Obligatory Contour Principle

if /L/ is followed by another /L/ toneme, a buffer high tone is inserted at the end of the first /L/ span: mùso ‘woman’ + sàba ‘three’ → [mùsó sàbà] ‘three women’

This rule is applied after:

• Tonal compacity
• Simplification of the tonal contour of the stem of a derived or compound word
• Tonal spread

tonal spread

The tonal span of the initial components of a nominal compound extends on the non-initial components whose lexical tones are erased: bíɲɛ ‘liver’ + kàlama ‘stick’ → bíɲɛkalama [bíɲɛ́kálámá] ‘liver kebab’.

toneme deletion

If a noun containing more than one tonal span enters into derivation or word compounding as an initial element, its tonal contour is simplified: the first toneme is spread over the entire derived or compound word. tásàlen ‘kettle for ablutions’ + -ba an augmetative suffix → tásalenba [H tásalenba] ‘big kattle’

fusion of tonemes

If lexical tonemes of both components of a verb are H, the resulting form has a H tone throughout, and a fusion of two tonal spans into one can be postulated: kɔ́nɔ ‘stomach, interior’ + míiri ‘think’ → kɔ́nɔmiiri [H kɔ́nɔmiiri] ‘to think about’; lá- causative prefix + dá ‘to lie down’ → láda [H ládá] ‘to lay’

tonal spread

If there is phrase-final sequence of H tones preceded by a L tone, the entire H-tone sequence can be optionally lowered to L.

tonal spread

All derivative and inflectional suffixes in Bambara are underlyingly toneless. On the surface, they are integrated into the tonal span of the root/stem. E.g.: [H sɔ̀gɔ] ‘to tie’ + -ra PFV.INTR → [tìgɛ-ra], [H sé] ‘to arrive’ + -ra PFV.INTR → [H sé-ra].