Tone alternation in Kirika (Nkọrọọ) associative construction

Abstract

Associative construction in Kirika (formerly known as Nkọrọọ) is formed through the com-bination of two nouns accompanied by tonal alternation. Previous research proposed that this construction exhibits a fixed high-low tonal melody, except when it begins with a low tone, in which case the low tone is predicted to extend over the entire construction. How-ever, this hypothesis could not be fully tested due to limited data. Using newly collected datasets, we evaluate this prediction. Our findings show that tonal alternation is restricted to the second noun. Specifically, the second noun surfaces with a high tone on its initial mora and low tones on all subsequent morae. When the construction begins with a low tone, the low tone does not spread to the end of the construction. If the first noun ends in a low tone, the entire second noun surfaces with low tone. On the other hand, if the first noun ends in a high tone and the second noun is monomoraic, the latter noun then surfaces with a high tone. We present a formal analysis of the alternation. Thus, this work contributes to the description and analysis of Kirika.