Sounds and Tone: How Yorùbá Means
The Yorùbá sound system and its three tones, with worked minimal pairs showing how pitch alone changes a word's meaning.
Yorùbá na tone language. Pitch no be decoration for top word, e be part of di word, di same way wey consonant be. Di syllable dem ra, rá, and rà get di same consonant and di same vowel, and na three different words dem be: to rub, to disappear, and to buy . To miss di tone no be accent matter, na different word person don talk, na why to write Yorùbá without tone mark dey close to writing English without vowels pass to write English without italics.
Dis file explain di sound inventory and di tone system well-well, because na tone be di main thing wey dey hard heritage speaker pass when dem dey come back to di written language.
Di sound inventory
Vowels
Standard Yorùbá get seven oral vowels and five nasal vowels . Di oral vowels dey written as i, e, ẹ, a, ọ, o, u. Two inside dem carry subdot, and di subdot na mark wey dey differentiate letters, no be accent:
| As dem write am | IPA | English guide wey close |
|---|---|---|
| i | [i] | like for machine |
| e | [e] | dey close to di vowel for they, without di glide |
| ẹ | [ɛ] | like for bet |
| a | [a] | like for Spanish casa |
| ọ | [ɔ] | like for thought (British) |
| o | [o] | dey close to di vowel for go, without di glide |
| u | [u] | like for rule |
Di pairs e / ẹ and o / ọ na separate vowels wey dey distinguish separate words. If person drop di subdot, e go merge different words together, and dis kind mistake dey di same category as dropping tone marks.
Di five nasal vowels, conventionally, dem dey write dem with n for front: in, ẹn, an, ọn, un . Here, di n no be consonant wey person go pronounce separately; e dey show say di vowel itself na nasal vowel, say air dey pass through di nose. Na why ìwọ̀n (measure) na two syllables and no be three. Make you note say dialects get different vowel systems: plenty Central and Southeast varieties get nine oral vowels whereas Northwest Yorùbá and standard get seven .
Consonants
Yorùbá get eighteen consonants: b, d, f, g, gb, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, ṣ, t, w, y . Three of dem need explanation because dem dey confuse readers wey think say na English pronunciation dem carry.
p no be di English p. E represent [k͡p], doubly articulated labial-velar stop wey person dey produce when lips and soft palate close together at di same time and release together . Plain [p] no dey for native Yorùbá words.
gb na di voiced counterpart [ɡ͡b], wey dem dey produce di same way but with voice. Na one sound and one letter for di alphabet, no be g wey b follow. English no get anything like am, and e dey important to pay attention to am.
ṣ na [ʃ], di sh sound, wey different from plain s [s]. Di subdot still show say na separate letter.
Di alphabet as dem dey teach am normally get 25 letters, and e no get c, q, v, x, z, and e no get plain p for di way English dey use am.
Syllable structure
Yorùbá syllables dey come in three shapes: consonant plus vowel (CV), vowel alone (V), and syllabic nasal (N) . Consonant cluster no dey, and syllable-final consonant no dey for native words. Na why English loanwords dey change shape when dem enter: school dey turn sùkúù, bread dey turn búrẹ́dì, as each consonant dey get im own vowel.
Di syllabic nasal na nasal consonant wey be syllable on im own, wey dey carry im own tone . E dey show for continuous aspect marker ń and for negative kò/ò, and for words like ǹkan (thing). Because e dey carry tone on im own, dem dey write am with tone mark.
One phonological point wey dey important for etymology: almost all native Yorùbá nouns dey start with vowel . Nouns wey start with consonant dey behave like say dem get underlying vowel prefix wey dey show for genitive constructions . Dis na structural fact about how Yorùbá dey build nouns, and e explain di vowel prefixes wey dem discuss for yoruba-etymology-and-word-formation.
Di tone system
Yorùbá get three tones wey dey phonemically distinctive: High (H), Mid (M), and Low (L) . For standard orthography, dem dey write High with acute accent, Low with grave accent, and Mid no dey get mark .
- High: á é ẹ́ í ó ọ́ ú
- Mid: a e ẹ i o ọ u (no mark)
- Low: à è ẹ̀ ì ò ọ̀ ù
Tones dey relative, dem no be absolute. High tone dey high relative to di pitch range of di speaker for dat utterance, no be fixed frequency. Pikin and adult dey produce di same three-way contrast for different absolute registers.
Minimal pairs, as dem work am
Dis set wey dey here come from Akinlabi and Liberman survey of Yorùbá tonal phonology and e show di contrast systematically, first on monosyllables, den across di nine possible tone patterns of disyllable .
Monosyllabic, all three tones on one segmental shape:
| Word | Tone | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| rá | H | to disappear |
| ra | M | to rub |
| rà | L | to buy |
Three verbs wey no relate at all. Na only pitch separate dem.
Disyllabic, wey dey show say tone patterns dey combine freely :
| Word | Tone pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ọkọ́ | MH | hoe |
| ọkọ | MM | husband |
| ọkọ̀ | ML | vehicle |
| ìlú | LH | town |
| ìlu | LM | opener |
| ìlù | LL | drum |
| pákó | HH | plank |
| pákò | HL | chewing stick |
| kése | HM | a mythological place name |
Na di ọkọ series be di one to look well. Ọkọ na husband, ọkọ́ na hoe, ọkọ̀ na vehicle, and if you still count di subdot distinction, oko na farm. Sentence about husband, hoe, vehicle, and farm na four different sentences wey marks dey distinguish, marks wey untoned writing dey throway.
