The reality of Hausa low tone raising a response

Authors

  • Russell G. Schuh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32473/sal.v20i3.107448

Keywords:

Low Tone Raising, Hausa, phonology

Abstract

Paul Newman and Philip Jaggar in an article in this issue of Studies in African Linguistics argue that a rule of Low Tone Raising (L TR), proposed in Leben [1971] is not a synchronic rule in Hausa. This rule, as originally fonnulated in Leben [1971], raises a final low tone (L) of a word if the syllable bearing the L (1) follows a L and (2) has a long vowel. I agree with them that L TR is not a rule; indeed, contrary to their assumption (first paragraph of §2), I would claim that it never has been a rule. The question which I wish to raise is whether there is any synchronic (and/or historical) reality to the phenomenon which originally attracted Leben's attention.

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Published

1989-12-01