Question prosody: an African perspective

Abstract

This paper presents a preliminary typology of yes/no question prosody in African languages. Our database currently includes 78 languages, representing a wide range of genetic groups: 63 Niger-Congo languages (2 Atlantic, 6 Kru, 17 Gur, 3 Mande, 7 Kwa, 2 Adamawa-Ubangi, 2 Ijoid, 24 Benue-Congo), 8 Afro-Asiatic languages (5 Chadic, 3 Cushitic), 6 Nilo-Saharan languages (1 Songhay, 1 Central Sudanic, 4 Eastern Sudanic), 1 Khoisan language (Nama). We found a diversity of prosodic markers that we divided into two categories: 5 high-pitched question markers (cancellation/reduction of downdrift or register expansion, raising of last H tone(s), cancellation or reduction of final lowering, final H tone or rising intonation, HL melody) and 6 non high-pitched question markers (L tone or falling intonation, polar tone or mid tone, lengthening, breathy termination, cancellation of penultimate lengthening, [open] vowels). We show that question prosodies with no high-pitched markers are not a rarity but are widespread in Africa, found throughout the Sudanic belt that stretches from Atlantic Ocean to the Ethiopian-Eritrean Highlands. A set of these markers (falling intonation contour or L tone, lengthening, breathy termination, [open] vowels) co-occur in various combinations in many languages and language families. We propose that they are various facets of a 'lax prosody' which might have a single historical origin.

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