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Academic Paper

Title:	A typological study of tonal systems of Japanese and Prinmi: Towards a definition of pitch-accent languages
Paper URL:	http://www.unish.org/unish/DOWN/PDF/7-2-01-JapaneseandPrinmi.pdf
Author:	Picus Sizhi Ding
Email:	click here to access email
Homepage:	http://web.hku.hk/~picus
Institution:	University of Hong Kong
Linguistic Field:	Phonology; Typology
Subject Language:	Japanese
Abstract:	Based on the principle of suprasegmental organization in Japanese and Prinmi (a Tibeto-Burman language of China), this paper defines a ‘pitch-accent system’ as one that generates tonal patterns through different placement of a marked tone on a syllable/mora in an underlying domain, which is independent of both the syllable and the word. Under this definition, the pitch-accent systems of six Japanese dialects can be analyzed uniformly. The diversity of the pitch-accent systems between these Japanese dialects and Prinmi is mainly reflected in: (1) whether or not the marked tone spreads; (2) the direction of spreading and restriction on the scope of spreading; and (3) which edge of the underlying domain is relevant in locating the marked tone.
Type:	Individual Paper
Status:	Completed
Publication Info:	Journal of Universal Language 7.2: 1-35
URL:	http://www.unish.org/unish/DOWN/PDF/7-2-01-JapaneseandPrinmi.pdf

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