Kristopher Ebarb and Michael Marlo Indiana University and ...

CONDITIONING FACTORS IN THE REALIZATION OF TONE: NYALA-WEST VERBS*

Kristopher Ebarb and Michael Marlo

Indiana University and University of Maryland

Nyala-West (Bantu, Kenya) marks tense-aspect-mood-polarity and clause-type distinctions in verbs with grammatical H tones, called “melodic Hs”. Nyala-West has six basic tonal melodies in which melodic Hs target three positions of the verbal stem: the first mora of the stem, the first mora of the second syllable of the stem, and the final mora of the stem. The present paper shows how certain aspects of the prosody of the verb stem, the presence or absence of H-toned affixes, and the application of several tonal processes influence the rea-lization of the melodic H in two of the tonal melodies of Nyala-West.

1. Introduction This article surveys some properties of the verbal tonal system of the Nyala-West dialect of Luyia, a Bantu language of western Kenya and eastern Uganda, focusing on the principles of tone realization in the two most common verbal tonal patterns in the language. We overview the system of grammatical tones, which is primarily responsible for the tonal patterns of verbs, and discuss how the prosody of verb stems, H-toned prefixes (tense prefixes and ob-ject prefixes), and the H-toned causative and passive suffixes influence surface tonal patterns.

The tonal properties of Nyala-West (Ebarb et al. in prep; Marlo 2007; Onyango 2004, 2005, 2006) are most closely related to its southwestern Luyia neighbors: Khayo (Marlo, 2009b, to appear), Saamia (Botne et al. 2006; Poletto 1998), Songa (Marlo, Notes), and Tura (Marlo, 2008b)1. These dialects have two related tonal properties in common: (i) they are all “predictable” tone systems (Odden, 1989) that have lost the historical lexical contrast be-tween two tonal classes of verb roots, with all verb roots being synchronically toneless, and (ii) all verbal forms are inflected with a grammatical tone. See Marlo (2008a, 2009c) for a comparison of these properties across Luyia.

* We would like to thank Peter Otiato and John Wambakha Ojiolloh for the data that made this paper possible, Alfred Anangwe and Moses Egesa for providing logistical support in Kenya, and Jennifer Fischer for her assis-tance in creating an archive of the audio recordings on which this paper is based. We would also like to ac-knowledge helpful feedback from Andries Coetzee, Jeffrey Heath, David Odden, an anonymous reviewer, and audiences at BLS 32 and McWOP 15. Research support was provided by a National Science Foundation Grad-uate Research Fellowship and National Science Foundation Doctoral Research Improvement Grant 0545246. The usual disclaimers apply. 1 This paper is part of a broader study of Nyala-West verb tone, whose results were first presented in Marlo (2007). This paper is a first step toward a more comprehensive and definitive work, Ebarb et al. (in prep), which is based on the verification of the 60+ hours of audio-recorded interviews from Marlo’s dissertation study. Data were elicited from two male speakers of Nyala-West from Port Victoria, John Wambakha Ojiolloh and Peter Otiato. Wambakha was interviewed in Busia, Kenya over a period of five months in 2006 and Otiato sporadi-cally in 2005 and 2009. Wambakha was in his late 40s at the time the data were collected, and Otiato was in his 30s.

Ebarb and Marlo

Like many other Bantu languages (Hyman, 2001), Nyala-West has a privative tonal contrast between H and Ø (“toneless”), and like other Luyia dialects, the tone-bearing unit is the mora (µ). Level H and toneless are found on (monomoraic) short and (dimoraic) long vowels, and falling (HØ) and rising (ØH) contour tones are found on long vowels only. Only vowels are moraic and tone-bearing in Nyala-West. An interesting aspect of Nyala-West to-nology, common throughout Luyia, is that some tonal rules are insensitive to syllable-internal weight differences and thus seem to operate, descriptively speaking, at the level of the sylla-ble, despite the fact that the mora is demonstrably the tone-bearing unit. Another property of Nyala-West shared with other Bantu languages (see, e.g., Kisse-berth & Odden 2003; Marlo 2009a; Myers 1998; and references therein) is that the verbal morphology plays an important role in the realization of tone in the language. A templatic view of Nyala-West verbal structure is provided in (1). The verb stem, whose boundaries are marked here by square brackets, is composed of the verb root plus other suffixes, up to a fi-nal marker of mood known as the “final vowel” (FV). Up to two object prefixes may appear before the stem. When there are two object prefixes, the second must be the 1sg Ń- or the ref-lexive e-H.2

(1) Simplified templatic structure of the Nyala-West verb Ø Ø H/Ø H H Ø H/Ø Ø Negation - Subject - Tense - Object1 - Object2 [ Root - Deriv - FV ]stem

The tonal properties of these verbal morphemes are also indicated in (1). The negative prefix si- is toneless, as are all subject prefixes, such as 1sg N-, 1pl xu-, 3sg a-, 3pl βa-.3 Some tense prefixes are underlyingly H-toned, while others are toneless. All object prefixes, such as 3sg mú- and 1sg Ń-, are underlyingly H.4 Verb roots are underlyingly toneless, as are most deri-vational and inflectional suffixes. However, the causative -í and passive -ú suffixes are H—a relatively undiscussed property in Bantu tonal systems that is also found in the Marachi di-alect of Luyia (Marlo, 2007) and in Ganda (Hyman & Katamba, 1990).

Tonal melodies marking tense-aspect-mood-polarity and clause type (matrix vs. rela-tive) distinctions are a fundamental determinant of surface tonal patterns on verb stems. Fol-lowing most work on Bantu tonal melodies within the autosegmental period (e.g., Bickmore 1997, 2000, 2007; Cassimjee 1986; Cheng & Kisseberth 1979, 1980, 1981; Clements 1984; Downing 1990; Hyman & Ngunga 1994; Kidima 1991; Liphola 2001; Marlo 2008b, 2009b; Mwita 2008; Odden 1981, 1987, 1996, 1998, 2009; Roberts-Kohno 2000), the inflectional stem tonal melodies are analyzed here as underlyingly floating H tones called “melodic Hs” that are assigned by rule to different positions of the verb stem. (The lexical Hs of tense pre-

2 Single-underlying indicates the position of an underlying H; double-underlining indicates the surface position of a melodic H. 3 Negative si- is used in matrix clauses. In certain tenses, such as the Crastinal Future Negative and the Impera-tive Negative, and in relative clauses, the negative prefix ra- is found in a position between the tense prefix slot and the macrostem (Marlo, 2009b). 4 Although the reflexive is underlyingly H, it has somewhat different tonal properties from the other object pre-fixes. See Ebarb et al. (in prep) for discussion of the Nyala-West facts and Marlo (2008b, 2009b) for discussion of comparative facts in Tura and Khayo.

