Tonal Alternation Research Articles

Iconicity as the motivation for the signification and locality of deictic grammatical tones in Tal

We present novel evidence for iconicity in core morphophonological grammar by documenting, describing, and analysing two patterns of tonal alternation in Tal (West Chadic, Nigeria). When a non-proximal deixis modifies a noun in Tal, every tone of the modified noun is lowered. When the nominal modifier is a proximal deixis, the final tone of the modified noun is raised. The tone lowering and raising are considered the effects of non-proximal and proximal linkers, which have the tone features [–Upper, –Raised] and [+Raised] as their respective exponents. The realisation and maximal extension of the non-proximal tone features are considered effects of morpheme-specific featural correspondence constraints. Similarly, the exponent of the proximal linker docking on the final TBU is due to the relative ranking of the proximal-specific correspondence constraints. The association of the tone features [–Upper, –Raised] and [+Raised] with non-proximal and proximal linkers, respectively, is in line with crosslinguistic patterns of magnitude iconicity. Given that the local and long-distance realisations of the proximal and non-proximal featural affixes respectively are perceptually similar to deictic gestures, the locality of the featural affixation is considered a novel pattern of iconicity. To motivate this pattern of iconicity, we extend the notion of perceptual motivation in linguistic theory to include the crossmodal depiction of sensory imagery. Consequently, Tal presents evidence for iconicity as a motivation for morphophonological grammar.

Phonology of Adur Niesu in Liangshan, Sichuan

This study describes the segmental and suprasegmental phonology of Adur Niesu, a Loloish (or Ngwi) language spoken mainly in Liangshan, Sichuan, southwest China. Phonemically, there are 41 consonants, 10 monophthongs and 1 diphthong in Adur Niesu. All Adur syllables are open. Its segmental changes mainly happen to the vowels, featuring high vowel fricativization, vowel lowering, vowel centralization, vowel assimilation and vowel fusion. It is common for Adur Niesu syllables to be reduced in continuous speech, with floating tones left. There are three main types of syllable reduction: complete reduction including the segment and tone, partial reduction with a floating tone left, and partial reduction with the initial consonant left. Adur Niesu employs tones as an important means for lexical contrast, namely, high-level tone 55, mid-level tone 33, and low-falling tone 21. There is also a sandhi tone 44. There are two types of tonal alternation: tone sandhi and tone change. Tone sandhi occurs at both word and phrasal levels, and is conditioned by the phonetic environment, while tone change occurs due to the morphosyntactic environment. Finally, some seeming tonal alternation is the result of a floating tone after syllable reduction.

Discovering the Prosodic Domain of Aceh Hakka Tone Sandhi

The research investigated the tonal system of the Hakka dialect spoken in the Aceh province of Indonesia. The aim of the research was twofold. First, it retranscribed the dialect’s tonal inventory and provided a comparison with Meixian Hakka and the inventory found in Chen’s (2007) research. Second, it analyzed the Shang Tone Sandhi Rule (STSR) of the dialect and its prosodic domain. The data were collected with a careful design based on the number of syllables, different prosodic structures, and a variety of tonal combinations. The data were collected from two informants, who were female Hakka native speakers that originated from Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The research used mainly an impressionistic approach with some support from Praat Version 6.2.14 to evaluate the pitch of the tones. As for the research’s transcription, the researchers opt for the simpler yet phonologically distinct three-level height system (H, M, L) rather than the five-pitch category of Chao. The research identifies that there are six tonal values in this dialect. The tonal alternation rule, i.e., STSR, operates in a multisyllabic domain, and only the tone at the end of a domain is intact from tonal alternation. The STSR is not sensitive to the syntactic domain c-command relation of the Direct Reference Hypothesis. It also behaves differently compared to the Guangxing dialect Yangping Tone Sandhi Rule. As for prosody, the hierarchical domain of the rule in Aceh Hakka is bounded within the Utterance (U), which is different from the Yinping tone sandhi domain in Meinong Hakka, in which tone sandhi is blocked by the I domain (intonational phrase domain). Therefore, the researchers postulate that the domain for Aceh Hakka Shang tone sandhi lies in the Utterance (U).

On the systematic nature of Dinka noun number morphology

Abstract We present an analysis of noun number marking in Dinka, based on Andersen’s system of vowel grades and a new system of tone classes. Assuming that the ‘unmarked’ grade 1 form can be either singular or plural, we show that the morphology is more systematic than has been previously suggested. Roughly half of our dataset can be treated as synchronically regular, and in more than half the remainder the only exceptional features are simple alternations of lexical quantity or voice quality. Less than a quarter exhibit more unpredictable irregularities. With regard to tone, we posit nine classes that describe the patterns of tonal alternation between the grade 1 form and the more marked form of the noun; 60% of our dataset fall into just three of these classes. The tone classes show considerable cross-dialect validity even between a four-tone dialect (Luanyjang, Rek cluster) and a three-tone dialect (Agar).

