Mastering tones represents an integral aspect of Yoruba language acquisition as it constitutes the basis for an in-depth appreciation of its syntax, grammar, phonology, morphology, semantics, and pragmatics. As the first aspect of language acquisition to be unconsciously achieved by every child born into a Yoruba speaking family, tonal acquisition however poses a difficult challenge to L2 Yoruba learners, especially the adults whose power of adaptation to strange lexical tone types and patterns is attenuating. Surprisingly, without tonal signs, some native users of Yoruba language also find it hard to read appropriately and comprehend the exact meaning intended by the writer. In simple language, the importance of tone in Yoruba language cannot be compromised since it represents a factor that both syntactically and semantically distinguishes words of identical origins without which the language sounds unintelligible.<\/p>\n
Ward (1956) defines a tonal language as \u201cone which makes use of the pitch of the voice as an essential element in the formation of words and in connected speech\u201d (p.29). The author further posits that tone can appear either as part of what makes up a word or as a differentiating factor in meaning.<\/p>\n
Generally, it is necessary to note that there are three kinds of tones all of which are featured in Yoruba language. In his journal article entitled \u2018Tones of Yoruba Language\u2019, Adetokunbo (1989) classifies tonal patterns of tonal languages into three categories, namely rhythmic tones, syntactic tones, and semantic tones.<\/p>\n
Rhythmic Tones<\/strong><\/p>\n Rhythmic tones are what can be referred to as \u2018intonation\u2019 in English language. They represent the undulation of pitch in the course of human\u2019s verbal communication. Every language has a unique intonation system which can be easily noticed when the L1 users attempt to use a L2 or foreign language. For instance, an adult Yoruba English learner would unconsciously display the intonational contours of his mother tongue during his English conversation.<\/p>\n Syntactic Tone<\/strong><\/p>\n These are the tones that categorize a statement into a variety of syntactic meanings. As in many other languages, a statement in Yoruba can be declarative when it reports a fact. It can be interrogative when it intends to seek for a response, and exclamative when the speaker aims to express his surprise in regard to the fact.<\/p>\n O ti r <\/em>\u00e0\u00e1<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He\/She has bought it.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Affirmative<\/p>\n O ti r <\/em>\u00e0\u00e1<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He\/She has bought it?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Interrogative<\/p>\n O ti r <\/em>\u00e0\u00e1<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He\/She has bought it!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Exclamative<\/p>\n In the above examples, the tone somewhat glides up in the interrogative statement but remains balanced in the affirmative. Whereas it slightly glides down in the exclamative.<\/p>\n Semantic Tones<\/strong><\/p>\n Semantic tones are tones that create different meanings for words spelt and pronounced the same way, but with different tones. The Yoruba semantic tone pattern adopted from Pike\u2019s \u2018significant contrastive pitches\u2019 is made up of four contrastive tone levels, namely high tone (\/) as in \u2018r\u00e1\u2019, <\/em>meaning vanish, mid tone (-) such as \u2018ra\u2019,<\/em> meaning shrink, and low tone (\\) as in \u2018r\u00e0\u2019, <\/em>meaning buy.<\/p>\n Moreover, these three lexical tones vary in terms of strength; the high (\/) tone appears as the strongest, then comes the low (\\) tone, whereas the mid (-) tone is the weakest since it disappears in what may be referred to as contraction as in the clause \u201cAl\u00e0gb\u00e0 n\u00e1\u00e0 k\u1ecd \u00ecw\u00e9<\/em>\u201d meaning \u201cThe elderly man wrote a book\u201d. Then once the mid-tone verb \u2018k\u1ecd<\/em>\u2019 is contracted with its object noun \u2018\u00ecw\u00e9<\/em>\u2019, it changes from the former mid tone to a low tone as in the following: \u201cAl\u00e0gb\u00e0 n\u00e1\u00e0 k\u2019\u00f2\u0323w\u00e9\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n L1 Interference and Age as Factors Influencing Yoruba Tonal Acquisition<\/strong><\/p>\n Research has shown a number of factors affecting L2 learners\u2019 Yoruba tonal acquisition, among which first language interference and age are of significant influence (Olanike, 2006). Yoruba language, which comprises the earlier stated three contrastive lexical tones, is rather incompatible with most Indo-European and Semitic languages. For instance, both English and Arabic recognize high (\/) and low (\\) tone levels, but overlook the mid (-) tone.\u00a0 However, in efforts to produce Yoruba words orally, Yoruba L2 learners tend to be challenged by mid (-) tone, and thereby produce either high (\/) tone or low (\\) tone instead. The following example can illustrate this phenomenon:<\/p>\n Yoruba words\/names\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pronunciation by foreign learners<\/em><\/p>\n \u1eccl\u00e1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00d3\u0323l\u00e0<\/em><\/p>\n Ad\u00e9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00c1d\u00e8<\/em><\/p>\n Oba\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00d3\u0323b\u00e0<\/em><\/p>\n Ad\u00e9b\u00e1y\u00f2\u0323\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00c0d\u00e8b\u00e1y\u00f2\u0323<\/em><\/p>\n Furthermore, age factor has substantial influence on Yoruba tone acquisition since psycholinguists believe that children below the puberty age tend to learn a second language faster than adults. This widely embraced belief is based on the Lenneberg\u2019s theory which holds that during child\u2019s intellectual development, there is a particular time known as critical period<\/em> lasting until puberty during which a child is believed to learn a second language easier and achieve a native-like accent. He further asserts that after attaining the puberty age, language acquisition will become more challenging due to brain\u2019s ability and adaptation that begins to diminish at that point (Richards, 1984).<\/p>\n In conclusion, as a lexical tonal language, Yoruba is such a language whose acquisition may prove futile without an awareness of the foregoing tonal patterns. Moreover, adults may find it hard to master a native-like Yoruba accent due to their limited ability to accept tones they have never been accustomed to. However, although sounding almost like native users may be somewhat difficult to achieve, is it undeniable that adult L2 learners are still capable of developing communicative competence with which to convey their thoughts in different communicative situations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Reference<\/strong><\/p>\n Pike, K. L. 1948. Tone languages: A technique for determining the number and type of pitch contrasts in a language. University of Michigan Publications in Linguistics 4. Ann Arbor, MI.<\/p>\n Olanike, O.O. (2006). L2 Acquisition and Yoruba Tones: Issues and Challenges. Selected Proceedings of the 36th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, ed. Olaoba F. Arasanyin and Michael A. Pemberton, 121-128. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.<\/p>\n Richard, J.C. (1984). The Context of Language Teaching, Cambridge, M.A: Cambridge University Press.<\/p>\n Adetokunbo, A. (1989). Tones of Yoruba Language. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, vol. 79, no.1, p. 29-34.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mastering tones represents an integral aspect of Yoruba language acquisition as it constitutes the basis for an in-depth appreciation of its syntax, grammar, phonology, morphology, semantics, and pragmatics. As the first aspect of language acquisition to be unconsciously achieved by every child born into a Yoruba speaking family, tonal acquisition however poses a difficult challenge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":65,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"Qiraat Africa","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"1","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"0","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"0","show_popup_post":"0","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":""},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":""},"jnews_social_meta":{"fb_title":"","fb_description":"","fb_image":"","twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7,27],"tags":[119,121,120,118],"class_list":["post-1417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-studies","category-west-africa","tag-acquisition","tag-l1-interference","tag-yoruba-language","tag-yoruba-tonal-system"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}