Tone
Tones in Ígálâ
Seven types of tones, among which five are lexical, are recognized in the language as illustrated in Table 1.1 (Èjèbá 49). Note that a “downstepped high” refers to the lowering of a syllable that is usually high-toned.
Table 1.1 Tones of Ígálâ
| Tone | Example | Meaning | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra high (EH) | (w)ɔ̋làdʒa̋ | Greeting for someone returning from market | Grammatical: “on subject clitics to mark sentential negation” (Èjèbá 49) |
| High (H) | ɔ́dʒɔ́ | day | Lexical |
| Downstepped high (HS) | ɔ́gbá ꜜúgúnú | in front of vulture | Grammatical, at high tone juncture of word boundaries. |
| Mid (M) | ɔ̀tákídā | book | Lexical |
| Low (L) | ɔ̀bàlà | cat | Lexical |
| Rising (LH) | ǒkâ | one | Lexical, contour |
| Falling (HL) | ígálâ | Ígálâ | Lexical, contour |
Tonal interactions at hiatus
Noun-noun boundary (Ejeba)
Table 2.1 Chart showing tone modification in Noun + Noun Structures (Èjèbá 71).
| T2 (Initial syllable of Word 2) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H | L | LH | ||
| H | HS/H | H | H | |
| M | M | ML | MH | |
| L | M | L | LH | |
| LH | LH | LH | - | |
| HL | HM/M | H | H | |
Examples:
(1)
| Hiatus of H and H | |
|---|---|
| ɔ́gbá | ꜜúgʷúnú |
| ɔ́gbá | úgʷúnú |
| front | vulture |
| ‘in front of vulture.’ |
Note that here “ꜜ” refers to downstep of the succeeding syllable.
(2)
| Hiatus of H and L | |
|---|---|
| ɔ̋gb(a) | a̋ːbùtá |
| ɔ́gbá | àbùtá |
| front | lizard |
| ‘in front of lizard’ |
(3)
| Hiatus of L and H | ||
|---|---|---|
| ùbì | ākótō | |
| ùbì | ákótō | |
| back | rabbit | |
| ‘behind rabbit’ |
2.2 Verb-noun boundary (Ejeba)
Table 2.2 Chart showing tone modification in Verb + Noun Structures (Èjèbá 71)
| T2 (Initial syllable of Word 2) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 (Final syllable of Word 1) | H | L | LH | |
| H | H | H | H | |
| M | M | L | LH | |
| L | M | L | LH | |
| LH | LH | LH | LH | |
| HL | HM/M | H | H |
Examples:
(1)
| Hiatus of H and H | ||
|---|---|---|
| ù | n(ɛ) | ꜜúgʷúnú |
| ù | nɛ́ | úgʷúnú |
| I | have | vulture |
| ‘I have (a) vulture(s).’ |
(2)
| Hiatus of M and L | ||
|---|---|---|
| ù | kp(a) | òdùdɛ̀ |
| ù | kpā | òdùdɛ̀. |
| I | kill | bat |
| ‘I kill (a) bat(s).’ |
(3)
| Hiatus of L and H | ||
|---|---|---|
| ù | f(a) | ōkʷūnɔ̄ |
| ù | fà | ókūnɔ̄ |
| I | pull | cow |
| ‘I pull (a) cow(s).’ |
Beyond hiatusː words with different surface tones
Tonal changes of words involving contour
The falling contour in a word can be lowered when the syllable on its left has a lower tone due to hiatus.
ɛ́hʲâ -> ɛ̄hʲa᷆ in sentence. In (7), the tone of ɛ is M according to hiatus of M and H. As a result of the lower tone, the contour on the second syllable of ɛhʲa changes from a HL to ML.
(7)
| àbùta̋ | tʃ | ɛ̄hʲa᷆ | ì | nɛ̄ | |
| àbùtá | tʃē | ɛ́hʲâ | ì | nɛ̄ | |
| lizard | be | star.apple | it | have | |
| ‘It was star apple that lizard had.’ |
(8)
| ɛ̋hʲa41 | ì | nɛ̄ | í | |
| ɛ́hʲâ | ì | nɛ̄ | í | |
| Star.apple | he | have | EMPH | |
| ‘It’s star apple that he has.’ |
Similarly: ɔ́jâ ɔ̄ja᷆ in sentence; éːdʒô ēːdʒo᷆ in sentence.