Conditioning Factors in the Realization of Tone

fixes, object prefixes, and the causative and passive suffixes are assumed to be underlyingly linked.)

A summary of the Nyala-West tone melodies is provided in (2). The different melo-dies are classified into different “Patterns”, which are given numeric and alphabetic labels. The primary basis for the classification of the melodic Patterns is the position of the melodic H on the verb.5 Pattern 1 melodies have a H from the second syllable of the stem to the final. Pattern 2 melodies have a H on the first mora of the second syllable of the stem. The Pattern 3 melody has a H on the stem-final mora. Pattern 4 has a melodic H that targets the stem-ini-tial mora, but it is deleted when it immediately follows the H-toned tense prefix á-. Pattern 5 has one melodic H on the stem-initial mora and another on the stem-final mora. The Pattern 6 melody is characterized by no Hs on the verb; except for the causative and passive suffixes, which surface H in Pattern 6, the stem and all prefixes (even underlyingly H-toned prefixes) surface toneless.

(2) Tonal melodies in Nyala Pattern 1a H from σ2 to final Indefinite Future xu-ri[paangúlúl-á] ‘we will disarrange’ Pattern 1b Near Future βa-ná[paangúlúl-á] ‘they will disarrange’

Pattern 2a H on μ1 of σ2 Present Negative si-i[mbaangúlul-a] ‘I am not disarranging’ Pattern 2b Immediate Past Neg. si-β-a-xá[paangúlul-a] ‘they did not just disarrange’

Pattern 3 H on final ImperativeSg [paangulul-á] ‘disarrange!’

Pattern 4 H on μ1 Remote Past βa-á[paangulul-a] ‘they disarranged’

Pattern 5 H on μ1 and final Hodiernal Perfective xu[sáambuluul-é] ‘he de-roofed’

Pattern 6 all toneless Conditional Past xu[paanguluul-e] ‘if we could disarrange’

The following sections detail the tonal properties of Pattern 1 and Pattern 2, the tonal melodies that are found in the largest number of contexts in Nyala-West. Patterns 3-6 are generally found in only one or two tenses each; see Marlo (2007) and Ebarb et al. (in prep) for discussion of these Patterns. We describe and analyze for each melody the tonal alterna-

5 The following abbreviations are used to refer to positions of the stem: μ1 = first mora, σ2 = second syllable, final = final mora.

Ebarb and Marlo

tions triggered by H-toned prefixes, the prosody of the stem (number and weight of syl-lables), and the H-toned causative and passive suffixes. 2. Pattern 1 Pattern 1 is marked by a melodic H that surfaces from the second stem syllable through the final. There are two Pattern 1 subtypes: Pattern 1a, which has a toneless tense prefix, and Pat-tern 1b, which has a H-toned tense prefix. 2.1 Pattern 1a Tenses that exhibit the tonal properties of Pattern 1a are the Indefinite Future, the Indefinite Future Negative, and the Present tenses. We discuss the Indefinite Future as representative of this melody.

The Pattern 1a Indefinite Future has a toneless tense prefix ri- and a melodic H which surfaces from the second stem syllable to the final in disyllabic and longer stems.6 Monosyl-labic stems surface toneless.

(3) Pattern 1a Indefinite Future

a. a-ri[fw-a] ‘he will die’ b. a-ri[xin-á] ‘he will dance’ c. a-ri[xwees-á] ‘he will pull’ d. a-ri[burúx-á] ‘he will fly’ e. xu-ri[karaáŋg-á] ‘we will fry’ f. βa-ri[βičíkál-á] ‘they will belch’ g. xu-ri[paangúlúl-á] ‘we will disarrange’ h. xu-ri[karááng-ír-án-á] ‘we will fry for e.o.’ i. βa-ri[ŋaaβán-á-ŋááβán-á] ‘they will walk around aimlessly’

These basic stem tone patterns of Pattern 1 are accounted for by the rules in (1), which apply only in Pattern 1 contexts. The Pattern 1 Melodic H Assignment rule links the underlyingly floating melodic H to the stem-final mora. The melodic H then spreads iteratively leftward across the stem by Unbounded Spread. Finally, the melodic H is delinked from all moras of the stem initial syllable by Initial Delinking. Initial Delinking is an example of a rule in Nya-la-West in which syllable-internal weight differences are ignored despite the fact that tones are borne by moras.

6 As we see in the examples xu-ri[karaáŋg-á] and xu-ri[karááng-ír-án-á], there is phonetic variation between level H and rise in stems long peninitial syllable in Pattern 1. (While an explicit count has not been made, it seems that Otiato has rise somewhat more commonly than Wambakha, and both speakers seem to have rise more commonly when the long vowel is followed by an NC sequence, which may lengthen the overall phonetic dura-tion of the syllable.) In the same context in the neighboring Khayo dialect, only rise is found. Marlo (2009b, to appear) analyses the Khayo data as the result of an obligatory rule of Rightward Delay, which creates a rise from a level H on a long vowel that is linked to a mora in the following syllable. In Nyala-West, the rule is ei-ther an optional phonological rule or a gradient phonetic effect.


(1) Pattern 1 MHA Unbounded Spread H’ (applies only in H (applies only in Pattern 1; Pattern 1) iterative, domain: stem) μ]stem μ μ Initial Delinking H (applies only in x x Pattern 1) μ (μ) stem[ σ Derivations of forms with monosyllabic, disyllabic, and longer stems are provided in (2). Initial Delinking expresses the generalization that the Pattern 1 melodic H never surfaces on the stem-initial syllable. In monosyllabic stems, this results in a toneless stem; the melodic H is assigned to the stem and subsequently delinked by Initial Delinking. In longer stems, where the melodic H is multiply linked due to the application of Unbounded Spread, the me-lodic H remains associated to the moras of all syllables after the stem-initial.

(2) a. a-ri[fw-a] ‘he will die’ Pattern 1 MHA Unbounded Spread Initial Delinking H H x a-ri[fw-a] Does Not Apply a-ri[fw-a] b. a-ri[xin-á] ‘he will dance’ Pattern 1 MHA Unbounded Spread Initial Delinking H H H x a-ri[xin-a] a-ri[xin-a] a-ri[xin-a] c. a-ri[burúx-á] ‘he will fly’ Pattern 1 MHA Unbounded Spread Initial Delinking H H H x a-ri[burux-a] a-ri[burux-a] a-ri[burux-a] In Pattern 1a forms with one object prefix (OP), the tonal properties of the stem are unchanged: the melodic H is realized on all stem syllables except the initial. The H of the ob-ject prefix surfaces in situ, i.e., on the object prefix. No further rules are required to account for these forms.

