Analysis of tone contrast patterns in nambya language of hwange district in matabeleland north province of Zimbabwe

Nambya is a Bantu language spoken in Hwange in Western Zimbabwe. As a Bantu language, it shares several characteristics of Bantu languages. This paper gives a non-exhaustive analysis of the tone patterns and how they affect lexical and grammatical meaning. The study identified various factors that influence tone namely noun stems,their prefixes, verbal stems and the role of Obligatory Contour Principle and High Tone Spread. Nambya, a previously marginalised language is spoken by an estimated 117 000 inhabitants (https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups / -retrieved 16 June 2022.). This research aimed to establish tonal patterns and general tonal rules in Nambya. The target population were mother tongue speakers who had either learnt the language at formal setups or were natural speakers of the language. Expert and homogeneous purposive sampling (judgmental) techniques were applied to select participants, and the sample size was ten. A qualitative methodology using descriptive survey was used in this study focusing on phonological analysis of tone using the auto segmental theory. Data was generated through elicitation of words in isolation and in different environments. In the tonal analysis, Nambya, like many other Bantu languages has two basic tones—High (H) and Low (L). These tones could combine into HH, HL, LL and LH patterns with results showing that tone significantly influences both vowel pitch and consonant articulation. These tones are crucial for distinguishing meanings between otherwise similar words. Thus,tone performs grammatical and lexical functions in Nambya language with vowels and nasals being tone bearing units. Tone is contrastive in the language, affecting both verbs and nouns. Deverbal nouns and prenasalised consonants influence tonal realisation, with a tendency toward low-toned stems. Different noun classes prefer specific tonal patterns possibly due to morphological constraints. Disyllabic nouns exhibit structured tonal distributions reflecting underlying phonological rules. Tone thus plays a crucial role in understanding Nambya. Overall, the findings offer significant contributions to the documentation and analysis of Nambya’s phonological system, provide a base for further Bantu language studies, aid in language preservation and serve educational purposes. The study highlighted the importance of thorough linguistic research in safeguarding and valuing the phonological richness of lesser-documented languages.