Melodic H in Makwe

Verbs in Makwe do not have lexical tone. Depending on tense, five different melodies can be assigned to the stem. Some tenses do not assign a melodic H tone whereas others assign a single H tone to stem‑initial, stem‑penult or stem‑final position. The remaining tenses assign two H tones : one to stem‑initial and the other to stem‑final position. Melodic H tones may combine with a H tone in pre‑stem position. Tone spreading processes apply to H tones that are not in verb‑final position. Verb‑final H tones are subject to retraction or shift depending on their position within the phonological phrase.