Ebarb and Marlo

(3) Pattern 1a Indefinite Future + OP

a. xu-ri-ká[ŋw-a] ‘we will drink it6’ b. xu-ri-βú[lim-á] ‘we will cultivate it14’ c. xu-ri-ká[saamb-á] ‘we will burn it6’ d. xu-ri-mú[fumír-á] ‘we will stab him’ e. xu-ri-ká[karááng-á] ‘we will fry them6’ f. xu-ri-βá[siindíx-á] ‘we will push them’ g. xu-ri-čí[saambúlúl-á] ‘we will de-roof them10’

The 1sg object prefix Ń- consists only of a homorganic nasal; unlike other object pre-

fixes, it does not terminate with a vowel. The data in (4) show that the 1sg object prefix is tonally just like other object prefixes in having an underlying H that surfaces on the pre-stem mora. However, the nasal prefix is itself not tone-bearing and triggers lengthening of the pre-ceding vowel.7 The H of the object prefix follows the lengthened mora to the left, and thus is realized as the second half of a rising tone.

(4) Pattern 1a Indefinite Future + OP1sg

a. a-ri-í[ndy-a] ‘he will fear me’ b. a-ri-í[mbek-á] ‘he will shave me’ c. a-ri-í[niind-á] ‘he will wait for me’ d. a-ri-í[mbukúl-á] ‘he will take me’ e. a-ri-í[nyandíík-á] ‘he will employ me’ f. a-ri-í[niingáál-á] ‘he will watch me’ g. a-ri-í[ndexúúrír-á] ‘he will release me’

Two object prefixes may co-occur only when the second is the 1sg object prefix or the reflexive—a common restriction within Luyia and Bantu (Marlo, 2009a). Since the tonal outputs are the same and since space restrictions preclude discussion of the reflexive data, we consider here only double object prefix data with the 1sg object prefix. The examples in (5) show that only the first of the object prefix Hs is realized, and a HØ fall appears on the sylla-ble that immediately precedes the stem. The tonal properties of the stem are unchanged.8

7 The nasal prefix also undergoes and triggers common cross-Bantu segmental “NC effects”, such as place as-similation, hardening, deletion, and Meinhof’s Law (Hyman, 2003). We represent the nasal inside the stem boundary, without making claims about the syllabification or morpho-prosodic affiliation of the nasal; on those complex issues see Marlo (2009a) and references therein. A morpheme boundary is indicated between the two moras of the pre-stem syllable, whose surface length and H tone are due to the nasal prefix. 8 Monosyllabic and CVCV stems are not possible with two object prefixes, since the applicative suffix -ir makes the stem minimally trimoraic.


(5) Pattern 1a Indefinite Future + OP + OP1sg

a. a-ri-ká-a[ŋw-eer-á] ‘he will drink for me’ b. a-ri-mú-u[mbek-ér-á] ‘he will shave him for me’ c. a-ri-mú-u[ndeeβ-ér-á] ‘he will ask him for me’ d. a-ri-βá-a[ngaβúl-ír-á] ‘he will divide them for me’ e. a-ri-čí-i[ngarááng-ír-á] ‘he will fry them10 for me’ f. a-ri-mú-u[niingáár-ír-á] ‘he will look at him for me’ g. a-ri-čí-i[saambúlúl-ír-á] ‘he will de-roof them for me’

The failure of the H of the 1sg object prefix to surface in forms with two object pre-

fixes is attributable to the common cross-Bantu tonal process known as Meeussen’s Rule, which deletes the second of two adjacent Hs (Goldsmith, 1984a, b).

(6) Meeussen’s Rule H H Ø (Iterative, R-to-L, μ μ domain: word)

Meeussen’s Rule applies iteratively from right to left, evidence for which is presented in §2.2. The derivation in (7) illustrates the application of Meeussen’s Rule in Pattern 1a forms with two object prefixes.

(7) a-ri-mú-u[mbek-ér-á] ‘he will shave him for me’ Pattern 1 MHA Unbounded Spread HH H HH H a-ri-mu-u[mbek-er-a] a-ri-mu-u[mbek-er-a] Initial Delinking Meeussen’s Rule HH H HH Ø H x a-ri-mu-u[mbek-er-a] a-ri-mu-u[mbek-er-a] When the H-toned causative suffix -í or passive suffix -ú suffix is present, all moras of the stem after the initial syllable are H, up to the mora of causative or passive, which im-mediately precedes the toneless final vowel. Unlike in forms that lack the causative or pas-sive, the stem-final mora does not surface H; these forms are thus characterized by a falling tone on the stem-final syllable. As shown by the data in (8), the stem tone pattern is the same in forms with and without object prefixes.9

9 Space precludes the inclusion of the tonally identical passive forms; see Ebarb et al. (in prep).

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(8) Pattern 1a Indefinite Future + Causative

a. xu-ri-βí[nyaas-í-a]10 ‘we will remove them8’ b. xu-ri[rus-án-í-a] ‘we will remove e.o.’ c. xu-ri-mú[nyoorés-í-a] ‘we will annoy him’ d. βa-ri-βí[fuuŋ(g)áán-í-a] ‘we will tie them8 together’ e. xu-ri[rekérésán-í-a] ‘we will agree’

Meeussen’s Rule also accounts for the tonal pattern of forms with causative and pas-sive suffixes. As illustrated in the derivation in (9), the melodic H is first assigned to the stem-final mora, where it immediately follows the H of the causative. Unbounded Spread then spreads the H of the causative suffix leftward across the stem. Immediately following the H of the causative, the melodic H is then deleted by Meeussen’s Rule.

(9) xu-ri[rus-án-í-a] ‘we will remove e.o.’ Pattern 1 MHA Unbounded Spread HH HH xu-ri[rus-an-i-a] xu-ri[rus-an-i-a] Initial Delinking Meeussen’s Rule HH HH Ø x xu-ri[rus-an-i-a] xu-ri[rus-an-i-a] In the remaining paragraphs of this section, we discuss a few alternative approaches to the Pattern 1 data. One alternative analysis of the Pattern 1 data is to assign the melodic H to the second syllable of the stem, e.g., by the rule in (10), and spread the melodic H to the right across the stem. This approach would account for the tonelessness of monosyllabic stems by not putting the stem-initial syllable in (10) in parentheses, i.e., by minimally requir-ing two stem syllables for the rule to apply.