Sandhi-tone words prolong fixation duration during silent sentence reading in Chinese

The current study examined whether or not lexical access is influenced by detailed phonological features during the silent reading of Chinese sentences. We used two types of two-character target words (Mandarin sandhi-tone and base-tone). The first characters of the words in the sandhi-tone condition had a tonal alternation, but no tonal alternation was involved in the base-tone condition. Recordings of eye movements revealed that native Mandarin Chinese readers viewed the base-tone target words more briefly than the sandhi-tone target words when they were infrequent. Such articulation-specific effects on visual word processing, however, diminished for frequent words. We suggest that a conflict in tonal representation at a character/morpheme level and at a word level induces prolongation in fixation duration on infrequent sandhi-tone words, and conclude that these tonal effects appear to reflect articulation simulation of words during the silent reading of Chinese sentences.

A phonological account of Tlapanec (Mè’phàà) tonal alternation

Tlapanec (Mè’phàà) is known for its enigmatic tonal alternation in verb forms according to person and aspect-mode categories, in addition to suppletion and other segmental alternations. In this paper, we argue that the tonal alternations observed in Tlapanec regular agentive verbs can be straightforwardly accounted for by phonology, without resorting to any extreme abstractness: the lexical tones of the prefixes and the verb stems, with underspecification and floating tones, and cross-linguistically common tone processes such as tone spreading and floating tone docking. Such a phonological (or a morpheme-based) approach is contrasted with a word-based approach, where tonal alternations are viewed as inflectional classes. We show that the phonological approach is more adequate than a word-based approach.

Anatomy of a grammatical tone

Abstract“Induced Creaky Tone (ICT)” is a grammatical tone in Burmese. It is the result of a process by which Low or High tone is changed into Creaky tone. This alternation is multifunctional, and one of its functions is possessor marking. This paper demonstrates several well-distinguished conditions of different nature and different domain for this tonal alternation. ICT is primarily induced by syntax, varies due to pragmatic factors, occurs only on the shared right boundary of phrases and stem forms, and its phonological condition has a domain stretching to the left boundary of the prosodic word. A comprehensive account of such conditions provides the basis for a grammatical analysis which tests the theoretical options for representing a tonal morpheme in the morpho-syntactic structure of a sentence. It also sheds light on other issues such as the interfaces between phonology and grammar, and between tonal morphology and tonal syntax.

Priming the representation of left-dominant sandhi words: A Shanghai dialect case study

This study examines how the acoustic input (the surface form) and the abstract linguistic representation (the underlying representation) interact during spoken word recognition by investigating left-dominant tone sandhi, a tonal alternation in which the underlying tone of the first syllable spreads to the sandhi domain. We conducted an auditory-auditory priming lexical decision experiment on Shanghai left-dominant sandhi words, in which each disyllabic target ([tɕi55 dɛ31] “egg”) was preceded by monosyllabic primes either sharing the same underlying tone ([tɕi55]), surface tone ([tɕi53] “machine”), or being unrelated to the tone of the first syllable of the sandhi targets ([tɕi24] “to remember”). Results showed a surface priming effect, but not an underlying priming effect. Moreover, the surface priming did not interact with speakers’ familiarity ratings to the sandhi targets. The results are discussed in the context of how phonological opacity, productivity, and the directionality of tone sandhi patterns influence the representation of tone sandhi words as well as how the lexicality of the primes and the participants’ usage pattern of Shanghai may have influenced the results.

Tonal Neutralization of Taiwanese Checked and Smooth Syllables: An Acoustic Study.

Taiwanese tonal alternation is realized in a circular chain shift fashion for both smooth and checked syllables. Debate regarding the processes of less productive Taiwanese tonal alternation has centered on whether a surface tone is derived from an underlying tone, or whether a surface tone is selected without undergoing any derivation. The current study investigates this controversial issue by examining Taiwanese checked tone and smooth tone sandhi neutralization in production. In particular, we analyzed whether checked citation and sandhi tone 53 (C21→C53), checked citation and sandhi tone 21 (C53→C21), smooth citation and sandhi tone 55 (S51→S55), and smooth citation and sandhi tone 21 (S33→S21) are acoustically completely neutralized in fundamental frequency (F0) height, contour, and duration. A non-sandhi exception was also included to evaluate the effect of position-in-word on F0 height and duration given that citation tones always appear in phrase-final position. Any trace of influence from the underlying representation would indicate a computational mechanism, whereas the absence of any trace would suggest a lexical mechanism for the production of Taiwanese tonal alternation. Results did not show any influence of F0 height, F0 contour, or tone duration from the underlying representation for both checked and smooth tones, supporting a lexical mechanism in speech production for less productive tonal alternations.

