Aspects of Bandi tonology

Abstract

Bandi tonology offers three points of interest. The first is low tone opacity. Several tone rules act to obscure the presence of underlying low tones in Bandi. In some cases low tones are lost completely while in other cases underlying low tones are manifested phonetically as downstep tones or as the low of a falling glide. The net result of Bandi tone rules is to create considerable opacity with respect to low tones. Second, is the treatment of polarizing tones. In Bandi, polarization rules cannot merely create a new tone, but must assign tone height to an underlying tone of unspecified tone height. Finally, there are fonnal problems that result from adherence to the OCP. A rule of tonal dissimilation becomes unduly complicated if it is assumed that the OCP prohibits sequences of like tones. A contrast between nouns with a LH and LLH melody also argues against theOCP.