University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Obligatory contour principle effects and violations: The case of Setswana verbal tone

Mmusi, Sheila Onkaetse

This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/22163

Description

Title
Obligatory contour principle effects and violations: The case of Setswana verbal tone
Author(s)
Mmusi, Sheila Onkaetse
Issue Date
1992
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Kisseberth, Charles W.
Department of Study
Linguistics
Discipline
Linguistics
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Language, Linguistics
  • Literature, African
  • Language, General
Language
eng
Abstract
  • This dissertation is an autosegmental analysis of the tonal patterns manifested in the verb of Setswana, a Southern Bantu language spoken in Botswana and South Africa. Verbal tone in this language is very complex because the tonal patterns fluctuate, depending on many factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, for example, the syntactic environment in which the verb occurs, and the type of morpheme, high or toneless, that precedes the verbstem. The matter is further complicated by the fact that there are two types of verbstems in Setswana, namely, high-toned versus toneless (low-toned). All of these factors taken together result in the variability of verbal tonal patterns attested in this language.
  • The aim of this study, is to offer an analysis of what may be viewed in the literature on tonal studies as evidence that Setswana verbal tonal patterns violate the phonological principle termed the Obilgatory Contour Principle (OCP). The OCP is assumed to be a universal principle by most authors who subscribe to its existence. According to this principle identical features cannot exist side by side. In the case of Setswana tone, the implication is that a sequence of high tones is prohibited. The very presence of these tonal sequences in Setswana presents a case that the OCP does not hold for this language. We disprove this fact by appealing to a weaker version of the OCP whereby sequences of singly-linked high tones are allowed whereas sequences of multiply-linked high tones are not allowed. The conclusion reached is that the OCP is a parametrical principle whose manifestation is dictated by any particular language.
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/22163
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 1992 Mmusi, Sheila Onkaetse

Owning Collections

Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois
Dissertations and Theses - Linguistics