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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