(10) Melodic H Assignment to σ2 [alternative analysis] H’ (applies only in Pattern 1) μ (μ) stem[ σ σ The primary complication for this alternative analysis concerns the tonal properties of forms with the causative and passive suffix. Under the alternative analysis, the melodic H would have to spread onto (but not through) the H of the causative and then fuse with or cause the delinking/deletion of the H of the causative, e.g., via the Twin Sister Convention (Clements

10 We argue below that it is the H of the causative which spreads leftward across the stem, hence the single un-derline in these forms.


and Keyser, 1983:95). Or, the melodic H could spread up to (but not onto) the H of the causative and then by a special rule (that prevents the otherwise predicted deletion of the H of the causative by Meeussen’s Rule) fuse with the H of the causative. We do not know of empirical reasons to choose between the two analyses, though we find the account presented above to be more straightforward, even if ultimately the alternative analysis is formally poss-ible. Another minor variation on the present analysis would be to treat the failure of the initial syllable to bear tone in Pattern 1 as the result of extrametricality / extratonality of the stem-initial syllable, which would be a property only of Pattern 1 forms, just as our Initial Delinking rule applies only in Pattern 1 contexts. Extratonality would affect not only the as-signment of the melodic H but also the spreading of the melodic H. There is no known em-pirical evidence from within Pattern 1 against this type of analysis, but if we look to the Pat-tern 2 data discussed in §3, we also find evidence that the melodic H prefers to begin on the second syllable of the stem, but ultimately the melodic H (and the H of object prefixes) can surface on the stem-initial syllable in the appropriate contexts; this suggests that an inviolable constraint / representational diacritic preventing tone on the stem-initial syllable is not the appropriate mechanism to account for these data.

2.2 Pattern 1b We now turn to Pattern 1b, which is found in the Near Future, Near Future Negative, Remote Future, Remote Future Negative, and Immediate Past tenses. The present paper exemplifies Pattern 1b with data from the Near Future.

The Near Future has the H-toned tense prefix ná- and a melodic H with the same properties as Pattern 1a, which surfaces on all syllables of the stem after the initial. As in Pat-tern 1a, when there is no second stem syllable, no H is realized on the stem. These forms are thus tonally identical to Pattern 1a forms with one object prefix, cf. xu-ri-mú[fumír-á] ‘we will stab him’.

(11) Pattern 1b Near Future

a. a-ná[fw-a] ‘he will die’ b. xu-ná[kon-á] ‘we will sleep’ c. xu-ná[raak-á] ‘we will plant’ d. a-ná[βukúl-á] ‘he will take’ e. a-ná[karááng-á] ‘he will fry’ f. a-ná[siindíx-á] ‘he will push’ g. βa-ná[paangúlúl-á] ‘they will disarrange’ h. βa-ná[ŋaaβán-á-ŋááβán-á] ‘they will walk around aimlessly’

Pattern 1b forms with one object prefix are tonally identical to Pattern 1a forms with

two object prefixes, cf. a-ri-mú-u[mbek-ér-á] ‘he will drink it4 for me’: the second of the two underlying Hs is deleted by Meeussen’s Rule, and the melodic H surfaces on all moras of the stem after the initial syllable.

Ebarb and Marlo

(12) Pattern 1b Near Future + OP

a. xu-ná-ka[ŋw-a] ‘we will drink it6’ b. a-ná-βa[βek-á] ‘he will shave them’ c. a-ná-βa[reeβ-á] ‘he will ask them’ d. xu-ná-βa[rexér-á] ‘we will forgive them’ e. βa-ná-βa[riingáál-á] ‘he will watch them’ f. xu-ná-βi[paangúlúl-á] ‘we will disarrange them8’ g. xu-ná-βa[xoomóól-ér-á] ‘they will make funny faces at them’

In forms with two object prefixes, we find evidence for the iterative, right-to-left ap-

plication of Meeussen’s Rule, as there are three underlying Hs in a row. Here we see that on-ly the leftmost H—the H of the tense prefix—is realized. The tonal pattern of the stem is un-changed. The derivation in (14) show the usual processes of Melodic H Assignment, leftward Unbounded Spread, and Initial Delinking, followed by the deletion of the third and then the second of the three H-toned prefixes by Meeussen’s Rule.

(13) Pattern 1b Near Future + OP + OP1sg

a. a-ná-ka-a[ŋw-eer-á] ‘he will drink it6 for me’ b. a-ná-mu-u[mbek-ér-á] ‘he will shave him for me’ c. a-ná-mu-u[ndeeβ-ér-á] ‘he will ask him for me’ d. a-ná-mu-u[siindíx-ír-á] ‘he will push him for me’ e. a-ná-ka-a[ngarááng-ír-á] ‘he will fry them6 for me’ f. a-ná-mu-u[niingáár-ír-á] ‘he will look at him for me’

(14) a-ná-mu-u[ndeeβ-ér-á] ‘he will ask him for me’

Pattern 1 MHA Unbounded Spread H HH H H HH H a-na-mu-u[ndeeβ-er-a] a-na-mu-u[ndeeβ-er-a] Initial Delinking Meeussen’s Rule H HH H H HH Ø H xx a-na-mu-u[ndeeβ-er-a] a-na-mu-u[ndeeβ-er-a] Meeussen’s Rule H H Ø H a-na-mu-u[ndeeβ-er-a] To complete the description of Pattern 1 forms, we see in (15) that the presence of a causative suffix limits the rightward extent of the H tone span on the stem in Pattern 1b such that a falling tone is realized on the stem-final syllable, as in Pattern 1a.


(15) Pattern 1b Near Future + Causative

a. a-ná[nyaas-í-a] ‘he will cause chaos’ b. xu-ná[rus-án-í-a] ‘we will remove e.o.’ c. xu-ná-mu[nyoorés-í-a] ‘will will annoy him’ d. βa-ná-či[kaβúlán-í-a] ‘they will split them10’

3. Pattern 2 The realization of tone in Pattern 2 is complex and depends on the size of the stem and the presence of H-toned prefixes and suffixes. As in Pattern 1, there are two Pattern 2 subtypes: Pattern 2a, which has a toneless tense prefix, and Pattern 2b, which has a H-toned tense pre-fix. 3.1 Pattern 2a Tenses classified as Pattern 2a include the Present Negative, the Subjunctive, the Subjuntive Negative, the Crastinal Future, the Crastinal Future Negative, the Hodiernal Perfective Nega-tive, and the Imperative Negative tenses, among others.11 We consider Present Negative forms as representative examples in this section.

