This squib investigates a type of circular chain shift, known as a tone circle, found in dialects of the Min language of the Sino-Tibetan family, specifically the Xiamen dialect. Tone circles are problematic for classical Optimality Theory (OT), leading many researchers to conclude that they are instances of paradigmatic replacement. I argue that tone circles are indeed phonological processes. Thus, an enrichment of the theory beyond that of classical OT is required. I discuss how a solution along the lines of contrast preservation (∏ubowicz 2003) can fill the gap. I hasten to add that ∏ubowicz's theory excludes the possibility of circular scenarios that do not exhibit any neutralization of contrasts. In line with this prediction, Xiamen does exhibit neutralization. The analysis sketched here exploits ∏ubowicz's proposals and, without making any changes to her theory, is capable of explaining the Xiamen tone circle.The squib is organized as follows. Section 1 discusses Xiamen tone sandhi. Section 2 argues that tone circles are active phonological processes. Section 3 discusses tone circles as optimal solutions to contrast preservation. Section 4 offers a brief conclusion.
The goal of this paper is twofold. First, it discusses the tonal systems of several Chinese languages within the framework of the Theory of the Contrastive Hierarchy (Dresher et al.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.