Abstract :
In Standard Yorùbá, syntax affects the tone of both lexical and functional heads in different ways. Before an Accusative-marked complement, the inherent low tone of a monosyllabic verb is suppressed. Conversely, in certain empty functional head positions, a ‘spurious’ high tone appears. Both phenomena arguably demonstrate the interaction of labeled phrase-structure with tonal feet. Accordingly, Yorùbá prosody counts as an example of direct access by phonology to surface syntax, as proposed by Kaisse (1985) and Odden (1990a).
