On the Interaction of Tone and Intonation in Ika Igbo

Abstract

This paper aims at showing how intonation and tone affect each other in Ika dialect. Ika, a dialect of Igbo, has some features of intonation which are absent in most other igbo dialects, including the standard Igbo. In addition, Ika has tonal features just like other dialects of Igbo. Experimental and perceptual methods were adopted to reveal how the two features- tone and intonation- interact. It was proved that in Ika, tone and intonation affect each other. This may be why ika intonation patterns are not always realized on the same pitch level as those in intonation languages like English. It was also discovered that because of the effect of intonation, Ika tonal system differs slightly from that of standard Igbo. For instance, the terrace tone feature does not strictly exist in Ika. Rather more often, particularly in most interrogative utterances, there is an upstep at the final syllable. This, which is absent in standard Igbo, appears to be largely due to the effect of rising intonation