The interaction between tone and intonation in Hausa wh-questions

Newman (2000) suggests that in Hausa, question-word questions (WHQs) are
marked by a sentence-final Q-morpheme which lengthens a final short vowel and
add a L(ow) tone to the final H(igh)-toned vowel. The current work seeks phonetic
evidence of the L-tone and the vowel-lengthening effects potentially induced by
the Q-morpheme in WHQs. A production test was conducted to compare final syl-
lables ending in CV, CVV, and CVO syllables bearing H, L, and HL tones in both
statements and WHQs. The results indicate that while WHQs generally display a
register raise from statements, only final H-toned syllables show an F0 drop
compared to the penultimate syllable. Moreover, all final syllables, except for CVV-HL,
experience lengthening. The lengthening of CV syllables, which neutralizes the
contrast between short and long vowels, is due to the length component of the
Q-morpheme, while the lengthening of CVO and CVV syllables is likely the result
of phonetic regulation. The investigation shows that the Hausa WHQ pattern is
influenced by both phonological effect (the Q-morpheme) and phonetic effects
(final lengthening and overall pitch raise).