There are different phonological processes across Tshivenḓa linguistics, however, this paper only focuses on vowel processes involving syllable structure or syllabification in Tshivenḓa. When a syllable is affected by any phonological phenomena, it is either reduction, deletion or glide formation that takes place. This study explores three vowel phonological processes affecting syllable structure in Tshivenḓa, namely; vowel deletion, vowel epenthesis and glide formation. The in-depth of this study will add to the literature of Tshivenḓa linguistics and to the knowledge of the scientific study of language. Qualitative data was gathered through the use of phonological field work. The Optimality Theory is the framework underpinning this study.