Abstract
Since Meeussen (1967), there have been recurrent reports of “metatony”, a process by which a subset of verb forms ending with L tone utterance-finally, end with H tone if followed by an object. While Schadeberg (1986) and Hadermann (2005) speculate that the H is historically derived from the Proto-Bantu *H tone augment and relate metatony to the conjoint/disjoint distinction, we show that neither hypothesis accounts for the full range of facts in Abo (A42), a Cameroonian Bantu language closely related to Basaa. Avoiding arbitrary reference to specific TAM forms, we present a strictly phonological analysis based on distinct tonal representations. 1. What is metatony? Within traditional Bantu studies, the term metatony was introduced to characterize tonal alternations on the final vowel of the class 15 ku- infinitive:
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