Two Reasons a Tone Can Change
Different tones can identify different words or different construction-dependent forms.
How It Works
Lexical tone belongs to a word's identity. Owó, money, and òwò, trade, have different lexical tone patterns. Grammatical tone concerns the form a word takes in a particular construction. The buying verb appears as ra before an ordinary noun object and as rà in the illustrated object-focus construction.
Compare Títí ra bàtà, “Títí bought shoes,” with Bàtà ni Títí rà, “It was shoes that Títí bought.” Buying remains the action; the second sentence selects its object. This alternation does not express person or number agreement and does not establish a rule for every verb. Preserve these tones in ordinary Standard Nigerian Yoruba spelling. Separately, mid-tone ti and high-tone relative tí are distinct grammatical words, rather than another instance of this verb alternation.
Examples (3)
- Owó àti òwò.
Money and trade.
A noun-phrase fragment contrasting lexical tone patterns.
- Títí ra bàtà.
Títí bought shoes.
Ra occurs before an ordinary noun object.
- Bàtà ni Títí rà.
It was shoes that Títí bought.
The selected object precedes ni; the buying verb has low tone.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Check both the word and its grammatical environment.
Related Patterns
Practice Two Reasons a Tone Can Change in Bubblegum
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