resulting pattern of two adjacent High tones is changed into a Low tone due to the phenomenon described by Meeussen's rule. HHH > HLL Just as HH (High tone + High tone) can become HL (High tone + Low tone) by Meeussen's rule, so also HHH will often become HLL, and HHHH will become HLLL. Thus in the Luganda language of Uganda, the word *bá-lí-lába 'they will see', which theoretically has three High tones, is actually pronounced bálilabá with only one. (The tone on the last syllable is an automatically generated phrasal tone; see Luganda tones.) This process does not operate in the same way in every language, however. For example, in Shona, a Bantu language of Zimbabwe, the similar verb *á-chá-téngá 'he will buy' transforms to á-cha-téngá, where only one syllable is lowered by Meeussen's rule. Exceptions to Meeussen's rule Spreading of a tone across two or more syllables is quite common in Bantu languages. Tones which derive from spreading (or from plateauing, which is the spreading of high pitch from one high tone to another) are not affected by Meeussen's rule. Thus in the Chewa language of Malawi, for example, when the word kuphíka 'to cook' is followed by a direct object such as nyama 'meat', the tone on the penultimate syllable will spread: kuphíká nyama 'to cook meat'. There are many other exceptions to Meeussen's rule. For example, in verbs in Shona, in certain circumstances two high tones may occur in adjacent syllables. In the subjunctive tí-téngésé 'we should sell', both tí and té- have underlying high tones (the high tones of -ngésé arise from tone spreading), yet the tone of té- is not deleted. Likewise in the Chewa verb a-ná-ká-fótokoza 'he went and explained', the tone of ká 'go and' does not get lowered, despite following the high-toned tense-marker ná. References Bibliography Goldsmith, John (1981). "Towards an Autosegmental Theory of Accent: The Case of Tonga", Indiana University Linguistics Club. Goldsmith, John (1984a) "Meeussen's Rule" in Aronoff, M. & Oehrle, R (eds.), Language Sound Structure, Cambridge, Mass., MIT. Goldsmith, John (1984b), "Tone and accent in Tonga", in Clements, G.N. & Goldsmith, J. (1984) Autosegmental Studies in Bantu Tone. Dordrecht. Hyman, Larry M. & Francis X. Katamba (1993). "A new approach to tone in Luganda", in Language. 69. 1, pp. 33–67. Kanerva, Jonni M. (1990). Focus and Phrasing in Chichewa Phonology. New York, Garland. Meeussen, A.E. (1963) "Morphotonology