Case marked by tone in American languages
Tom Payne
tpayne at OREGON.UOREGON.EDU
Fri Jan 21 23:24:31 UTC 2000
Greetings from Oregon. I am wondering if anyone can tell me
if there are any indigenous American languages that indicate
case by means of a tonal contrast. I am well-aware of this
phenomenon in Nilo-Saharan languages (examples from Endo
below), but am wondering if it occurs anywhere in the
Americas. I would also appreciate concise examples. Thanks
for any help.
Tom Payne
Case marked by tone in Endo (Nilo-Saharan, Kenya):
1. Kílëchí Kíplêkwà Pëëlyón 'Hare said to Elephant . . .'
said Hare.NOM Elephant.ACC
2. Kílëchí Pëëlyón Kíplêkwà 'Hare said to Elephant . . .'
3. Kílëchí Kìplêkwà Pëëlyòn 'Elephant said to Hare . . .'
Hare.ACC Elephant.NOM
4. Kílëchí Pëëlyòn Kìplêkwà 'Elephant said to Hare . . .'
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