The Present Negative has the toneless negative prefix si- and a null, toneless tense prefix. As shown by the examples in (16), the surface position of the Pattern 2 melodic H is highly dependent on the prosody of the stem: on the first mora of the second syllable of tri-syllabic and longer stems, on the penultimate mora of disyllabic stems, i.e., the initial mora of CVCV stems and the second mora of CVVCV stems, and on the initial mora of monosyl-labic stems. Because monosyllabic stems are dimoraic—the combination of a CV root and the final vowel—a HØ fall is found in that context.12

11 It is noteworthy that the Pattern 2a Present Negative is the negative counterpart of the Pattern 1a Present, just as the Pattern 2b Immediate Past Negative is the negative counterpart of the Pattern 1b Immediate Past. The negative forms of these tenses are segmentally identical to their affirmative counterparts, with the exception of the negative prefix si-. It might be (historically) significant that there is also a consistent tonal difference be-tween the affirmative and negative forms of these tenses, but in the synchronic grammar there is no obvious way to generalize and predict across tenses when such tonal differences will be found. In several tenses, both affirmative and negative forms have the same tonal melody, e.g., Indefinite Future (Pattern 1a), Near Future (Pattern 1b), Crastinal Future (Pattern 2a), Remote Past (Pattern 4), and some tonal differences between the affirmative and negative forms of tenses are idiosyncratic, e.g., the Hodiernal Perfective has the Pattern 5 tonal melody while the Hodiernal Perfective Negative has the Pattern 2a melody. Thus, it appears that the tonal me-lody that a particular tense construction has must be memorized, just like the tense prefix and final vowel suffix. 12 In forms where the monosyllabic stem surfaces toneless, as in the Pattern 1 forms above, the vowel of the CV root is transcribed as a glide to emphasize that there is no syllable boundary between the root vowel and the final vowel. In the present cases, as with forms with a causative or passive suffix, which have a falling tone on the stem-final syllable, a H-toned vowel is transcribed, since a glide in the same position would not be moraic or tone-bearing.

Ebarb and Marlo

(16) Pattern 2a Present Negative

a. sa-a[rí-a] ‘he is not eating’ b. sa-a[kón-a] ‘he is not sleeping’ c. si-i[ndeéx-a]13 ‘I am not cooking’ d. si-i[mbukúl-a] ‘I am not taking’ e. si-i[ngaráang-a] ‘I am not frying’ f. sa-a[siindíx-a] ‘he is not pushing’ g. sa-a[riingáal-a] ‘he is not watching’ h. sa-a[βodóxan-a] ‘he is not going around’ i. si-i[mbaangúlul-a] ‘I am not disarranging’ j. si-i[ngaráang-aang-a] ‘I do not fry’

These stem tone patterns are accounted for by the rules in (17) and illustrated by the

derivations in (18). The Pattern 2 melodic H is first linked to the stem-initial mora by the Pat-tern 2 rule of Melodic H Assignment. (For reasons we see below, the stem-initial mora must be toneless.) When the stem-initial syllable is long, as in CVVCV stems, the melodic H shifts to the second mora of the stem-initial syllable by Heavy Shift. The melodic H then shifts one mora further by Melodic Shift, provided there is a syllable following the syllable to which the melodic H shifts; this rule has the effect of positioning the melodic H on the first mora of the second syllable of trisyllabic and longer stems.

(17) Pattern 2 MHA Heavy Shift H’ (applies only in H (H is a melodic H; Pattern 2) x applies only in μ’ (μ) μ μ Pattern 2) stem[σ σ Melodic Shift H (H is a melodic H; x applies only in (μ) μ μ (μ) μ (μ) Pattern 2) σ σ σ

(18) a. s-aa[rí-a] ‘he is not eating’ Pattern 2 MHA Heavy Shift Melodic Shift H sa-a[ri-a] Does Not Apply Does Not Apply

13 Rising tones are variably realized as level H. This phenomenon may be more common when preceded by H, in which case the level H variant is downstepped after H, i.e,. HØH H!HH.


b. s-aa[kón-a] ‘he is not sleeping’ Pattern 2 MHA Heavy Shift Melodic Shift H sa-a[kon-a] Does Not Apply Does Not Apply

c. sii[ndeéx-a] ‘I am not cooking’ Pattern 2 MHA Heavy Shift Melodic Shift H H x si-i[ndeex-a] si-i[ndeex-a] Does Not Apply

d. s-aa[βodóxan-a] ‘he is not going around’ Pattern 2 MHA Heavy Shift Melodic Shift H H x sa-a[βodoxan-a] Does Not Apply sa-a[βodoxan-a]

Pattern 2a forms with a causative suffix are provided in (19). In these forms the me-lodic H occupies the same positions of the stem as when there is no causative suffix, but the H of the causative sometimes surfaces and sometimes does not. It surfaces in stems that are long enough such that the melodic H is separated from the mora of the causative suffix by at least one mora. In shorter stems, in which the melodic H and the H of the causative are adja-cent, the H of the causative does not surface because the H of the causative suffix is subject to Meeussen’s Rule after the melodic H has found its surface position by the rules in (17).

(19) Pattern 2a Present Negative + Causative

a. si-βa[kús-i-a] ‘they are not selling’ b. si-βa[nyaás-i-a] ‘they are not causing chaos’ c. si-βa[r-iis-án-i-a] ‘they do not fear e.o.’ d. si-i[fuuŋgáan-í-a] ‘I am not tying’ e. si-βa[deex-ís-an-í-a] ‘they are not getting married’ f. si-βa[fukírisan-í-a] ‘they do not agree’

In Pattern 2a forms with a single object prefix, the H of the object prefix surfaces in

situ, and the melodic H surfaces as expected on the first mora of the second syllable in tri-syllabic and longer stems. The melodic H is not realized in forms in monosyllabic stems or in CVCV stems. In CVVCV stems, the melodic H is realized variably as a rise or a down-stepped level H (see fn. 13).

