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