Do we need tone features?

Clements, George N.; Michaud, Alexis; Patin, Cédric

doi:10.1515/9783110246223.3

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…However, such theories are tightly bound to consonants and vowels and do not account for lexical tone. As such, proposed theoretical adaptations, most notably Goldsmith's () theory of autosegmental phonology and Wang's () proposal for distinctive features for tone (see Clements, Michaud, & Patin, , for a discussion of tone features), significantly advanced our understanding of human languages by integrating tone. Introducing theoretical crosswinds to traditional psycholinguistics, such theories inspired a body of experimental research on the role of tone in early language acquisition.…”

Section: From Research To Theory: Implications For Theories Of Languamentioning

confidence: 99%

A New View of Language Development: The Acquisition of Lexical Tone

Singh

2016

Child Development

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Research in first language development draws disproportionately from nontone languages. Such research is often presumed to reveal developmental universals in spite of the fact that most languages are tone languages. Recent research in the acquisition of tone languages points to a distinct course of development as compared to nontone languages. Our purpose is to provide an integrated review of research on lexical tone acquisition. First, the linguistic properties and origins of tone languages are described. Following this, research on the acquisition of tones in perception and production is reviewed and integrated. Possible reasons for the uniqueness of tone in language acquisition are discussed. Finally, theoretical advances promised by further research on tone acquisition and specific research directions are proposed.

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Section: From Research To Theory: Implications For Theories Of Languamentioning

confidence: 99%

A New View of Language Development: The Acquisition of Lexical Tone

Singh

2016

Child Development

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“…Long dormant, the debate over using syntagmatic or paradigmatic models of tone systems has been reinvigorated in recent years (see [1], [2], [3] and [4]). According to Dilley, "a syntagmatic tone interval [STI] relates two sequentiallyordered tones" [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This means that only adjacent pairs of syllables have tonemes, and is called an initializing system because the single syllable is unspecified [2]. This is the classical approach proposed by Jakobson, Halle, and Fant, but since the 1970s, this perspective has been displaced by autosegmental theory ( [3] and [4]). In autosegmental phonology, a paradigmatic tone interval "relates a tone [to] a speaker-specific referent level" [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception of Syntagmatic Tone Intervals in Ìgbò and Yorùbá

Carter-Enyi¹,

Carter-Enyi²

2016

5th International Symposium on Tonal Aspects of Languages (TAL 2016)

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This paper revisits the syntagmatic model of tone to see what perception has to say. We asked the question: Is word identification possible based on syntagmatic (relative) pitch information? Listeners were asked to identify words from a minimal pair without the context necessary for making paradigmatic (associative) judgments. 1409 Nigerian university students, staff and faculty responded to one of two parallel studies, one for Ìgbò and one for Yorùbá. The results suggest that word identification is closely tied to STI direction (+ 0-) in Niger-Congo A tone languages. There is also evidence for a cross-language minimum STI distance of +1 or-2 semitones to leave a tone level and enter an adjacent tone level. Word identification based on STI magnitude alone (e.g. HM v. HL) is weaker. Paradigmatic features may be needed to differentiate homophones with HM and HL tone. This is consistent with recent findings by other researchers outside of the context of tone languages that suggest perceiving direction is automatic while judging magnitude is a higher level process [16]. In general, judging unidimensional magnitude is hard [17].

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“…In relation to tone, for example, inventories with three or more level tones have frequently been analysed through a nested combination of two binary features (Yip 1980, Bao 1999. However, such an architecture is ill-suited to represent not just rich inventories but also common contextual tone processes (Hyman 2011;Clements, Michaud & Patin 2011). With regards to metrical systems, constraints have been invoked with the specific aim to avoid postulating ternary feet (e.g.…”

Section: Data and Theory In Relation To Three-level Vowel Lengthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ternary vowel length in Shilluk

2019

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Ternary or three-level vowel length is typologically rare, and supporting evidence is limited. This paper presents the results of an investigation into the hypothesised case of this configuration in Shilluk. We first describe the role of vowel length in Shilluk phonology and morphology, and then report on an acoustic study in which minimal sets for vowel length (short, long, overlong) are measured for vowel duration, coda duration, vowel quality and fundamental frequency. Short, long and overlong vowels differ significantly and substantially in terms of vowel duration: 96% of the items can be classified successfully for vowel length on the basis of this measurement alone. Of the other measurements, only vowel quality is significant, and this effect is considerably smaller. The mean values for vowel duration – 68, 111 and 150 ms for short, long and overlong vowels respectively – are similar to those reported for ternary vowel length in Dinka.

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Do we need tone features?

Cited by 15 publications

References 3 publications

A New View of Language Development: The Acquisition of Lexical Tone

A New View of Language Development: The Acquisition of Lexical Tone

Perception of Syntagmatic Tone Intervals in Ìgbò and Yorùbá

Ternary vowel length in Shilluk

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