THE TONE MARKING SYSTEM OF THE IGBO LANGUAGE: A DOCUMENTARY OVERVIEW

Abstract

Tone marking system is a system of using pitch levels to indicate semantic differences in lexical items and pitch patterns of grammatical constructions. This paper examines the efforts made over the years by some scholars to develop the Igbo tone marking system. The method of analysis adopted is purely descriptive. From the study, it is observed that the areas where some endeavours can be confirmed towards developing the Igbo tone marking systems can be divided into two broad groups: the 
grammar books and the dictionaries of the language. In the grammar books, two tone marking systems could be confirmed: (i) level tones (high tone, low tone and downstep and (ii) level/gliding tones (high tone, low tone, downstepped/mid tone, falling tone, rising tone). The dictionaries, on the other hand, are not so transparent; some are tone-marked, while others are not. The conclusion from the overview is that, in their effort towards tone marking Igbo texts, the present generation needs to retain a 
‘historical perspective’ by not overlooking much of the honesty and faithfulness to the language data as exemplified in the works of the past scholars.