The two-level tonal system of Lataddi Narua

Abstract

Lataddi Narua is the first reported variety of a Naish language having only two tonal levels; all other Naish languages described to date have three. The language uses a system in which level tones are primary, and tones are associated to lexical items rather than to individual syllables. Four tone categories are identified for nouns and adjectives, and six for verbs. Processes of tonal interaction across word boundaries are discussed, from tonal morphology to observations about syntactic and semantic factors influencing the placement of tone group boundaries within a sentence.