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The Classification of West African Tone Languages: Igbo and Efik

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 August 2012

M. M. Green
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Extract

During the last twenty years a new chapter has been opened in the study of the Sudanic languages of West Africa by research into their tonal structure. The presence of semantic or lexical tone had long been recognized in these languages: it was known, that is to say, that words otherwise homonymous were distinguished by differences of tone pattern, and that these differences were significant for meaning. It was, however, the work of Dr. Ida Ward in Nigeria which first made clear the essential part played by tone in the grammar of some of these languages, and subsequent research has confirmed this fact.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , July 1949 , pp. 213 - 219
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1949

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References

page 213 note 1 Ward, I. C., Phonetic and Tonal Structure of Efik, Heffer, 1933Google Scholar; Introduction to the Ibo Language, Heffer, 1936Google Scholar.

page 214 note 1 The varying tonal behaviour of the noun object in Igbo according to the verb form it follows appears to be a constituent factor in defining the verb form, rather than a tonal ‘case’ inflexion of the noun. It may possibly be correlated with the existence in Igbo of an intonational factor which, on occasions, brings a low tone verb form on to a mid-tone. The behaviour of the noun object then helps to keep that verb form distinct from a form which normally has a mid-tone. An intonational as distinct from a tonal factor is one which has emotional but not grammatical significance. The same grammatical form may have two intonational tone alternatives.

page 215 note 1 ‘Tense’ is used of those forms of the verb which may be described as elemental. They are the basic forms upon which meaning suffixes, or other such lexical additions, are built up to modify their meanings. Example: Tense I. o vu abɔ (¯_¯ ¯). Tense I, with -ra (time) meaning suffix; o vuru abɔ (¯_ _¯ ¯).

page 216 note 1 In every tense of the verb, the verb root has a vowel prefix which may be called a personal prefix. In Tenses I a, b, and c, person is shown by the tone position of the personal prefix:

Example: edep nso?(_¯ ¯_) what are you buying?

edep nso?(¯ ¯ ¯_) what is he buying?

In Tenses II and III the tone position of the personal prefix is invariable. A noun or a pronoun can be used with all tenses in front of the personal prefix, which is always retained:

Example: Enye edep nso?(_¯ ¯ ¯ ¯_) what is he buying?