Ebarb and Marlo

(20) Pattern 2a Present Negative + OP

a. si-βa-ká[ŋw-a] ‘they are not drinking it6’ b. si-βa-mú[βal-a] ‘they are not counting him’ c. si-βa-mú[xeéng-a] ‘they are not cutting him’

~ si-βa-mú![xééng-a] d. si-βa-mú[rexér-a] ‘they are not forgiving him’ e. s-aa-βí[som-áang-a] ‘he does not read them’ f. si-βa-mú[deex-ér-a] ‘they are not cooking for him’ g. si-i-mú[reeβ-áang-a] ‘I do not ask him’ h. si-βa-čí[paangúlul-a] ‘they are not disarranging them10’ i. si-i-βá[rexér-aang-a] ‘I do not forgive them’ j. si-i-čí[karáang-aang-a] ‘I do not fry them10’

The failure of the melodic H to surface in forms with monosyllabic and CVCV stems

is the result of Meeussen’s Rule. The melodic H immediately follows the H-toned prefix on the stem-initial mora in these stem shapes, so it is deleted. In longer stems, the melodic H is able to move away from the stem-initial mora by Heavy Shift and/or Melodic Shift and thus escape deletion. These forms could be handled by the version of Meeussen’s Rule that ap-plies in Pattern 1, but we argue below that it is a specific version of Meeussen’s Rule, called Melodic MR, which deletes a melodic H after H and precedes the general version of Meeus-sen’s Rule. The formulation of Melodic MR is provided in (21), and the derivations in (22) illustrate our analysis of the deletion of the melodic H in monosyllabic stems and CVCV stems in Pattern 2a.

(21) Melodic MR H1 H2 Ø (H2 is a melodic H) μ μ

(22) a. si-βa-ká[ŋw-a] ‘they are not drinking it6’

Pattern 2 MHA Heavy Shift Melodic Shift H H si-βa-ka[ŋu-a] Does Not Apply Does Not Apply Melodic MR H H Ø si-βa-ka[ŋu-a] b. si-βa-mú[βal-a] ‘they are not counting him’ Pattern 2 MHA Heavy Shift Melodic Shift H H si-βa-mu[βal-a] Does Not Apply Does Not Apply


Melodic MR H H Ø si-βa-mu[βal-a]

Pattern 2a forms with an object prefix and the causative suffix are provided in (23). Disyllabic stems with an object prefix and the causative suffix show an interesting difference, depending on whether the stem-initial syllable is long. In CVCV stems, the melodic H does not surface, but the H of the causative does; recall that the melodic H surfaces on the stem-initial mora when there is no H-toned prefix, in forms with and without the causative. In CVVCV stems, the melodic H surfaces on the expected position on the second mora of the stem (which is rendered into a level downstepped H after the H-toned prefix), but the H of the causative does not surface after the melodic H because it is deleted by Meeussen’s Rule. Although the available data for longer stems are not extensive—see Pattern 2b data below for further forms of this type—they behave as expected: the H of the causative is deleted by Meeussen’s Rule when it immediately follows the melodic H; the H of the causative should surface if at least one mora separates it from the melodic H.

(23) Pattern 2a Present Negative + OP + Causative

a. sa-a-mú[bek-í-a] ‘he is not making him shave’ b. si-βa-βá![ŋwéés-i-a] ‘they are not making them drink’ c. si-βa-mú[nyoorés-i-a] ‘they are not annoying him’

The melodic H fails to surface in CVCV stems because the specific version of

Meeussen’s Rule, Melodic MR, deletes the melodic H from stem-initial mora after the H-toned object prefix. As shown in the derivation in (24), this prevents the general version of Meeussen’s Rule from deleting the H of the causative after the stem-initial melodic H.

(24) sa-a-mú[bek-í-a] ‘he is not making him shave’ Pattern 2 MHA Heavy Shift Melodic Shift H H H sa-a-mu[bek-i-a] Does Not Apply Does Not Apply Late MHA Melodic MR Meeussen’s Rule H H ØH Does Not Apply sa-a-mu[bek -i-a] Does Not Apply

The CVCV stems are important in motivating the specific version of Meeussen’s Rule, Melodic MR. If there were only a single version of Meeussen’s Rule—the iterative version that applies from right to left, which is motivated by the fact that only the leftmost in a series of three H-toned prefixes surfaces in Pattern 1—we would expect both the melodic H and the H of the causative to be deleted, contrary to fact. Nyala-West is not unique in requir-

Ebarb and Marlo

ing multiple versions of Meeussen’s Rule; two versions of Meeussen’s Rule are argued to be necessary in the closely related Khayo dialect of Luyia (Marlo 2009b, to appear). Additional-ly, it is not uncommon for tonal rules to refer to the morphological origin of tones, i.e., the melodic H vs. the root H; see, e.g., Mutonyi (2000) and Odden (2009) on Reverse Meeus-sen’s Rule in the Bukusu and Tachoni dialects of Luyia, respectively, and see Poletto (1998b) for an extreme example of reference to the morphological type of Hs in an analysis of OCP effects in Runyankore.

If it were not for the causative data, we might analyze the Pattern 2 data differently. Instead of assigning the melodic H to the left edge of the stem and moving it incrementally to the right, one could assign the melodic H directly to the first mora of the second syllable of the stem, as in (25). By putting the stem-initial syllable in parentheses, the melodic H would be assigned to monosyllabic stems, and a rule of Flop would shift H from the stem-final posi-tion to the penultimate mora to account for disyllabic stems.

(25) Melodic H Assignment to σ2 [alternative analysis]

H’ (applies only in Pattern 2) μ (μ) stem[ (σ) σ

The causative data in disyllabic stems pose a problem for this approach. After Melod-

ic H Assignment, the melodic H would be located on the final vowel, immediately following the H of the causative. The melodic H would somehow have to undergo Flop such that it shifts past the intervening H of the causative onto the penultimate mora, after which Melodic MR would delete the melodic H in CVCV stems and Meeussen’s Rule would delete the H of the causative in CVVCV stems, as in the present analysis. Clearly this would be problematic given the general theoretical assumption that association lines cannot be crossed.

One possible analytical route to circumvent the line-crossing problem would be to propose that the causative -í is infixed into the stem after the Pattern 2 rules of Melodic H Assignment and Flop, at which point Melodic MR and Meeussen’s Rule can apply to gener-ate the appropriate surface forms. While this approach is no doubt intriguing, evaluating the full range of predictions that such an analysis would make are beyond the scope of this paper, so the present analysis maintains the default assumption that the causative is present in the underlying representation.14

To complete the description of Pattern 2a, we note one final striking alternation we call “pinball shift”, which occurs in Pattern 2 forms with two H-toned prefixes. As we see in the Pattern 2a forms with two object prefixes in (26), the H of the first object prefix surfaces

14 One empirical point in support of this type of analysis is the fact that in Pattern 6, no Hs surface on the verb, including H-toned object prefixes, e.g., a-muu[ndexuur-iir-e] ‘if he could release him for me’, except the H of the causative/passive, e.g., β-a-xa[βayisaan-í-e] ‘if they had eloped’—a form from another Pattern 6 tense. Under the infixation analysis, one could propose that Pattern 6 has a rule of “Melodic Lowering”, which deletes all pre-linked Hs, but the H of the causative is infixed after this rule applies. However appealing that might be, the in-fixation analysis is problematic for Pattern 1, since the melodic H would have already been assigned and spread across the stem before infixation of the causative takes place, minimally complicating the analysis of the stem-final fall in those forms.


in situ, but two input Hs surface in non-canonical positions: the H of the second object prefix is realized on the stem-initial mora, and the melodic H surfaces in stem-final position, not on the first mora of the second stem syllable.

