has come from a Kokborok word Ulchoi, where ullo- means ‘after’ and čoi means ‘to follow’. There is only one type of cluster formation in Uchoi, i.e. initial cluster formation. Initial clusters in Uchoi are typically created by mixing lateral /l/ or trill /r/ with plosives /p, pʰ, b, k, kʰ/. Similarly, plosives combine with /l/ or /r/ likewise created a medial cluster. Uchoi has two different kinds of syllables: major and minor. All consonant phonemes can occur in the onset position of an open syllable, and all vowels can appear in the final position of an open monosyllabic word with the exception of the vowel phoneme /ə/. The final position of a syllable can contain any voiceless unaspirated stops and nasal consonants. For this study we are considering the Jawlai variety for our data collection, which has been conducted in September and October, 2025.