Initial/Final Tone Agreement in Ekegusii (Bantu; Kenya)
In this paper I present an unusual Bantu tonal phenomenon where certain “cells” in the verb paradigm require a tonal agreement between the first syllable (the subject prefix) and the last syllable (an inflectional ending). Such a long-distance dependency raises the question of whether it is tone al...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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UPV/EHU Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Anuario del Seminario de Filología Vasca "Julio de Urquijo" |
| Online Access: | https://ojs.ehu.eus/index.php/ASJU/article/view/25962 |
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| author | Larry M. Hyman |
| author_facet | Larry M. Hyman |
| author_sort | Larry M. Hyman |
| collection | DOAJ |
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In this paper I present an unusual Bantu tonal phenomenon where certain “cells” in the verb paradigm require a tonal agreement between the first syllable (the subject prefix) and the last syllable (an inflectional ending). Such a long-distance dependency raises the question of whether it is tone alone that can do this. I first provide an overview of the phenomenon in Ekegusii (Kenya), and then show that a relative construction in geographically and genetically distant Grassfields Bantu languages of Cameroon can help us understand both the nature and history of the more evolved situation seen in Ekegusii. I conclude that although initially surprising, initial/final tone agreement has a natural diachronic source and is not so crazy—even from a synchronic point of view.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ac83c1bedcf643fa8670ade8a9780995 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0582-6152 2444-2992 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | UPV/EHU Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Anuario del Seminario de Filología Vasca "Julio de Urquijo" |
| spelling | doaj-art-ac83c1bedcf643fa8670ade8a97809952025-01-31T08:28:39ZengUPV/EHU PressAnuario del Seminario de Filología Vasca "Julio de Urquijo"0582-61522444-29922025-01-0157(1-2)10.1387/asju.25962Initial/Final Tone Agreement in Ekegusii (Bantu; Kenya)Larry M. Hyman0University of California, Berkeley In this paper I present an unusual Bantu tonal phenomenon where certain “cells” in the verb paradigm require a tonal agreement between the first syllable (the subject prefix) and the last syllable (an inflectional ending). Such a long-distance dependency raises the question of whether it is tone alone that can do this. I first provide an overview of the phenomenon in Ekegusii (Kenya), and then show that a relative construction in geographically and genetically distant Grassfields Bantu languages of Cameroon can help us understand both the nature and history of the more evolved situation seen in Ekegusii. I conclude that although initially surprising, initial/final tone agreement has a natural diachronic source and is not so crazy—even from a synchronic point of view. https://ojs.ehu.eus/index.php/ASJU/article/view/25962 |
| spellingShingle | Larry M. Hyman Initial/Final Tone Agreement in Ekegusii (Bantu; Kenya) Anuario del Seminario de Filología Vasca "Julio de Urquijo" |
| title | Initial/Final Tone Agreement in Ekegusii (Bantu; Kenya) |
| title_full | Initial/Final Tone Agreement in Ekegusii (Bantu; Kenya) |
| title_fullStr | Initial/Final Tone Agreement in Ekegusii (Bantu; Kenya) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Initial/Final Tone Agreement in Ekegusii (Bantu; Kenya) |
| title_short | Initial/Final Tone Agreement in Ekegusii (Bantu; Kenya) |
| title_sort | initial final tone agreement in ekegusii bantu kenya |
| url | https://ojs.ehu.eus/index.php/ASJU/article/view/25962 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT larrymhyman initialfinaltoneagreementinekegusiibantukenya |