In the previous chapter we looked at the pure phonology of tone, or how tones are influenced by their phonological surroundings, but we must not forget that phonology interacts with both morphology and syntax. That interaction is the topic of this chapter. The goal here is to draw attention to the types of interaction between tonology and other components of the grammar commonly found in natural languages, and illustrate them with brief examples. In chapters six to eight we will encounter and analyse many additional instances.

The dividing line between morphology and syntax is not always clear. I will classify as syntactic anything that somehow requires reference to the phrasal level, including tones that mark specific types of syntactic phrasal boundaries – such as complementizers – and tones that mark any phonological phrase, where phonological phrasing is partially or wholly conditioned by the syntax. Tonal morphemes or processes that participate in word-formation but do not seem to play a phrase-level role will be considered purely morphological. I start with morphology, and distinguish three types of interaction. Firstly, tone may be a morpheme in its own right. Such purely tonal morphemes are then subject to the general phonology of the language, associating, deleting, spreading, and so on. Secondly, certain morphological constructions may manipulate tone in particular ways. This is especially true in reduplication, where tone may be copied or not copied, or where a new tone may be supplied as part of the reduplicative process.