(26) Pattern 2a Present Negative + OP + OP1sg

a. s-aa-mú-u[xw-éer-á] ‘he is not paying him for me’ b. s-aa-mú-u[mbék-er-á] ‘he is not shaving him for me’ c. s-aa-mú-u[ndéeβ-er-á] ‘he is not asking him for me’ d. s-aa-mú-u[mbólol-er-á] ‘he is not untying him for me’ e. s-aa-mú-u[fúunix-ir-á] ‘he is not covering him for me’

We analyze pinball shift as the result of an early rule, Prefix Hop, which shifts H to

the following mora after H. By shifting the H of the second H-toned prefix to the stem-initial mora, Prefix Hop prevents the primary Pattern 2 rule of Melodic H Assignment from apply-ing because Pattern 2 MHA targets the stem-initial mora, which is already occupied by the shifted H of the object prefix. The melodic H reaches the stem-final position by Late MHA, which assigns the melodic H to the stem-final mora. The derivation in (28) illustrates our analysis of pinball shift in double object prefix forms in Pattern 2a.

(27) Prefix Hop Late MHA H H H

x μ μ μ μ]stem

(28) sa-a-mú-u[mbék-er-á] ‘he is not shaving him for me’ Prefix Hop Pattern 2 MHA Heavy Shift H H H sa-a-mu-u[mbek-er-a] Does Not Apply Does Not Apply Melodic Shift Late MHA Meeussen’s Rule H H H Does Not Apply sa-a-mu-u[mbek-er-a] Does Not Apply

Our analysis accounts for the fact that Prefix Hop does not apply in Pattern 1 forms by ordering Prefix Hop after the Pattern 1 rule of Unbounded Spread and before Initial De-linking. This ordering ensures that the stem-initial mora is always occupied by the melodic H at the time Prefix Hop applies in Pattern 1, which blocks the application of Prefix Hop, en-suring the later deletion of the second of two object prefix Hs by Meeussen’s Rule.

One possible alternative analysis of pinball shift would be to treat the surface position of the melodic H as the result of a rule that shifts the melodic H to the final vowel, instead of the failure to be assigned by the normal rule of Melodic H Assignment followed by a later secondary rule of Melodic H Assignment. One theoretical issue posed by this analysis is that the shifting rule would have to use ellipsis notation to shift H across an unbounded number of

Ebarb and Marlo

intervening moras/syllables—see Bickmore (1997, 1999) for discussion of similar issues in Gusii. 3.2 Pattern 2b The Pattern 2b tonal properties are found in the Immediate Past Negative, a tense which has the toneless negation prefix si-, the tense prefix complex a-xá-, and the same rules of Melodic H Assignment as Pattern 2a. As the Immediate Past Negative has a H-toned tense prefix im-mediately preceding the stem, Pattern 2b forms without object prefixes are tonally identical to Pattern 2a forms with one object prefix and are accounted for with the same analysis. Not-ably, the melodic H fails to surface on monosyllabic and CVCV stems, but surfaces on the penultimate mora of CVVCV stems and on the first mora of the second syllable of longer verbs.

(29) Pattern 2b Immediate Past Negative

a. si-β-a-xá[fw-a] ‘they did not just die’ b. si-β-a-xá[βal-a] ‘they did not just count’ c. si-β-a-xá[deéx-a] ‘they did not just cook’

~ si-β-a-xá![dééx-a] d. si-β-a-xá[burúx-a] ‘they did not just fly’ e. si-β-a-xá[βulúux-a] ‘they did not just rest’ f. si-β-a-xá[fumír-an-a] ‘they did not just stab e.o.’ g. si-β-a-xá[paangúlul-a] ‘they did not just disarrange’

Pattern 2b forms with a causative suffix are also tonally identical to Pattern 2a forms

with an object prefix. The H of the causative surfaces when there is at least one mora be-tween the melodic H on the first mora of the second stem syllable and the H of the causative. As reported above, there is an interesting asymmetry between CVCV and CVVCV stems in which the melodic H does not surface in CVCV stems but the H of the causative does, while the melodic H surfaces on the penultimate mora of CVVCV stems but the H of the causative does not surface.

(30) Pattern 2b Immediate Past Negative + Causative

a. si-y-a-xá[βis-í-a] ‘he did not just pass’ b. si-y-a-xá[kw-iís-i-a] ‘he did not just fell’ c. si-β-a-xá[nyoorés-an-í-a] ‘they did not just annoy e.o.’ d. si-β-a-xá[fukírisan-í-a] ‘they did not just agree’

The tonal properties of Pattern 2b forms with one object prefix are identical to those

of Pattern 2a forms with two object prefixes—the only difference is that monosyllabic and CVCV stems are possible in the Pattern 2b context. In longer stems, we find the expected effects of pinball shift: the H of the second object prefix is realized on the stem-initial mora due to Prefix Hop, and the melodic H is realized on the stem-final mora due to Late MHA.


Monosyllabic and CVCV stems also show the effects of Prefix Hop to the stem-initial mora, but the melodic H is not realized on the stem-final mora.

(31) Pattern 2b Immediate Past Negative + OP

a. si-y-a-xá-ka[ŋú-a] ‘he did not just drink it6’ b. si-y-a-xá-mu[βék-a] ‘he did not just shave him’ c. si-y-a-xá-mu[fwáal-á] ‘he did not just dress him’ d. si-β-a-xá-mu[fúmir-á] ‘they did not just stab him’ e. sii-nd-a-xá-ka[káraang-á] ‘I did not just fry them’ f. si-β-a-xá-mu[déex-er-á] ‘they did not just cook for him’ g. si-β-a-xá-mu[ríingaal-á] ‘they did not just look at him’ h. si-β-a-xá-či[páangulul-á] ‘they did not just disarrange them10’

The failure of the melodic H to be realized in these short stems is the result of Me-

lodic MR applying after the melodic H is assigned to the stem-final mora by Late MHA. This is illustrated for a monosyllabic stem in the derivation in (32).

