Phonological Process of Riau Malay Vocabulary in Cipang Kiri Hulu Village, Rokan Hulu Regency

Abstract

This research is motivated by the fact that Riau Malay vocabulary undergoes sound or phonemic changes in pronunciation, and its linguistic rules involve the emergence of new vocabulary as well as sound changes where sounds become identical or similar to neighboring sounds. Based on this background, the study focuses on analyzing phonological aspects found in the Riau Malay vocabulary of Cipang Kiri Hulu Village, Rokan Hulu Regency, specifically: assimilation, dissimilation, vowel modification, zeroization, diphthongization, and monophthongization. This study aims to describe the phonological process in the Riau Malay vocabulary used by the people of Cipang Kiri Hulu Village, Rokan Hulu Regency. The study uses a qualitative approach with descriptive methods. The research data is in the form of Riau Malay vocabulary obtained through observation, interviews, documentation, and triangulation. The research informants numbered 14 people consisting of village heads, village officials, hamlet heads, community leaders, and residents from six hamlets in Cipang Village, Kiri Hulu. Data analysis was carried out through the stages of data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. The results of the study showed that there were six forms of phonological processes, namely assimilation of 50 Hata, dissimilation of 9 data, vowel modification of 3 data, zeroization of 28 data, diphthongization of 25 data, and monophthongization of 11 data. The most dominant process was assimilation, especially the change of the vowel a to o in the final position of the word. This finding shows that the Riau Malay language in Cipang Kiri Hulu Village has a systematic sound change pattern and is still maintained by the community as a regional linguistic identity.