LINGUIST List 13.3110
Tue Nov 26 2002
Books: Ling Theories/Phonology: Jiang-King
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LINCOM.EUROPA, Tone-Vowel Interaction in Optimality Theory: Jiang-King
Message 1: Tone-Vowel Interaction in Optimality Theory: Jiang-King
Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 12:03:06 +0000
From: LINCOM.EUROPA <LINCOM.EUROPAt-online.de>
Subject: Tone-Vowel Interaction in Optimality Theory: Jiang-King
Title: Tone-Vowel Interaction in Optimality Theory
Series Title: LINCOM Studies in Theoretical Linguistics 16
Publication Year: 2002
Publisher: Lincom Europa
http://home.t-online.de/home/LINCOM.EUROPA/
Author: Ping Jiang-King
Hardback: ISBN: 3895866474, Pages: 220, Price: USD 74.20 / EUR 63 /
GBP 45.60
Comment: (2nd printing)
Abstract:
This study aims at constructing a fully articulated theory of
tone-vowel interaction within the framework of Optimality Theory
(OT). It examines the nature of this phenomenon in Northern Min
languages, as well as various Southeast Asian languages. The questions
addressed are (i) what is the nature of tone-vowel interaction? (ii)
how do they relate to each other? Two important findings emerge from
the investigation. First, tonal types and syllable types are closely
related to each other. That is, different groups of tones occur only
in a certain kind of syllables. These cooccurrence restrictions are
identified as a correlation between tonal contour and syllable weight.
Second, tone does not directly affect vowel distributions and
alternations. Rather, it is the relative syllable positions in which a
vowel occurs and the number of segments present in a syllable that
trigger vowel distributions and alternations. These findings lead to
the conclusion that tone and vowel do not interact directly and that
there is no feature-to-feature correlation between them. Their
interaction lies in the prosodic anchor mediating between them. To
account for the correlation between tonal contour and syllable weight
and the close relationship between syllable structures and vowel
features, a prosodic anchor hypothesis is proposed which attributes
the tone-vowel interaction to the mora and its function as an anchor
for both tone and vowel.
Lingfield(s): Linguistic Theories
Phonology
Aerial Region(s): Southeast Asia
Written In: English (Language Code: ENG)