Grammatical Tone Patterns of Affirmative Main Clause Verbs

The chapter begins with a brief background section introducing what is meant by grammatical tone patterns in Bantu languages. Eight different grammatical tone patterns can be identified for affirmative main clause verbs, representing eighteen inflections. The tone patterns for all eighteen inflections are illustrated and discussed in detail in the core eight sections of the chapter. The tone patterns of high-toned extensions and Object Markers are also illustrated and analyzed. The concluding section takes up some analytical issues raised by grammatical tone, including the accentual properties of the tone patterns, the abstract relationship between the source of the high tone patterns and the target syllables for tone realization, and how the grammatical tone patterns of Chichewa could have led to the skewing, in the synchronic verb system, toward toneless stems.