Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: It has long been noted that Tibeto-Burman tone systems differ widely in structure from each other. This paper considers the tone systems of Western Tibeto-Burman languages, especially those of the Qiangic, Bodic, Tani, Bodo-Garo and Kuki-Chin-Naga branches, to see what commonalities, if any, emerge. While there does not appear to be an iron-clad typology, cer-tain traits emerge from a cross-linguistic comparison of tone systems:1) Prevalence of binary oppositions, with one member of the pair more marked than the other.2) No more than one of each type of tonal distinction per word (culminativity).3) Restricted location of tone distinctions (e.g., only stem-penultimate in Caodeng rGyalrong, word-initial elsewhere).4) Right edge effect of (historically) checked syllables, which may be either synchronically predictable or distinctive (e.g., Tibetan dialects, Caodeng rGyalrong).5) Morpho-tonemics:a. Affi xes may be extrametrical (toneless: Caodeng rGyalrong, Lhasa Tibetan, Muka Qiang, Bodic, Bodo-Garo). However, this can lead to a reversal, where the suffi xes can become the carrier of the tone (Tamangic).b. Tonal polarity under certain morphological conditions (Mianchi Qiang, Zhuokeji rGyalrong).
DOI: 10.15021/00002565
Author: Jonathan P. Evans
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: National Science Council
OpenAlex ID: W248395341