Tone in Bantu

1 Those that have contributed directly to this paper are: D. T. Cole, Some Features of Ganda Linguistic Structure, African Studies, 24:3-54, 71-116, 199-240 (1965). A. T. Cope, Zulu Tonology, Afrika und Ubersee, 43:190-200, (1959). E. Kaihler-Meyer, Studien zur tonalen Struktur der Bantusprachen, I. Shambala, Afrika und Ubersee, 46:1-42 (1962). --, Studien zur tonalen Struktur der Bantusprachen, II. Chasu, Afrika und Ubersee, 46:250-95 (1962). -, T6ne und Akzente in der Formenlehre des Chasu, Afrika und Ubersee, 47:89-133 (1964). , Tonal behavior in the word-structure of African class languages, Afrika und Ubersee, 50:279-89 (1967). --, The Tones in Urbantu, Afrika und Ubersee, 51:81-90 (1968). J. Knappert, Derivation and Tone Deflection in Cindau and some other Bantu Languages, Afrika und Ubersee, 45:169-88 (1962). L. W. Lanham, The Tonemes of Xhosa, African Studies, 17: (1958). , The Tonemes of Xhosa: A Restatement, Studies in Linguistics, 17: 35-58 (1963). A. E. Meeussen, Essai de Grammaire Rundi, Tervuren (1959). , Morphotonology of the Tonga Verb, Journal of African Languages, 2: 72-92 (1963). from Ganda, the present paper reaches a simple but fundamentally important conclusion about 'tone' in Bantu. The tonal system of Proto-Bantu is generally assumed to have consisted of two register tones. Most recently, E. KiihlerMeyer states that "the Urbantu stems had two tonemes, low or high."2 Whenever a system consists of two contrasting entities, the analyst may suggest an alternative interpretation whereby one of the entities is 'zeroed out' and the contrast is regarded as presence vs. absence of some one positive entity. This second interpretation is implied by those writers who talk about 'normal', rather than 'low' tone. Thus Kahler-Meyer, in the same article from which we have just quoted, says " ... many Urbantu nouns... were fully low-toned, ONE MIGHT ALSO SAY