Melodic H tones in Emakhuwa and Ecuwabo verbs

This paper describes in some detail the Melodic H tone patterns found in various Emakhuwa (P30) speech varieties, all of which share the property that there is no lexical tone in the verb system. While Emakhuwa dialects share the same Melodic H tone patterns, they do differ to a considerable extent in their general tonology. These differences at times obscure the extent to which different dialects exhibit the same pattern. Language contact in northern Mozambique between Emakhuwa and languages outside Zone P has led to the development of three “ mixed” languages. We examine Melodic Tone in one of these mixed languages, Ecuwabo, since it provides the only case in Zone P where there is both lexical tone in the verb and also Melodic H Tones.