This paper examines high tone sandhi in Saramaccan, an Atlantic creole spoken in the Surinamese interior, as described by Voorhoeve (1961) and Rountree (1972a). In particular, a comparison is drawn with a similar tonal phenomenon in the Anlo dialect of Ewe (Ghana: Western Gbe) as reported by Clements (1978). Tone sandhi domains in both languages are argued to be delineated by the left edges of maximal projection edges in the syntax. Cross-linguistic work on edge-based mapping relations between syntax and phonology (e.g., Clements, 1978; Selkirk, 1986; Chen, 1987; Odden, 1987) has shown that the shape as well as the use of syntactically-derived prosodic domains varies widely. Similarities as well as differences between Anlo Ewe and Saramaccan tone sandhi environments are examined in light of the sub-stratist and universalist hypotheses of creole genesis, leading to the conclusion that a less polemic view, such as that suggested by Mufwene (1986), provides the best account.
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Oral stops in Swiss German show a three-way contrast, traditionally characterized as lenis /b, d, g/, fortis /p, t, k/ and long fortis /p:, t:, k:/. Fortis occur after long vowels, long fortis after short vowels, and lenis after both. Spectrographic analysis was performed on all stops in medial and final position for three Bernese speakers. Absence of voicing and lack of significant differences in voice onset times were noted, suggesting closure duration alone accounts for the three-way contrast: lenis are on average 57% shorter than fortis, and fortis 70% shorter than long fortis. Using the minimal set [ra:de] (‘spin’), [ra:te] (‘guess’) and [rat:e] (‘rat’), the salience of preceding vowel length relative to closure duration was examined in two perceptual experiments: The lenis stop was lengthened in 20-ms increments to long fortis length, and the long fortis stop was shortened to lenis length. The lengthened continuum shows a clear shift from lenis to fortis percept, but no shift to fortis long. The shortened continuum shows chance performance. Robust crossover effects in the lengthened continuum suggest vowel and consonant length are relevant to stop identification, while the shortened continuum suggests vowel length is primary.
This volume impressively synthesises vast literatures from the fields of linguistics, bioacoustics, psychology, neurobiology, evolutionary biology, ethology and anthropology, and in the process raises a number of provocative questions regarding the contentious issue of human language origins. Because the book is so far-reaching, both in terms of the breadth of communicative phenomena which it covers and the depth in which it discusses them, a short review such as the present one can only scratch the surface of the wealth of information and ideas which it contains.This book was written to fill a perceived need for a text covering a wide range of issues in comparative communication, for which it is certainly well suited. Those interested in the production and perception of auditory and visual signals, as well as in issues as diverse as evolutionary biology and cognitive psychology, will find it an easily readable – or browseable – piece of work. As Hauser notes, he has ‘attempted to write a book that is aimed primarily at the expert while being useful to those wishing to pick out pieces...for undergraduate and graduate instruction’ (p. 14). The book is successful along both lines. It is extremely well organised and well indexed, making it easy to select case studies relevant to specific communicative phenomena (e.g. audition, vocalisation, acquisition, signed languages, etc.) or particular species (humans, monkeys, anurans, birds, etc.). Particularly useful are the large number of graphics and illustrations, as well as conceptual ‘boxes’ which succinctly summarise key concepts or theoretical perspectives which may be unfamiliar to some readers (e.g. statistical information theory, neural tuning curves, source-filter theory and sexual selection theory, to name just a few).
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