Does tone polarity exist? Evidence from plural formation among Bangime nouns

This study introduces Bangime, a language isolate spoken in Mali (Lewis, 2009), into the literature, through an examination of tonal processes associated with the formation of plurals. The purpose of this study is to offer evidence for the existence of the phenomenon known as ‘tone polarity’. A debate began with Kenstowicz et al.'s (1988) study, in which he referred to tone polarity as an epiphenomenon, simply a ‘reflex’ of the Obligatory Contour Principle (OCP) (Leben, 1973). Since then, researchers have argued for (Cahill, 2004; Newman, 1995), and against (Anttila and Bodomo, 2000; Hyman, 1993), the justification of positing the existence of tone polarity as opposed to dissimilation. Here, it is argued that tone polarity differs from simple dissimilation in Bangime nouns because the target tone bearing unit (TBU) is underlyingly toneless, thus adhering to the most current definitions of the phenomenon (Hyman, 2007: 502; Yip, 2002: 159).