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Document Details :

Title: Bakweri Tone Melodies
Author(s): MARLO, Michael R. , ODDEN, David
Journal: Africana Linguistica
Volume: 20    Date: 2014   
Pages: 295-312
DOI: 10.2143/AL.20.0.3062074

Abstract :
This paper reports on verb tone melodies in Bakweri, which has 6 inflectionally-governed stem tone patterns. Depending on tense, a verb may have no tones beyond those in the lexicon, or may add L, H, HL, or LH to the stem. These melodic tones are linked to the final vowel, and melody-initial H spreads leftward to the lexical tone of the root. In addition, the reflexive contributes a LH melody which partially replaces the inherent melody determined by a verb’s tense, and which undergoes a special leftward spreading rule.

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