Article published In: Diachronica
Vol. 39:2 (2022) ► pp.226–267
The phonetic tone change *high > rising
Evidence from the Ngwi dialect laboratory
Published online: 19 January 2022
https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.19062.yan
https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.19062.yan
Abstract
Previous research has proposed a direct path from consonantal effects on F0 to the development of a rising tone value. However, findings from tone change studies in Asian languages suggest an additional pathway to rising: a high tone (i.e., with a tonal target in the upper pitch range) may evolve into a rising tone. This study examines tone change pathways to rising in the Ngwi (Loloish) languages. Among the 11 Ngwi language clusters examined, a new rising tone value has unambiguously developed from an historically high tone in nine of them. In several clusters, prevocalic consonants conditioned a tone split, but in other clusters, *high > rising appears after both voiced and voiceless prevocalic consonants. The findings suggest that a high tonal target is a suprasegmental condition favorable to the development of a rising tone value, as reaching a high tonal target in connected speech frequently entails a rising contour.
Keywords: rising tone, tone change, Ngwi, dialect laboratory, pathways to sound change
Zusammenfassung
Frühere Untersuchungen haben direkte Auswirkungen von konsonantischen Effekten auf F0 zur Entwicklung eines steigenden Tonwerts vorgeschlagen. Ergebnisse aus Studien zu Änderungen der Tonlage bei asiatischen Sprachen legen jedoch eine zusätzliche Verbindung nahe: Ein hoher Ton (d.h. mit einem Zielton im oberen Tonhöhenbereich) kann sich zu einem ansteigenden Ton entwickeln. Diese Studie untersucht Verbindungen zwischen der Tonänderung und aufsteigenden Tönen in den Ngwi-Sprachen (Loloish). Bei 9 der 11 untersuchten Ngwi-Sprachclustern hat sich aus einem historisch hohen Ton eindeutig ein neuer ansteigender Tonwert entwickelt. In mehreren Clustern konditionierte die segmentale Umgebung (stimmhafte prävokale Konsonanten) eine Tonaufteilung, in anderen Clustern tritt jedoch *hoch > Anstieg sowohl nach stimmhaften als auch nach stimmlosen prävokalen Konsonanten auf. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass ein Zielton mit hoher Tonlage selbst eine Bedingung darstellt, die für die Entwicklung eines ansteigenden Tons günstig ist. Denn das Erreichen eines hohen Zieltons in verbundener Rede bedingt häufig einen ansteigenden Tonhöhenverlauf.
Résumé
Des recherches antérieures ont proposé une voie directe des effets consonantiques sur le F0 au développement d'une valeur de ton montant. Cependant, les résultats des études sur le changement de ton dans les langues asiatiques indiqueraient une voie supplémentaire: une tonalité élevée (c'est-à-dire avec une cible tonale dans la plage de hauteur supérieure) peut évoluer vers une tonalité montante, sans conditionnement consonantique. Cette étude examine les voies de changement de ton vers la montée dans les langues Ngwi (groupe lolo). Parmi les 11 groupes de langues Ngwi examinés, une nouvelle valeur de ton montant s'est développée sans ambiguïté à partir d'un ton historiquement élevé dans 9 d'entre elles. Dans plusieurs groupes de consonnes, les consonnes prévocaliques conditionnaient une bipartition tonale, mais dans d'autres, *élevée > ascendant apparaît après les consonnes prévocaliques sonores et sourdes. Les résultats suggèrent qu'une cible tonale élevée est une condition favorable au développement d'une valeur de ton montant.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.The Ngwi languages
- 2.1Geography and subgrouping
- 2.2The history of tone in Ngwi
- 3.Phonetic origins of rising tones
- 3.1Segmental origins of rising tones
- 3.2*High > rising may occur across all segmental environments
- 4.Methodology: The Ngwi dialect laboratory
- 5.Pathways to rising in Ngwi
- 5.1*High > rising in Laloid smooth syllables
- 5.2*High > rising in other clusters
- 5.3*Tense > high > rising in Laloid checked syllables
- 5.4*Tense > high > rising in other clusters
- 5.5Summary of results
- 6.Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- Abbreviations
- List of supplementary materials available at doi:10.5281/zenodo.4643782
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