25.4716, Diss: Luyia, Luidakho-Luisukha-Lutirichi; Historical Ling, Morphology, Phonology: Ebarb: 'Tone and Variation in Idakho and Other Luhya Varieties'

Fri Nov 21 22:25:31 UTC 2014

LINGUIST List: Vol-25-4716. Fri Nov 21 2014. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 25.4716, Diss: Luyia, Luidakho-Luisukha-Lutirichi; Historical Ling, Morphology, Phonology: Ebarb: 'Tone and Variation in Idakho and Other Luhya Varieties'

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Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 17:24:25
From: Kristopher Ebarb [ebarbk at missouri.edu]
Subject: Tone and Variation in Idakho and Other Luhya Varieties

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Institution: Indiana University Bloomington 
Program: Department of Linguistics 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2014 

Author: Kristopher Ebarb

Dissertation Title: Tone and Variation in Idakho and Other Luhya Varieties 

Dissertation URL:  http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/pubnum/3640905.html

Linguistic Field(s): Historical Linguistics
                     Morphology
                     Phonology

Subject Language(s): Luidakho-Luisukha-Lutirichi (ida)

Language Family(ies): Luyia

Dissertation Director(s):
Robert Botne
Stuart M Davis
Kenneth de Jong
Michael R. Marlo
Samuel Gyasi Obeng

Dissertation Abstract:

Bantu languages commonly signal tense, aspect, mood, polarity, and clause-type
distinctions with tonal as well as segmental cues. The inflectional tonal
melodies on verbs may be viewed as underlyingly floating H tones (henceforth
`melodic Hs') contributed by the morpho-syntax that are assigned by rule to
different positions within the verb. Along with a small set of construction
specific tonal adjustment rules, the number and position of melodic Hs
distinguish one tonal melody from another.
The present dissertation makes two contributions to the study of the special
role that tone plays in Bantu verbal morpho-syntax. First, it contributes
extensive novel documentation of the verbal tone system of Idakho: a variety
of the Luhya cluster of Bantu languages spoken near Lake Victoria in western
Kenya and eastern Uganda. Second, I show how aspects of the Idakho system and
that of other Luhya varieties like it have contributed to the development of
rich diversity within the verbal tone systems of Luhya.
Part I comprises the descriptive component of the dissertation and emphasizes
the impact of several factors known to influence verb tone in Bantu. Because
many language consultants contributed to the project, the dissertation makes
note of variation within and across speakers of Idakho. In Part II, I
demonstrate the role that a preference for prosodically well-cued
morphological boundaries has played in two striking tonal developments within
the Luhya macrolanguage: the loss of a lexical tonal contrast reconstructed to
Proto-Bantu and the introduction of tonal melodies in constructions for which
there is no historical precedence for tonal inflection.

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