Prominence from Complexity: Capturing Tianjin Ditonal Patterns

Abstract

This paper explores the six ditonal sandhi that spawn from an inventory of four tones (Low, High, Rising, and Falling) in an attempt to provide an account for why only certain ditonal combinations trigger alternation but not others. Earlier accounts have relied on the OCP to apply to adjacent syllables both at the level of the full tone contour and also the tonal features that comprises the contour. Another account has been to explain sandhi in terms of leveling across syllables so that excessive contours are to be avoided. A careful exploration reveals that neither of these approaches are adequate, nor are some of their stipulations necessary. Instead, a more viable solution might be found if we accept that Tianjin prosody is right-headed such that the prosodic prominence is reflected through tone complexity. To this end, I propose the Head Tone Complexity (HTC) constraint that partners with OCP to generate the attested ditonal sandhi patterns.

A unified approach to Tianjin trisyllabic tone sandhi: Metrical conditions and tonal complexity

“…The neutral-toned syllable may be a suffix or result from tonal reduction on a fully-toned syllable leading to syntactic or semantic changes. Similar ideas were expressed in Wee (2015).…”

“…Given the observation that the second tone in all Tianjin disyllabic tone sandhi keeps their underlying tones, Tianjin disyllabic sequences are rightheaded when both syllables are full-toned (J. Wang 2002, Wee 2015. The position where neutral tone appears in disyllables in Tianjin seems to be contradictory to the rightheadedness since neutral toned syllables never appear initially in disyllabic sequences and neutral tones are much weaker than any full tones in Tianjin.…”

“…In disyllabic sequences, unless the second syllable is a neutral tone, the first syllable loses its underlying tone because Tianjin disyllables form right-headed feet (J. Wang 2002, Wee 2015. In trisyllables, unless the last syllable is a neutral tone, the first or second syllable or both, depending on tonal complexity, lose their underlying tones while the prosodic head (the third syllable) keeps its original tone.…”

Casual speech elision and tone sandhi in Tianjin trisyllabic sequences

“…Evidently, something more will need to be said about LLRL which actually increases the number of contours, and why RF does not sandi to become HF instead which would be even more leveled in pitch than LF. I believe that the OCP account is the right one and a coherent account is possible, as in fact has been provided in Wee (2013).…”