TONES & TONE MARKS

Tones describes how the voice falls, rises or remains flat when pronouncing syllables in words.

Yoruba is a tonal language. A word can have the same orthographic representation but different pronunciations and meanings. The combination of letter o-k-u-n can mean a number of things depending on the tone marks on it.

Check the table below for examples : 

AUD 1 : AUD 2 : AUD 3 : AUD 4 :

1	2	3	4
Òkun - Sea	Gbà - Receive	Oko - Farm, Plantation	Ọ̀kọ̀– Spear, Javelin
Okùn - Rope	Gbá - Sweep	Okó - Male Genitalia	Ọkọ- Husband
Okun - Strength		Òkò - Stone thrown	Ọkọ̀– Vehicle, Canoe
			Ọkọ́- Hoe

• Example 1 is a noun
• Example 2 is a verb
• Example 3 and 4 shows you that letters with subdots (Ẹ, Ọ, Ụ) are totally different letters from their counterparts without subdots (E, O, U)
• Words in each group are not exactly Homograph (because they actually have different tone marks); they might be better called Heteronyms (because they have different pronunciations and meanings).
• These, ‘Heteronyms’ are dealt with in greater depth under the fourth Module, HETERONYMS/HOMOGRAPHIC WORDS.

The Three Tones

There are three tones in Yoruba. The details are in the table below:

TONE	SYMBOL	REPRESENTATION ON WORDS	SPOKEN REPRESENTATION
Low Tone (Ìró Ohùn Ìsàlẹ̀)	Grave accent	` (e.g. à, è, ẹ̀, ì, ò, ọ̀, ù)	Do
Mid Tone (Ìró Ohùn Àárín)	Nothing	(e.g. a, e, ẹ, i, o, ọ, u)	Re
High Tone (Ìró Ohùn Òkè)	Acute accent	´ (e.g. á, é, ẹ́, í, ó, ọ́, ú)	Mi

NOTE:

1. Tone marks are put on vowels only.
2. The grave accent and acute accent appear on words to indicate the tone.
3. The middle tone is usually left unindicated (i.e. without a symbol), but a macron can be usen to indicate the tone (ā, ē, ẹ̄, ī, ō, ọ̄, ū).
4. The spoken representation is used to represent the tone orally.

How they are produced.

Unlike sounds which are produced by the complementary effort of different organs (e.g. lungs, Vocal cords, Nasal passage, tongue, teeth, palate, lips), tone are produced with the vocal cords only.
The tone produced (high, mid or low) depends on how much the vocal cords are stretched. The tighter the vocal cords are stretched, the higher the tone produced.

• For low tones, the vocal cords are least stretched
• For mid tones, they are averagely stretched.
• For high tones, they are most stretched.

How to Place Tone Marks on Yorùbá Words Correctly

1. Write out the word.
2. They are produced by a free flow of air through the mouth only.
3. They are 7 in number.
4. Divide it into syllables.
5. Remember each syllable carries a tone mark.
6. Hum the first syllable: While humming you will pick the depth i.e. you will be able to tell if it the tone is falling, rising or neither. (IN THE SIMPLEST TERMS, YOU WILL ‘HEAR’ ONE OF THE FOLLOWING WHEN HUMMING THE WORD);

TONE	IT’S NATURE	WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU HEAR IT
Do	Falling tone	Put the ` mark on the vowel
Re	Neither rising nor falling	Leave the vowel without a symbol
Mi	Rising tone	Put the ‘ mark on the vowel

7. When you have known the tone for that syllable, put the tone mark on the vowel of that syllable. (Remember, only vowels carry tone marks.)
8. If you didn’t get it, try it again. You can also check the practice section and work from the answer.

HOW TO REMEMBER WHICH ‘ACCENT’ IS TO BE USED.

1. Write a letter ‘V’.
2. The left flank, \ (grave accent) represents the falling tone (do)
3. The right flank, / (acute accent) represents the rising tone (mi)

Practice 2 ('Monotonous')

This practice quiz contains words with the same tone repeated in its 2/3 syllables.

Some Rules of this Quiz

1. You will have only 15 seconds per each question.

2. Once you select your answer, it can't be undone.

3. You can't select any option once time goes off.

4. You can't exit from the Quiz while you're playing.

5. You'll get points on the basis of your correct answers.

Awesome Quiz Application

Time Left

15

You've completed the Quiz!

Practice 3 (Easy)

This quiz has words that are easy to determine their tone marks.

Some Rules of this Quiz

1. You will have only 15 seconds per each question.

2. Once you select your answer, it can't be undone.

3. You can't select any option once time goes off.

4. You can't exit from the Quiz while you're playing.

5. You'll get points on the basis of your correct answers.

Awesome Quiz Application

Time Left

15

You've completed the Quiz!

Practice 4 (Pre-intermediate)

Some Rules of this Quiz

1. You will have only 15 seconds per each question.

2. Once you select your answer, it can't be undone.

3. You can't select any option once time goes off.

4. You can't exit from the Quiz while you're playing.

5. You'll get points on the basis of your correct answers.

Awesome Quiz Application

Time Left

15

You've completed the Quiz!

Practice 5 (Intermediate)

Some Rules of this Quiz

1. You will have only 15 seconds per each question.

2. Once you select your answer, it can't be undone.

3. You can't select any option once time goes off.

4. You can't exit from the Quiz while you're playing.

5. You'll get points on the basis of your correct answers.

Awesome Quiz Application

Time Left

15

You've completed the Quiz!