The tone of verb stems in Xhosa

SYNOPSIS

A short list of disyllabic verb stems with their final position infinitive tone pattern indicated. Three tone types are differentiated, two of which Xhosa has in common with other Southern Bantu languages. The third tone pattern must however be related to a historical stage where the vocabulary was subject to the same influences that produced long vowels in some Central Bantu languages. This process however affects only the high‐toned verb stems and not the low‐toned ones. Thus the number of low‐toned verbs is greater than either the high or the mid‐toned verbs. The occurrence of the mid‐tone pattern cannot be associated with nasal compounds, which, in some Bantu languages, automatically produce vowel length before them.