(9)
| àm(a) | ēːdʒo᷆ |
| àmā | éːdʒô |
| PL | snake |
| ‘snakes’ |
(10)
| ēːdʒòː | lɛ́ | / éːdʒóː | lɛ̀ |
| éːdʒô | lɛ́ | / éːdʒô | lɛ́ |
| snake | DET | snake | DET |
| ‘the snake’ |
Unknown reason
ɔ̀dūmû -> ɔ̀dūmú in sentence.
(11)
| ꜛɔ̀ꜛdūmu41 | ì | nɛ̄ | (í) |
| ɔ̀dūmû | ì | nɛ̄ | í |
| Sweet.potato | she | have | EMPH |
| ‘He has sweet potato.’ |
(12)
| ìpèrû | tʃ | ɔ̀dūmú | ì | nɛ̄ |
| ìpèrû | tʃē | ɔ̀dūmû | ì | nɛ̄ |
| Peru | be | sweet.potato | it | have |
| ‘Peru has sweet potatoes (as a resource).’ |
Tonal phenomena motivated by morphology/syntax
Negation
Positive Marker
Perfective Marker
Sentential tone and intonation
Downdrift
Downdrift is the cumulative lowering of pitch towards the end of the sentence. Sentences in Igala exhibit such a tonal profile in general.
Figure 5.1 Display of pitch contour with Praat
In the sentence shown in Figure 5.1, we see three intonation phrases with pause in between. In each section there is at least one syllable with a H tone. Across the three sections, the pitch value of the H tone decreases in the course of the sentence. The values are 304 Hz, 224 Hz and 179 Hz respectively.
Raise of first word before the first H
The first word of a sentence is usually raised in its pitch, but this applies to syllables up to and including the first H only.
(??)
(Same sentence as Figure 5.1)
| ꜛùgődʒù | ālū | k | ɔ̀dà | lɛ́ | tʃē | kì | lèɲɔ̀ | f | ú | mú | |
| ùgódʒù | álū | ki | ɔ̀dà | lɛ́ | tʃē | kì | lèɲɔ̀ | fi | ú | mú | |
| surprise | how | C | pear | DET | do | C | lose | PERF1 | 3SG | catch | |
| ‘He was surprised by how the pear got missing.’ |
(??)
| ꜛɔ̀ꜛdūmu41 | ì | nɛ̄ | (í) | |
| ɔ̀dūmû | ì | nɛ̄ | í | |
| Sweet.potato | she | have | EMPH | |
| ‘It’s sweet potato that she has.’ |
(??)
| ꜛì | nɛ̋dʒű | kàkíní | ákpíti14 | tʃ | ɛ̄hʲà | kʷóbì | ń | |
| ì | nɛ́dʒú | kàkíní | ákpítì | tʃē | ɛ́hʲâ | kʷóbì | ń | |
| he | think | C | ant | be | star.apple | before | NEG | |
| ‘He thinks that ant wasn’t star apple before.’ |
(??)
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| a̋kpi̋tì | dú | tʃ | ɛ̄hʲa᷆ | ì | nɛ̄ | |
| ákpítì | dú | tʃē | ɛ́hʲà | ì | nɛ̄ | |
| ant | eevry | do | star.apple | it | have | |
| ‘Every ant has a star apple.’ |
Height of continuous tones
Downdrift does not apply to consecutive H. On the other hand, for H tones that are not adjacent, the pitch of the H on the right is likely lower than the one on the left.
Compare dú in (??) a̋kpi̋tì dú and (??) űgʷűnű dű.
| űgʷűnű | dű | tʃ | ɛ̄hʲa᷆ | ì | nɛ̄ | |
| úgúnú | dú | tʃē | ɛ́hʲà | ì | nɛ̄ | |
| vulture | every | do | star.apple | it | have | |
| ‘Every vulture has a star apple.’ |