An investigation of the three tone system in Tsuut’ina (Dene)

Abstract

This study is part of the documentation and conservation of Tsuut’ina (formerly Sarcee, Sarsi; ISO 639-3: srs), a northern Dene (Athabascan) language by a collaboration of academic and community members. Tsuut’ina is a tone language. Contrary to Dene tonogenesis theory and unlike reports on all other Dene tone languages, Tsuut’ina is reported to have three tones, H, L, M. The tonal system in Dene family has been argued to arise from the loss of laryngealized sonorants in monosyllabic stem codas and incorporation of laryngealization into the nucleus of the stem, resulting in H and L tonal contrasts. The Dene languages additionally exhibit “tonal reversal”, a tendency for the Dene tone languages to show “reversed” tonal patterns that postdate the original tonogenesis. In this study we investigate the tonal distribution, realization patterns and tonal alignment in data collected from two fluent speakers reciting prepared wordlists and short discourses. Preliminary investigation indicates that, as reported, three tonal patterns emerge, M tone associated most often with a falling tone, with distinct distribution patterns arguably related to morphological factors. Furthermore M tone is more highly variable. We lay out distribution patterns and interactions with morphology and statistical analyses associated with the data.