The I?ka?ra?m tone system

Abstract

This study investigates the tones of I?ka?ra?m, a dialect of the Akpes language, spoken in A?ko?ko? North West Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. Specific areas of the I?ka?ra?m tonology are investigated with a view to establishing the I?ka?ra?m tone system. These areas include, I?ka?ra?m tones, functions of tones and tonological processes which I?ka?ra?m tones undergo, among others. The study reveals that I?ka?ra?m has three basic tones High (H), Low (L) and Mid (M). Contour tones, high-falling and low-rising, are also phonetically realized in I?ka?ra?m. Tone is a distinctive feature of I?ka?ra?m phonology and I?ka?ra?m tones perform both lexical and grammatical functions. These tones are used to distinguish meanings of segmentally identical words. They perform grammatical functions like assimilation in noun phrases, in possessive constructions, as negation markers, as relative clause construction markers, as subject-verb agreement construction markers, as tense markers, as imperative markers and as associative markers.