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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| Summary: | 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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| ISSN: | 0582-6152 2444-2992 |