The Tiv language undergoes phonemic insertion and elision following the phonotactic constraints of Tiv phonology. Despite the frequent occurrence of insertion and elision, the specific linguistic triggers and structural implications for Tiv phonology have not been systematically analysed. The study explores linguistic triggers and structural implications of phoneme insertion and elision in Tiv.

The paper aims to examine the phonological processes of insertion and elision in Tiv phonology, identifying and examining factors that trigger insertion and elision in Tiv phonology. The study adopted

Alan Prince and Paul Smolensky’s Optimality Theory (OT)(1993) and inconsistense employed a descriptive qualitative research design. The study utilised a purposive sample of 30 native Tiv speakers, including linguists and teachers from three local government areas in Benue State.

Data were collected through oral interviews, observation of natural speech and the researcher’s intuitive knowledge as a native speaker. The findings reveal that phoneme insertion and elision are systematic phonological strategies in Tiv for adapting foreign and native words. The findings also show that the factors triggering insertion and elision include loan word adaptation, linguistic innovation (vowel lengthening) and phonotactic conformity.

Based on the findings, the study concludes that insertion and elision are systematic phonological processes in Tiv, primarily driven by the language’s preference for open syllables and avoidance of consonant clusters. The study recommends, among others, that

language educators and curriculum planners should integrate the study of insertion and elision into Tiv language syllabi at primary, secondary and tertiary