Di classic example wey dem dey take teach na di igba set, and e make sense to show am well because popular sources no agree on which pattern mean wetin. Di different words include igbá (calabash), ìgbà (time, season), igba (two hundred), ìgbá (garden egg), and igbá wey mean climbing rope for some varieties. Di forms and wetin dem mean dey vary according to dialect and source, so make person shine eye look any single clean list of four well, and check am with dictionary wey get tone mark. Say di difference dey, dat one dey sure; na di exact list wey dey inside one particular variety be wetin dey differ.
Tone dey carry grammar, no be only vocabulary
Tone for Yorùbá no be only for word meaning. E dey do grammatical work wey English dey use word order or auxiliary verbs do.
One pure tonal morpheme dey inside Yorùbá, di subject-marking High tone, wey dey mark di end of most subject noun phrases and e no get any segmental sound of im own apart from floating High tone . Grammatical marker wey be only pitch like dis no get anything wey match am for English at all.
Tone dey change under syntactic conditions too. Verb wey get Low tone dey turn to Mid tone when noun object follow am: rà ìwé (buy book) dey show as ra ìwé . Di genitive linker between two nouns na Mid-toned vowel, wey must dey when di second noun start with consonant: ilé Kúnlé dey come out as ilé e Kúnlé, Kunle's house .
Mid tone na di one wey hard pass
Analysis wey get solid backing, wey start from Akinlabi (1985) and Pulleyblank (1986), show say di Yorùbá Mid tone for under-under na no tone at all instead of say na third pitch wey dem specify . Di proof na tonal stability. When verb and noun wey follow am combine, Yorùbá dey delete one of di vowels wey touch each other, and High or Low tone of di deleted vowel dey survive and join body back. Mid tones no dey survive: di way dem dey behave when things combine be like say dem no dey there at all, dem no dey produce contour and dem no dey produce downstep .
Dis one get practical consequence for people wey dey learn di language. Ọlanikẹ́ Ọla Orie study of American learners of Yorùbá find out say error rate na 12 percent for High tones and 26.5 percent for Low, but e reach over 97 percent for Mid tones . Learners dey often hear Mid wey dey start word as High and Mid wey dey end word as Low, so dem dey pronounce owó wrongly as ówó and Ṣẹ́gun as Ṣẹ́gùn . Orie record wetin di learners dem self explain, say High resemble English pitch for stressed syllable and Low resemble unstressed pitch, but Mid no get any English equivalent wey person fit hold onto .
Di lesson for heritage speaker wey dey come back: di tone wey no get mark no be di easy default, na im hard pass, and as di spelling system no dey write am dey make am easy to overlook instead of say e make am easy to pronounce.
Contour tones and downstep
Apart from di three level tones, two contours dey come out for derived contexts :
- High wey follow Low dey turn to rising: dem dey pronounce ọ̀rẹ́ (friend) with rising contour for di second syllable.
- Low wey follow High dey turn to falling: dem dey pronounce Báyọ̀ with falling contour.
Dis na normal things wey dey happen when tones dey switch, and dem no dey write dem separately for spelling. Orie find out say even learners wey sabi di three level tones well still dey fail to catch di contours .
Downstep na when High tone wey dey later for wetin person talk come lower for pitch pass High tone wey come before am, without say e stop to be High tone. Di pitch register dey step down, and High tones wey follow dey start from di new lower level. For Yorùbá dis one dey usually happen where dem don remove Low tone or where Low tone dey only as floating tone between two Highs; Bamgbóṣé describe di effect as assimilated Low tone . Yorùbá downstep fit also be lexicalised, wey mean say some words dey carry am as permanent part of di word instead of to get am from context . Standard spelling no dey mark downstep, and na one reason why to read loud well well require say person know di word, no be just to decode di marks.
Vowel harmony
Yorùbá get vowel harmony, wey mean say di vowels inside one word must match each other, dem no fit just mix anyhow. Di main feature na Advanced Tongue Root (ATR), di position of di root of di tongue wey dey separate e and o from ẹ and ọ .
Di main rule for Standard Yorùbá touch di mid vowels: for two-syllable word, di mid vowels must agree for ATR, so e and o dey appear with each other and with di high vowels, while ẹ and ọ dey appear with each other. Forms like ọ̀wọ̀ and ewé dey correct; word wey mix e and ọ across di positions no correct. Di vowel a and di high vowels i and u dey act as neutral or transparent for Standard Yorùbá instead of to trigger harmony .
Dialects dey differ for how far harmony dey reach. Àkúrẹ́ Yorùbá dey extend ATR harmony go reach high vowels join with mid vowels, while Standard Yorùbá and Mọ̀bà no dey do so . Dis na real structural difference between varieties, no be matter of say person dey talk carefully or carelessly.
Harmony dey important for etymology, because e dey set limit for wetin compound word fit reduce to. Any etymology wey require vowel sequence wey Yorùbá phonotactics no allow, dat fact dey make am weak, na test wey dem apply for yoruba-etymology-and-word-formation.
Why dis no be optional detail
Two practical conclusions dey come out from everything wey dey above.
First, Yorùbá wey dem write without tone marks and subdots dey systematically confusing, and di confusion no be small thing. Ọkọ alone fit mean husband, hoe, and vehicle. Readers dey understand wetin e mean from context most of di time, na why untoned Yorùbá dey usable, but "usable with effort by person wey already know di language" weak far pass "readable," and e dey fail completely for names, for poetry, for anything wey person no familiar with, and for computer processing.
Di second point bi say, di tone system na reason why person no suppose trust wetin dem talk about di language during colonial era. System wey get three contrastive level tone, two derived contour, downstep, floating tonal grammatical morpheme, and ATR vowel harmony no bi simple system at all. Na observers wey no fit hear am describe am like dat, and na their own inability make dem no hear am.