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Article published In: Diachronica
Vol. 36:3 (2019) ► pp.417–459

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Crosslinguistic trends in tone change

A review of tone change studies in East and Southeast Asia

 | SIL International | Yunnan Normal University
 | University College London
Published online: 17 September 2019
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https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.18002.yan
Abstract
Ground-breaking studies on how Bangkok Thai tones have changed over the past 100 years (Pittayaporn, Pittayawat. 2007. Directionality of tone change. In Juergen Trouvain & William J. Barry (eds.), 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS XVI), 1421–1424. Saarbrücken, Germany: Saarland University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, . 2018. Phonetic and systemic biases in tonal contour changes in Bangkok Thai. In Haruo Kubozono & Mikio Giriko (eds.), Tonal change and neutralization (Phonology and Phonetics), vol. 271, 249–278. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Zhu, Xiaonong 朱晓农, Lin Qing 林晴 & Pachaya 趴差桠. 2015. 泰语声调的类型和顺时针链移[Thai tone typology and the clockwise tonal chain shift]. 民族语文 [Minority Languages of China] 2015(4). 3–18.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) reveal a pattern that Zhu, Xiaonong 朱晓农, Lin Qing 林晴 & Pachaya 趴差桠. 2015. 泰语声调的类型和顺时针链移[Thai tone typology and the clockwise tonal chain shift]. 民族语文 [Minority Languages of China] 2015(4). 3–18.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar term the “clockwise tone shift cycle:” low > falling > high level or rising-falling > rising > falling-rising or low. The present study addresses three follow-up questions: (1) Are tone changes like those seen in Bangkok Thai also attested in other languages? (2) What other tone changes are repeated across multiple languages? (3) What phonetic biases are most likely to be the origins of the reported changes? A typological review of 52 tone change studies across 45 Sinitic, Tai-Kadai, Hmong-Mien, and Tibeto-Burman languages reveals that clockwise changes are by far the most common. The paper concludes by exploring how tonal truncation (. 2017. Syllable as a synchronization mechanism that makes human speech possible. Manuscript, University College London. Available at [URL]. Accessed June 20, 2018.) generates synchronic variation that matches the diachronic patterns; this suggests that truncation is a key mechanism in tone change.
Zusammenfassung
Wegweisende Studien der letzten hundert Jahre zum Tonwechsel in Bangkoks Thai (Pittayaporn, Pittayawat. 2007. Directionality of tone change. In Juergen Trouvain & William J. Barry (eds.), 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS XVI), 1421–1424. Saarbrücken, Germany: Saarland University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, . 2018. Phonetic and systemic biases in tonal contour changes in Bangkok Thai. In Haruo Kubozono & Mikio Giriko (eds.), Tonal change and neutralization (Phonology and Phonetics), vol. 271, 249–278. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Zhu, Xiaonong 朱晓农, Lin Qing 林晴 & Pachaya 趴差桠. 2015. 泰语声调的类型和顺时针链移[Thai tone typology and the clockwise tonal chain shift]. 民族语文 [Minority Languages of China] 2015(4). 3–18.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) zeigen ein Muster, das Zhu, Xiaonong 朱晓农, Lin Qing 林晴 & Pachaya 趴差桠. 2015. 泰语声调的类型和顺时针链移[Thai tone typology and the clockwise tonal chain shift]. 民族语文 [Minority Languages of China] 2015(4). 3–18.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar als den „Tonrichtungswechsel im Uhrzeigersinn“ bezeichnen: tief > fallend > hohe Stufe oder steigend-fallend > steigend > fallend-steigend oder tief. Die vorliegende Studie beschäftigt sich mit drei Anschlussfragen: (1) Kann man Tonwechsel wie in Bangkoks Thai auch in anderen Sprachen feststellen? (2) Welche anderen Tonwechsel treten wiederholt in mehreren Sprachen auf? (3) Welche phonetischen Verzerrungen sind höchstwahrscheinlich der Ursprung der dokumentierten Wechsel? Eine typologische Analyse von 52 Studien zum Tonwechsel in 45 sinitischen, Tai-Kadai-, Hmong-Mien- und Tibeto-Burmanischen Sprachen zeigt, dass Wechsel im Uhrzeigersinn bei Weitem die häufigsten sind. Der Aufsatz schließt mit der Diskussion, wie die tonale Verkürzung (. 2017. Syllable as a synchronization mechanism that makes human speech possible. Manuscript, University College London. Available at [URL]. Accessed June 20, 2018.) synchrone Variation erzeugt, die den diachronen Mustern entspricht. Dies legt nahe, dass Verkürzung ein Schlüsselmechanismus beim Tonwechsel ist.
Résumé
Des études innovatrices sur le changement tonal en thaï de Bangkok au cours des 100 dernières années (Pittayaporn, Pittayawat. 2007. Directionality of tone change. In Juergen Trouvain & William J. Barry (eds.), 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS XVI), 1421–1424. Saarbrücken, Germany: Saarland University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, . 2018. Phonetic and systemic biases in tonal contour changes in Bangkok Thai. In Haruo Kubozono & Mikio Giriko (eds.), Tonal change and neutralization (Phonology and Phonetics), vol. 271, 249–278. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Zhu, Xiaonong 朱晓农, Lin Qing 林晴 & Pachaya 趴差桠. 2015. 泰语声调的类型和顺时针链移[Thai tone typology and the clockwise tonal chain shift]. 民族语文 [Minority Languages of China] 2015(4). 3–18.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) révèlent une tendance que Zhu, Xiaonong 朱晓农, Lin Qing 林晴 & Pachaya 趴差桠. 2015. 泰语声调的类型和顺时针链移[Thai tone typology and the clockwise tonal chain shift]. 民族语文 [Minority Languages of China] 2015(4). 3–18.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar décrivent comme le « cycle de changement de tonalité dans le sens des aiguilles d’une montre : » bas > décroissant > élevé ou croissant-décroissant > croissant > décroissant-croissant ou bas.> > > > La présente étude répond aux trois questions suivantes : (1) Les changements de ton comme ceux observés pour le thaï de Bangkok sont-ils également présents dans d’autres langues ? (2) Quels autres changements de tons sont répétés dans plusieurs langues ? (3) Quels sont les biais phonétiques les plus susceptibles d’être à l’origine des changements rapportés ? Une analyse typologique de 52 études de changement de tonalité dans 45 langues sinitiques, tai-kadaï, hmong-mien et tibéto-birmanes révèle que les changements dans le sens des aiguilles d’une montre sont de loin les plus courants. Le document conclut en explorant comment la troncature tonale (. 2017. Syllable as a synchronization mechanism that makes human speech possible. Manuscript, University College London. Available at [URL]. Accessed June 20, 2018.) génère une variation synchronique qui correspond aux modèles diachroniques ; cela suggère que la troncature est un mécanisme central dans le changement tonal.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Previous research on tone change
    • 2.1Patterns of tone change
    • 2.2Phonetic origins of tone change
  • 3.Crosslinguistic review of tone variation and change
    • 3.1Method and data
    • 3.2Results
      • 3.2.1Frequently reported tone changes
      • 3.2.2Results by phonetic tone type
        • 3.2.2.1High level
        • 3.2.2.2Mid rising
        • 3.2.2.3Low rising
        • 3.2.2.4Low level
        • 3.2.2.5Low and mid falling
        • 3.2.2.6High falling
        • 3.2.2.7Rising-falling
        • 3.2.2.8Falling-rising
        • 3.2.2.9Mid level
      • 3.2.3Summary of results
  • 4.Discussion
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
References (104)
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