Abstract
Sezo has two levels of tone — high and low. The two tones occur on mon-omoraic and bimoraic syllables (i.e. on short and long vowels). Rising (LH) and falling (HL) contour tones have been recorded occurring only on bi-moraic syllables. They are analyzed as composites of the high and low tones squeezed together on one bimoraic syllable as a result of diachronic and synchronic processes. Tone plays a very significant role in the lexicon of the language. It distinguishes lexical items. It also derives nominal stems from verbal roots. Unlike its importance in the lexicon, tone has a limited role in the grammar of the language. The only grammatical function of tone is to make a distinction between declarative and interrogative sentences. The key tonal processes in the language are downdrift, downstep, contour formation and total spreading of a high tone. Contour tones are formed through the partial spreading of a high tone over a low tone bearing unit and the re-linking of a floating high tone to an adjacent low tone bearing unit.
Highlights
Sezo has two levels of tone — high and low
In order to identify the contrastive tonal melodies on lexical morphemes and to establish the number of level and contour tones, lexical items were gathered from native speakers of the language through series of group sessions
In Sezo, a low tone that triggers a downstepping of an H tone may be stranded from its TBU in two ways - by deletion of a nominal TV or by total spreading of a high tone from the left
Summary
Sezo has two levels of tone — high and low. The two tones occur on monomoraic and bimoraic syllables (i.e. on short and long vowels). In Sezo, lexical items of comparable syllable structure can be divided into different groups only by their pitch variation. In order to identify the contrastive tonal melodies on lexical morphemes and to establish the number of level and contour tones, lexical items were gathered from native speakers of the language through series of group sessions. Disyllabic verbs show only H.H and L.H melodies This is because the tone associated with the final syllable of the verbs underlyingly belongs to the second person imperative mood marker -é. On the basis of the facts, the surface tonal melody of disyllabic major word classes of Sezo can be summarized as follows:
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