| ROA: | 974 |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Phonology and Phonetics of Consonant-Tone Interaction |
| Authors: | Katrina Tang |
| Comment: | |
| Length: | 214 |
| Abstract: | While it has long been known that consonants and tones interact with one another, the question of how they interact has received relatively little attention in the literature. I approach this question first from the perspective of a cross-linguistic survey of consonant-tone interaction. The results show that, while the more commonly studied interaction between voicing and low tone is the most frequent type of consonant-tone interaction, consonant-tone interaction also includes a much larger variety of consonants than is often assumed (e.g. Bradshaw, 1999; Bao, 1999; Odden, 2002; Yip, 1995). It also includes a wider variety of tone types than have been assumed by earlier phonological models. This survey, along with the phonetic connection between the realization of laryngeal features and the production of F0, becomes the basis for the theoretical approach taken in the dissertation. I discuss the concept of a tone span and argue that this provides an environment in which a suprasegmental feature and a segmental feature can interact without being merged into a single feature; because many consonants are able to interact with tone, I argue that a merged feature approach cannot account for the full range of data. Within a tone span, phonetically based constraints require compatible laryngeal features to co-occur or prohibit incompatible from co-occurring. I further explore these ideas by providing a detailed account of the phonology of two typologically distinct languages, Bade and Kam. Finally, I examine the F0 patterns in Bade to see how the phonology is reflected in the phonetics. The results show that voiced obstruents, with a low tone affinity, lower F0, and voiceless obstruents, with a high tone affinity, raise F0. Sonorants have an intermediate effect on F0 and are neutral with regard to consonant-tone interaction. Implosives are also neutral with regard to consonant-tone interaction, but they show similarities to both voiced and voiceless consonants in their effect on F0. The tone span, marked with the phonological boundaries hypothesized for Bade, is also shown to be a phonetically distinct unit for F0 measurement. |
| Type: | Dissertation |
| Area/Keywords: | Phonology,Phonetics |
| Article: | Version 1 |