(32) si-y-a-xá-ka[ŋú-a] ‘he did not just drink it6’ Prefix Hop Pattern 2 MHA Heavy Shift H H H x si-y-a-xa-ka[ŋu-a] Does Not Apply Does Not Apply Melodic Shift Late MHA Melodic MR H H H H HH Ø Does Not Apply si-y-a-xa-ka[ŋu-a] si-y-a-xa-ka[ŋu-a]

The data in (33) show the combination of an object prefix and a causative suffix in Pattern 2b. Here we find the effects of Prefix Hop in all forms. In CVVCV and longer stems, the causative surfaces H, and the melodic H does not surface. In CVCV stems (which is the smallest possible causative stem), neither the causative H nor the melodic H surface.

(33) Pattern 2b Immediate Past Negative + OP + Causative

a. si-β-a-xá-βa[kús-i-a] ‘they did not just sell them’ b. si-β-a-xá-βa[r-íis-í-a] ‘they did not just feed them’ c. si-β-a-xá-a[nyámbux-í-a] ‘they did not just make me cross’ d. si-β-a-xá-mu[nyóores-í-a] ‘they did not just annoy him’ e. si-β-a-xá-βa[sáasan-í-a] ‘they did not just bring them together’

The derivations in (34), simplified so that they do not indicate the non-application of

Heavy Shift and Melodic Shift, show the analysis of these forms. In both derivations, Prefix Hop applies first, which prevents the subsequent application of Pattern 2 MHA. The melodic H is assigned to the stem-final mora by Late MHA, though it is subsequently deleted by Me-

Ebarb and Marlo

lodic MR. In CVCV stems, the H of the causative is also subject to deletion following the H of the shifted object prefix on the stem-initial mora. The causative H does not suffer the same fate in CVVCV and longer stems because the two Hs are not adjacent.

(34) a. si-β-a-xá-βa[r-íis-í-a] ‘they did not just feed them’ Prefix Hop Pattern 2 MHA H H HH si-β-a-xa-βa[r-iis-i-a] Does Not Apply Late MHA Melodic MR Meeussen’s Rule H H HH H H HH Ø si-β-a-xa-βa[r-iis-i-a] si-β-a-xa-βa[r-iis-i-a] Does Not Apply b. si-β-a-xá-βa[kús-i-a] ‘they did not just sell them’ Prefix Hop Pattern 2 MHA H H HH

x si-β-a-xa-βa[kus-i-a] Does Not Apply Late MHA Melodic MR H H HH H H HH Ø si-β-a-xa-βa[kus-i-a] si-β-a-xa-βa[kus-i-a] Meeussen’s Rule H H H Ø si-β-a-xa-βa[kus-i-a] The tonal pattern of CVCV stems in Pattern 2b forms with an object prefix and the causative, e.g., si-β-a-xá-βa[kús-i-a] ‘they did not just sell them’—a context with two H-toned prefixes and thus pinball shift—are striking in contrast to parallel forms with only a single H-toned prefix that do not have pinball shift, i.e., Pattern 2a forms with an object prefix and Pattern 2b forms with no object prefix, e.g., sa-a-mú[bek-í-a] ‘he is not making him shave’ and si-y-a-xá[βis-í-a] ‘he did not just pass’. In both contexts, there are three adjacent Hs—the H of the prefix, the melodic H, and the H of the causative—but in terms of the linear order of the Hs, the patterns of deletion are inconsistent: in si-y-a-xá[βis-í-a], the H-H-H sequence is realized as H-Ø-H, whereas in si-β-a-xá-βa[kús-i-a] ‘they did not just sell them’, the H-H-H sequence is realized as H-Ø-Ø. What both forms have in common is that the melodic H is deleted after H before any subsequent deletion occurs. This difference further highlights the role of Melodic MR in the present analysis in accounting for forms like sa-a-mú[bek-í-a] and si-y-a-xá[βis-í-a], which do not follow the otherwise regular pattern of iterative, right-to-left deletion of Hs.


To complete our description and analysis of Pattern 2, consider the Pattern 2b forms with two object prefixes in (35). These data show the expected effects of Prefix Hop and Late MHA—the H of the second object prefix surfaces on the stem-initial mora, and the melodic H surfaces on the stem-final mora. In addition, these forms show that the H of the first object prefix is deleted following the H of the tense prefix, due to Meeussen’s Rule.

(35) Pattern 2b Immediate Past Negative + OP + OP1sg

a. si-y-a-xá-βu-u[nd-íir-á] ‘he did not juste at it14’ b. si-y-a-xá-mu-u[mbék-er-á] ‘he did not just shave him for me’ c. si-y-a-xá-mu-u[mbúkaan-ir-á] ‘he did not just find him for me’ d. si-y-a-xá-mu-u[síindix-ir-á] ‘he did not just push him for me’ e. si-y-a-xá-mu-u[ndéxuur-ir-á] ‘he did not just release him for me’

4. Summary We have seen in this article that the Nyala-West verbal tonal system possesses a large num-ber of alternations that are dependent on fundamental tense-aspect differences that result in the selection of different tonal melodies. In addition, within individual melodies, there are al-ternations that depend on prosodic factors like the size and shape of the verb stem. We also find striking alternations triggered by the presence of H-toned prefixes and suffixes, such as the pattern of “pinball shift”, in which a H-toned object prefix shifts to the stem, which caus-es the melodic H to shift to the stem-final mora. The causative and passive suffixes also trig-ger an interesting set of alternations. In the Pattern 1 tenses, the causative H participates in the process of Unbounded Spread across the stem that normally affects the melodic H and causes the melodic H to delete—a pattern we also find in Pattern 2 when the melodic H is otherwise expected to surface on the final vowel. In other contexts in Pattern 2, the melodic H (or a H-toned prefix that shifts to the stem-initial mora) causes the H of an immediately following causative to delete. Perhaps most interesting of all is the tonal pattern of CVCV stems in Pattern 2. These forms normally have the melodic H on the stem-initial mora, but with a H-toned prefix, we find the unexpected deletion of the melodic H, not the H of the causative, which motivates a specific version of Meeussen’s Rule that deletes a melodic H after H and precedes the general iterative, right-to-left version of Meeussen’s Rule. References Bickmore, L. (1997). Problems in constraining High tone spread in Ekegusii. Lingua, 102,

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