Tense, Aspect and Negation in Ikhin: The Role of Tone

A recurring feature is the role of tone in the grammar of Ikhin. The associative H tomorph as a general feature of Edoid languages is well demonstrated in Ikhin. So is evidence of tone function in tense, aspect and negation. This paper examines the realization of tone in verbal elements in Ikhin. In this paper, by verbal elements, I mean tense, progressive aspect, negation and verb stem. This language has two basic tones and a downstep. The classic ‘two tones plus downstep’ is the most widespread in Edoid. The analysis of Ikhin tone system as containing two tones and a downstep confirms that it is a terraced level tone system. Verb stems in Ikhin do not have tonal representation in the lexicon. The context in which a verb occurs determines what tone it takes. I argue, therefore, that verbal elements acquire tonal representation at the grammatical level. I propose that simple present and progressive aspects are indicated by a grammatical tone called “tomorph”. More generally still, I argue that the postulation of a grammatical tone, such as an H tomorph as a general feature of Edoid languages, receives independent support from negation in this language.