Abstract
Urhobo is a Southwestern Edoid (SWE) language of the West Benue-Congo sub-branch of the Niger-Congo family (Williamson and Blench 2000). It is spoken by some two million people in Delta State, Nigeria. The tone system of Urhobo has been studied by linguists like Kelly (1969), Welmers (1969, 1973), Elugbe (1973, 1977, 1989) and Aziza (1997). All of them agree that Urhobo operates a terraced-level tone system with two basic tones (low and high), and two gliding tones (high-low (falling) and low-high (rising)), which are derived from the level tones. They all also recognize the existence of a third pitch, which is found only after the high tone. While Kelly, Elugbe and Aziza regard this pitch as a non-automatic downstep, Welmers regards it as a mid tone. This paper aims to present further evidence that the third pitch in Urhobo is a downstep and not a mid tone and that the basic tone principle in this language is the preservation of the high tone at the expense of the low tone and the downstep.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
