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Table of Contents

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nahe23z555iA8A8wMGOTs3TLk8Ni2BtZnd1McyELiig/edit?usp=sharing

Background

This document provides necessary context for how we apply tone marks properly to words for the Igbo API. Please take time to read through the entire document to be better acquainted with our editing process.

Vocabulary

Key words Meaning Example
High (H) tone Relative high pitch applied to a syllable. a (unmarked)
Low (L) tone Relative low pitch applied to a syllable. à
Downstep Phenomenon of pitch-lowering when two of the same tone (high tones in Igbo) follow each other. ā
Syllabic Nasal When nasal consonants “m” or “n” at as an individual syllable carrying its own tone. N in Nna, Ndu, Ngwere. M in Mma, Mgba, Mbe
Lexeme Most basic unit of meaning sans inflection For chọrọ, ịchọ, achọọla etc. the lexeme is chọ
Pre-lexical tone change
Post-lexical tone change
Vowel assimilation
Associative construct

Nkọwa okwu Tone Marking Convention

This section provides a detailed explanation on our team's approach to tone marking as it doesn't adhere to any established pattern in the most accessible Igbo material that either apply tone marks our speak about them.

  1. The only tones represented with markings are L tones (à), and downstep (ā)
    1. H tones are left unmarked. This is because they are the most common tone for a syllable in Igbo language.
    2. Justification: Research on the convention (leaving the most common tone unmarked) is shown to lead to minimal tone marking for word detection. This makes it better suited for orthography and pedagogy compared to marking all tone marks (Koffi 2014)
      1. This is also the conventional standard for Igbo (and other African language) literature and academia in which tone marking is conveyed.
  2. A downstep can only occur preceding a H tone or another downstep.
    1. This means a downstep cannot follow a L tone.
    2. This means a downstep cannot be the first syllable of a word (“dē” is not an acceptable headword)
  3. Nasal syllables (n, m) should be marked with the same tone convention as vowels (ǹtọ̀, m̀gbu, etc.)
  4. For the headword, represent lexemes with their pre-lexical tone changes only. Post-lexical tone changes along with vowel assimilation should be represented under pronunciation spelling.

    1. Pre-lexical changes: changes that happen within a single lexeme independent of its context within a sentence of phrase. These are “internal” tone changes of a word.

      Examples:

      1. ri → irī
      2. chọ → chọ̀rọ̀
      3. wè+pụ̀ → wepụ̀ → mwepụ̀

    2. Post-lexical changes: changes that happen to a lexeme only withing the context of other lexemes.

      Examples:

      1. àlà+Ìgbò → àlà Igbò (rendered as “àlìigbò” in pronunciation spelling only)
      2. okwu+chi → okwu chī (rendered as “okwuchī” in pronunciation spelling only)

    3. Justification: Igbo is a language with a deep tone system. This means that words in Igbo feature a variety of tone changes depending on their context in a phrase. This is in opposition to languages like Yoruba, which have shallow tone systems where isolated tone is generally stable regardless of context. Research on tone marking convention for a deep tone system shows that marking pre-lexical changes is better than marking pronunciation level tone for learning and reading (Roberts et al., 2016).

    4. For more details please refer to Headword vs. Pronunciation vs. Conceptual (Implication) Spellings

    5. Note: These rules apply to verbs as well. Therefore, verbs should be written in their root form without inflection.

      1. For example: “ri” should be the headword for the verb “eat”. “rī”, “rìe”, and “rìrì” would be incorrect representations for the headword
  5. Tone should be represented in every field excluding the definition and example fields.

Visual Example

The headword is above with “anya ụ̀fụ” while the pronunciation is benefits beneath it to represent its associative construct with “anyụụ̄fụ”

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References

  1. Adeniyi, K. (2020). Lexicalisation of tonal downstep in Yoruba. Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue Canadienne De Linguistique, 65(4), 535-555. doi:10.1017/cnj.2020.22