Neutralization of Taiwanese tone sandhi: An acoustic study

Taiwanese tonal alternation is realized in a circular chain shift fashion for both smooth and checked syllables. Debate regarding the processes of Taiwanese tonal alternation has centered on whether a surface tone is derived from an underlying tone, or whether a surface tone is selected without undergoing any derivation. The current study investigates this controversial issue by examining Taiwanese checked tone and smooth tone neutralization in production. In particular, we analyzed whether smooth citation and sandhi tone 55 (T51→T55) are completely neutralized in F0 contour, F0 height, and duration. We further extended the Taiwanese neutralization literature by also comparing smooth citation and sandhi tone 21 (T33→T21), checked citation and sandhi tone 53 (CT21→CT53), and checked citation and sandhi tone 21 (CT53→CT21). Non-sandhi exceptions were also included to evaluate the effect of position-in-word on F0 height and duration given that citation tones always appear in phrase-final position. Complete n...

Effects of Suprasegmental Phonological Alternations on Early Word Recognition: Evidence from Tone Sandhi.

Early language acquisition is potentially complicated by the presence of many sources of variability in the speech signal. A frequent example of variability is phonological alternations, which can lead to context-driven changes in the realization of a word. The aim of the current study was to investigate effects of a highly frequent yet scarcely researched type of suprasegmental phonological alternation – tone Sandhi – on early spoken word recognition. The tone Sandhi rule investigated herein involves a tone change of the first syllable in a disyllabic unit. In accordance with third tone Sandhi, when two dipping tone syllables are juxtaposed in connected speech, the first syllable is dissimilated to a high rising tone. For example, ‘flour mill’ (unaltered pre-Sandhi form [(214) (214)]) undergoes tonal alternation resulting in the altered post-Sandhi form [(35) (214)]. In the current study, preschoolers’ sensitivity to the effects of tone Sandhi when processing familiar words was investigated via a preferential looking paradigm. Words varied in their phonological form: one set of words was labeled with a phonological alternation due to Sandhi (Post Sandhi), one set of words was labeled with an unaltered Sandhi form (Pre Sandhi), one set consisted of non Sandhi words (Correct Pronunciation, and one set were labeled with a tonal alternation not associated with Sandhi rules (Mispronunciation). Post-Sandhi forms and correct pronunciations were associated with visual referents with comparable strength, with only a subtle processing cost observed for post-Sandhi forms in the time course of lexical selection. Likewise, pre-Sandhi forms and true mispronunciations were rejected as labels for visual references with comparable strength, with only subtle differences observed in the time course of lexical selection. Findings are discussed in terms of their impact on prevailing theories of lexical representation.

The representation of tone 3 sandhi in Mandarin: A psycholinguistic study

In Mandarin, tone 3 sandhi is a tonal alternation phenomenon in which a tone 3 syllable changes to a tone 2 syllable when it is followed by another tone 3 syllable. Thus, the initial syllable of Mandarin bisyllabic sandhi words is tone 3 underlyingly but becomes tone 2 on the surface. An auditory-auditory priming lexical decision experiment was conducted to investigate how Mandarin tone 3 sandhi words are processed by Mandarin native listeners. The experiment examined prime-target pairs, with monosyllabic primes and bisyllabic Mandarin tone 3 sandhi targets. Each tone sandhi target word was preceded by one of three corresponding monosyllabic primes: a tone 2 prime (Surface-Tone overlap) (chu2-chu3li3), a tone 3 prime (Underlying-Tone overlap) (chu3-chu3li3), or a control prime (Baseline condition) (chu1-chu3li3). In order to assess the contribution of frequency of occurrence, 15 High Frequency and 15 Low Frequency sandhi target words were used. Thirty native speakers of Mandarin participated. Results showed that tone 3 sandhi targets elicited significantly stronger facilitation effects in the Underlying-Tone condition than in the Surface-Tone condition, with little effect of frequency of occurrence. The data will be discussed in terms of lexical access and the nature of the representation of Mandarin words.

Duration of tone sandhi in Mandarin Chinese.

Tone sandhi is the tonal alternation when they are connected in speech flow. Six types of tone sandhi of disyllabic words in Mandarin Chinese are investigated in this research, including the neutral tone, the dipping tone alternation, /bu/, /yi1/, /yi2/, and double change (both of tone changes in a disyllabic word). The paper explores the duration of these six types and whether the neutral tone can change into the citation tones (level, rising, dipping, and falling tones) if we change the duration of the neutral tone. Five Chinese native speakers participate in the study. Two tasks are used to elicit data. First, speakers are required to read 40 disyllabic words. The second one is an identification task. The duration of eight neutral tones are elongated by acoustic technology. The participants hear the eight processed neutral tones and eight unprocessed neutral tones, and are asked to judge the tone types. The results indicate that the neutral tone has the shortest duration, and the duration of other sandhi tone is shorter than that of the normal citation tones. The data also show that the neutral tone and citation tones can be altered based on duration and pitch.

Tonal(Accentual) alternation of monosyllabic nouns in Middle Korean

Tonal(Accentual) alternation of monosyllabic nouns in Middle Korean