Abstract
It has been proposed that Japanese downstep, in which the pitch register is lowered after an accented phrase, is sensitive to certain syntactic boundaries. In this paper, we investigate whether downstep is blocked at the relative clause boundary in a production experiment with ten speakers. The results suggest that it does not block downstep. On the other hand, there is a difference between adjectives and verbs when they are used attributively with a head noun: Downstep is observed robustly in the verb condition, whereas there is much inter-speaker variation in the adjective condition. Taken together with the results of past research, we propose that the different patterns found by syntactic category, in particular, adjectives, verbs, and nouns, may be explained by assuming speakers’ knowledge of the behavior of these categories that is activated when they pronounce the phrase. Nouns and verbs are readily available as a combined concept in Japanese and thus downstep is not blocked, whereas combinations of adjectives are not so readily available, and thus speakers may insert a boundary, breaking up a phrase that would otherwise constitute a single domain for downstep.
Highlights
The pitch register of an accentual phrase is lowered after an accented accentual phrase in Japanese (e.g., Kubozono 1989, Pierrehumbert and Beckman 1988, Poser 1984)
Hirayama and Hwang (2016) propose an analysis that relates the syntactic difference between nouns and adjectives to their syntactic patterns: (Attributive) adjectives project relative clauses in Japanese (Kuno 1973) but nouns modifying other nouns with the particle -no do not; and the clause boundary present in the former blocks downstep
It would have been better to use the same category within the same NP, i.e., an adjective for (1a) and (3a), but this was not possible because the past tense form of adjectives is always accented; we cannot test whether downstep occurs if the trigger is always accented, since we can judge whether downstep occurs only when we have a comparable sentence where the trigger is unaccented.[1]
Summary
The pitch register of an accentual phrase is lowered after an accented accentual phrase in Japanese (e.g., Kubozono 1989, Pierrehumbert and Beckman 1988, Poser 1984). Hirayama and Hwang (2016), find the opposite: With noun phrases in which two phrases modify the head noun in the right-branching structure [X1 [X2 N]], downstep was observed when the modifiers were both NPs [N1-no [N2-no N]], whereas no downstep was observed when the modifiers were adjectives [A1 [A2 N]] Given this finding, Hirayama and Hwang (2016) propose an analysis that relates the syntactic difference between nouns and adjectives to their syntactic patterns: (Attributive) adjectives project relative clauses in Japanese (Kuno 1973) but nouns modifying other nouns with the particle -no do not; and the clause boundary present in the former blocks downstep. Was not possible because the past tense form of adjectives is always accented; we cannot test whether downstep occurs if the trigger is always accented, since we can judge whether downstep occurs only when we have a comparable sentence where the trigger is unaccented.[1]. The speaker and item were entered into the model as random effects; random intercepts and random slopes were included for speaker while random intercepts were included for item
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
