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4.2.5 Mid tone – M
2
˧
The Mid tone is very common; examples are readily available on every type of word form in Soyaltepec Mazatec. Phonetically, the tone tends to appear with a fundamental frequency in the middle of
the speakers pitch range at the most relaxed or neutral setting. The pitch trace often appears with a slight fall Figure 4-1. Phonologically, the Mid tone consists of a low tonal melody L and a high tonal register
h. An example of the representation appears in 14. 14
Phonological representation of ts︢ɛ˧ ‘guava’
h L
ts︢ɛ ‘guava’
Examples of monosyllabic words occurring with a Mid tone appear in 15 and 16. The data is arranged according to onset type in order to demonstrate that the onset does not influence the tone. In 15, the point
of articulation and manner are listed for the simple onsets to demonstrate the occurrence with M
2
. 15
Mid-toned words with simple onsets POA
Manner Transcription
Gloss a.
Labial fricative
f ɛ˧
‘finished’ b.
Coronal stop
ti˧ ‘boy’
c. Coronal
fricative sã˧
‘sour’ d.
Coronal fricative
ʃa˧ ‘wild cat’
e. Coronal
affricate ts︢a˧
‘bag’ f.
Coronal nasal
ma˧ ‘he can’
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g. Dorsal
stop kui˧
‘he’ h.
Glottal fricative
hũ˧ ‘yes’
i. Glottal
fricative hõ˧
‘soldier’ j.
Glottal stop
ʔo˧ ‘he grinds’
Examples of Mid toned words with complex onsets are given in 16. The onsets are again grouped according to the categories discussed in §3.4.3. ‘Type’ of onset refers to the following
possibilities: S-stopstop-stop, Contains ʔ, Contains h or Begins with N. Next, the ‘Sub-type’ of the
onset further divides Contains ʔ and Contains h into categories based on whether or not the onset
contains an obstruent or a sonorant. 16
Mid-toned words with complex onsets Type
Sub-type Example
Gloss a.
S-stopstop-stop tka˧
‘bald’ b.
S-stopstop-stop tku
ɛ˧ ‘raspy’
c. Contains
ʔ Obstruent
k ʔĩɛ̃˧
‘dead’ d.
Contains ʔ
Sonorant ʔnu˧
‘twins’ e.
Contains ʔ
Sonorant ʔja˧
‘mule driver’ f.
Contains h Obstruent
thãĩ˧ ‘thick’
g. Contains h
Obstruent khã˧
‘he fights’ h.
Contains h Sonorant
hmi˧ ‘mestizo’
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i. Begins with N
ndi˧ ‘sterile’
j. Begins with N
ndia˧ ‘salty’
k. Begins with N
ndz︢ɛ̃˧ ‘fool’
In 15 and 16 there are examples of the Mid tone appearing with all of the major onset categories. Examples of nine of the ten vowels can also be found:
• [i] - 15b, 16h, i
• [ĩ] - none
• [
ɛ] - 15a •
[ ɛ̃] - 16k
• [a] -
15d, e, f, 16e, a •
[ã] - 15c, 16g
• [o] -
15j •
[õ] - 15i
• [u] -
16d •
[ũ] - 15h While there are no examples of [ĩ] occurring on monosyllabic Mid toned words, the combination does
occur on the final syllable occasionally, for example: 17
Mid-toned example containing [ ĩ]
ni˩thĩ˧ ‘day’
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Various diphthongs, both oral and nasal also occur with the Mid tone. Examples include: •
[ui] - 15g
• [u
ɛ] - 16b •
[ia] - 16j
• [ãĩ] - 16f
• [ĩɛ̃] - 16c
The above examples demonstrate that the Mid tone occurs on syllables in Soyaltepec Mazatec without regard for the segmental characteristics. The Mid tone also occurs on words of various grammatical
categories including: •
Nouns - 15b, d, e, i, 16d, e, k •
Pronouns - 15g •
Verbs - 15f, j, 16g •
Adjectives - 15c, 16a, b, c, f, h, i, j •
Adverbs - 15a The Mid tone also occurs on both syllables of disyllabic words. It can occur on the first syllable
preceding any of the other tonemes 18. 18
Mid tone on the first syllable of disyllabic words Soyaltepec Mazatec
Gloss Tone Pattern
a. na˧hmi˥
‘thing’ M
2
H b.
ts︢a˧wɛ˦ ‘crazy’
M
2
M
1
c. ni˧sɛ̃˧ ‘rat’
M
2
M
2
d. ki˧ts︢a˩ ‘fast’
M
2
L
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The Mid tone also occurs on the final syllable of disyllabic words, following any of the other tonemes 19.
19 Mid tone on final syllable of disyllabic words
Soyaltepec Mazatec Gloss
Tone Pattern a.
ngi˥sa˧ ‘more’
H M
2
b. tʃ︢hu˦ja˧ ‘to sew’
M
1
M
2
c. ni˧sɛ̃˧ ‘rat’
M
2
M
2
d. ni˩sɛ˧ ‘bird’
L M
2
In 19 and 20 the Mid tone is demonstrated to combine with all of the other tonemes on disyllabic words on both the first and second syllables. The Mid tone can also appear on any syllable of a
trisyllabic word 20. 20
Mid tone on trisyllabic words Soyaltepec Mazatec
Gloss Tone Pattern
a. w
a˧sɛ˧ja˧ ‘half’
M
2
M
2
M
2
b. na˧ndu˧ʔwa˩ ‘urine’
M
2
M
2
L c.
ʃi˥wa˧ngui˧ ‘surplus’
H M
2
M
2
d. ts︢i˧wa˦ʔa˩ ‘rain’
M
2
M
1
L e. t
ʃ︢u˩ʔa˧ni˥ ‘red animal
L M
2
H f. ti˩khai˦sɛ̃˧
‘he thinks’ L M
1
M
2
The Mid tone can occur on all three syllables of a trisyllabic word 20a, on the first two syllables 20b, on the last two syllables 20c, just the first syllable 20d, just the middle syllable 20e or just the
last syllable 20f. The Mid tone can occur on any syllable of a word in Soyaltepec Mazatec. Its presence is
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not dependent on segmental characteristics, grammatical category or the syllable’s position in the word in question.
4.2.6 Low tone - L