Tone Types
Underlyingly, each syllable of every morpheme may be described as having one of two tone types: high (H ) and null (ø). On the surface, all remaining null tones default to low (the LTA rule below) and the language is therefore spoken with two contrasting tonemes (H and L).
A classic example of a nasal carrying a tone:
- To form a locative from a noun, one of the possible procedures involves simply suffixing a low tone -ng to the noun. To form the locative meaning "on the grass" one suffixes -ng to the word jwang‡ , giving jwanng‡ , with the two last syllabic nasals having contrasting tones.
Names, being nouns, frequently have a tonal pattern distinct from the noun:
- The Sesotho word for "mother/missus/ma'am" is mme‡ , but a child would call their own mother mme‡ , using it as a first name. Also, ntate‡ means father/mister/sir, while ntate‡ might be used by a small child to say "dad."
Read more about this topic: Sotho Tonology
Famous quotes containing the words tone and/or types:
“Candor is a proof of both a just frame of mind, and of a good tone of breeding. It is a quality that belongs equally to the honest man and to the gentleman.”
—James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851)
“The rank and file have let their servants become their masters and dictators.... Provision should be made in all union constitutions for the recall of leaders. Big salaries should not be paid. Career hunters should be driven out, as well as leaders who use labor for political ends. These types are menaces to the advancement of labor.”
—Mother Jones (1830–1930)