A Lexico-Semantic Analysis of Tone-Induced Homonymy in Kuteb

This research is an analysis of aspects of Kuteb language semantics. Semantics is solely the study of meaning in a language. The aims of the research inclines to conduct a lexical- semantic study of Kuteb language with the objective of investigating the impacts of tone, as it enhances similarities and differences in lexical items of Kuteb language. The investigation is principally narrowed to homonyms. Homonyms are words that sounds alike, they could be spelt and written alike but tends to be different in meanings and it is further divided into homophony and homography. Linguistically homonyms align to the variability of a word to generate multiple and un- related meaning with the help of tones. Tone is a contrastive functional element of a language which assist in determining both lexical and grammatical meaning of a word. The research adopts descriptive research design and contextual theory of meaning, to determine the semantic similarities and differences in lexical items of Kuteb Language. The instruments for data collection are through Swadesh word list, interview and questionnaires. The findings indicate significant homonyms in lexical items of Kuteb Language which, culminate to homonymic clash/conflicts yet, it does not heighten to complexity and semantic nuance that could distort meaningful communication among Kuteb language users. In conclusion the research realises tones as triggers of meaning resulting to prevalence of both hetero tonal and homo-tonal homonyms which therefore situate Kuteb as a tonal language. It further recommends the teaching and learning of homonyms as it develops vocabularies and meanings, which enhances communication and its confusing nature increases variability of tone on word in developing contextual meaning.