Tone as a significant feature in Kamtok

Most studies – e.g. Dwyer and Smith (1966), Mbassi-Manga (1976), Bellama, Nk-welle and Yudom (1983) – agree that tone is a feature of Kamtok speech, in that it distinguishes differences in meaning between words and utterances. Hence tone is used in Kamtok to bring out differences in meaning between the following:

Most studies acknowledge at least two tones: a rising or high (´) and a falling or low (`) tone. Dwyer and Smith (1966) talk of three tones: a strong high tone (´), a weak high tone (unmarked) and a low tone (`). Because the weak high tone is generally unmarked some researchers tend to ignore it.

Dwyer and Smith (1966) also suggest that the high and low pitches of tone in Kamtok operate in registers. Within the register, all high pitches are at the same level just as are all low pitches. The strong high pitch usually terminates the register of which it is a member, as in /dát nà búk/ ‘that is a book’. Mbassi-Manga (1976) considers the minimal tone unit in Kamtok to correspond to a syllable or word, the maximal unit being the polysyllabic sense group.