AUTOSEGMENTAL ANALYSIS OF TONE AS NEGATION MARKER IN ÌJÈ͙S͙À DIALECT OF YORÙBÁ

Abstract

Negation is universal to all languages of the world but the means of marking negation are different from one language to another. This study examines tone as a negation marker in the Ìjè͙s̟à dialect of Yoruba. The objectives of this study are to: examine the process of vowel lengthening and types of tone in Ìjè͙s̟à; enumerate the functions of tone in Ìjè͙s̟à and analyse the operation of tone as a negative marker in the dialect. Data for this study were collected through the Interview method, which is one of the elicitation techniques. Five Ìjè͙s̟à native speakers were interviewed, of whom three were males, while two were females. The autosegmental theory propounded by Goldsmith (1976) is used for the analysis of this study. This study found that Ìjè͙s̟à uses the three tones as the major means of changing positive statements to negative ones in the dialect. The study concludes that tone marks negation in Ìjè͙s̟à through vowel lengthening.