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Example Set 1 - Tonal Aspects

Since Luganda is a tone language, and intonation plays a very important part in the meaning of words.

The following words are pronounced with a level tone pattern i.e. ray me, in tonic solfa:
kusa

♫ (to grind), mata

♫ (milk), nte

♫ (cow), bbwa

♫ (sore)

Longer words:
okusa

♫ (to grind) -Initial Vowel form of verb -.
kutakulatakula

♫, okutakulatakula

♫ (to scratch a lot)

The same rule holds in long syllables: Thus the following words are pronounced with the tone pattern, i.e. ray me.
kaalo

♫ (small village) kyalo

♫ (village) muntu

♫ (person) ente

♫ (cow).

Longer words:
akaalo

♫ (small village) kugenda

♫ (to go), okugenda

♫
kusaana

♫ (to suit), okusaana

♫ ndowooza

♫ (I think)

A vowel plus a syllabic consonant may also form a long level tone, the second half of which is a pause:
muggazi or (more correctly) muggazi

♫ (doorkeeper) omuggazi

♫

When a low tone syllable occurs after a high tone syllable: it drops lower still —about a major fourth. Thus:
kulaba

♫(to see) ray me te okulaba

♫ ray ray me te
mwami

♫ (chief) me- te omwami

♫ ray me- te.
mutto

♫ (pillow) omutto

♫

With every subsequent high tone: it is now one major tone higher than the new low tone, and therefore considerably lower than the first high tone. Thus:

kusirika