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d. final σ khua˩ki˧ʃi˦˩
‘law’ L M
2
M
1
-L e. penalt.
σ w
i˧si˦thɛ̃˦˩ʔã˩ ‘I get up’
M
2
M
1
M
1
-L L The Mid-high to Low falling contour is not pervasive, but it co-occurs with most of the onset
types as well as the vowels and various grammatical categories. Within the word it is mostly limited to the stem final position 54a, b, d, e.
4.3.7 Mid to Low Falling Tone Contour
˧˩
The final falling contour to be discussed is the fall from Mid to Low. This is not a very common contour tone. It occurs slightly more frequently on multisyllabic words than on monosyllabic ones.
Phonetically, the contour begins at the middle of the speaker’s pitch range and falls to Low without leveling out. Phonologically, the Mid to Low tonal contour results from a Mid tone L h and Low tone L
l being expressed on the same syllable 55. Because there are identical tonal melodies attached to the same TBU, OCP merger occurs 55b, c.
55 Phonological representation of kha
˧˩ ‘delicate’ a. Two tones attched to one TBU
h l
L L
kha
b. OCP Melody Merger with two TRNs
c. OCP Melody Merger with one TRN
h l
h l L
L kha
kha
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The two representations in 55b-c are alternate phonological representations, equally valid for the sake of this dissertation and producing phonetically indistinguishable contours.
Examples of the M-L falling contour arranged according to onset type occur in 56 and 57. The examples of syllables which occur with simple onsets are listed in 56 with their place and manner of
articulation indicated. Because multisyllabic words were necessary to find examples of certain onsets, the syllable in focus is underlined.
56 Examples of M
2
-L falling contour with simple onsets POA
Manner Transcription
Gloss a.
Labial fricative
ju˧fi˧˩ `cloud’
b. Coronal
stop ta˧˩
‘unripe’ c.
Coronal fricative
t ʃ︢a˧sɛi˧˩
‘you are looking’ d.
Coronal affricate
t ʃ︢u˧˩ʃĩ˦˥
‘skin’ e.
Coronal flap
w ɛ˧ɛ˧rɛ˧˩
‘hit with fist’ f.
Coronal nasal
tʃ︢i˧ni˧˩ ‘you eat’
g. Dorsal
stop nda˧tʃ︢a˦kũ˧˩
‘sea’ h.
Glottal fricative
hĩ˧˩ ‘we excl.
i. Glottal
fricative ts︢u˦tõ˩hõ˧˩
‘play with’ j.
Glottal stop
none Examples of syllables with complex onsets appear in 57, arranged according to onset type which are
categorized according to the divisions established in §3.4.3 and include: S-stopstop-stop, Contains ʔ
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obstruents and sonorant, Contains h obstruent or sonorant and Begins with N. When multisyllabic words were necessary the contour sometimes occurs on the first syllable and sometimes on the final
syllable. The syllable in focus is underlined for clarity. 57
Examples of Mid to Low contour with complex onsets Type
Sub-type Transcription
Gloss a.
S-stopstop-stop none
b. Contains
ʔ Obstruent
none c.
Contains ʔ
Sonorant ni˧ʔwai˧˩
‘you bending’ d.
Contains ʔ
Sonorant nu˧ʔjɛ˧˩
‘you hear’ e.
Contains h Obstruent
kha˧˩ ‘delicate’
f. Contains h
Obstruent kho˧˩
‘with’ g.
Contains h Obstruent
kh ɛ̃˧˩ʔã˩
‘I eat’ h.
Contains h Obstruent
thia˧˩wa˩ndɛ˦˥ ‘sandals’ i.
Contains h Obstruent
thiu˧˩ma˦˥ ‘mucous’
j. Contains h
Sonorant none
k. Begins with N
ndʒ︢i˧˩ ‘wet’
In 56 there are examples of the Mid to Low falling tone co-occurring with all major simple onset types except glottal stops. The contour occurs on all but three of the complex onsets: i.e., except S-stopstop-stop,
Obstruent- ʔ and h-sonorants.
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There are examples of nine of the ten vowels: •
[i] - 56a, f, 57k
• [ĩ] - 56h
• [ɛ] - 56e, 57d
• [ɛ̃] - 57g
• [a] -
56b, 57e •
[ã] - none •
[o] - 57f
• [õ] -
56i •
[u] - 56d
• [ũ] - 56g
The Mid to Low falling contour occurs on syllables which contain all of the simple vowels except the [ã].
There are also examples of various oral diphthongs including: •
[iu] - 57i
• [ia] -
57h •
[ɛi] - 56c •
[ai] - 57c
There are no examples of nasal diphthongs; however, this is not a significant gap considering the relative rarity of each.
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There are examples of various grammatical categories including: •
Nouns - 56a, d, g, 57h, i •
Pronouns - 56h •
Verbs - 56c, e, f, i, 57c, d, g •
Adjectives - 56b, 57e, k •
Connective particles - 57f The word position of the Mid to Low falling tone is also variable. It occurs on monosyllabic
morphemes 58a, on the first 58b or last 58c syllable of disyllabic words and on any syllable of a trisyllabic word 58d, e, f. The syllable with the contour in focus is underlined for clarity.
58 Word placement of M
2
-L contour Position
Transcription Gloss
Tone pattern a. mono
- σ
ta˧˩ ‘unripe’
M
2
-L b. 1
st
σ t
ʃu˧˩ʃĩ˦˥ ‘skin’
M
2
-L M
1
-H c. final σ
ngui˥rɛ˧˩ ‘day after tomorrow’ H M
2
-L d. first σ
ti˧˩khɛ̃˧jɛi˧ ‘lendǃ’
M
2
-L M
2
M
2
e. penalt. σ cha˧sɛi˧˩-hi˩
‘YOU
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are looking’ M
2
M
2
-L L f. final σ
lu˧mɛ˦ta˧˩ ‘bottle’
M
2
M
1
M
1
-L The Mid to Low falling tone is not limited to a specific position in a word. It is not very common but it
does occur across a wide range of onset and vowel types and grammatical categories. There are no current examples on syllables in which glottal stops are directly adjacent to the nucleus. There are, however,
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The YOU is being emphasized in this form through the addition of the –hi.
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examples with both coronal 56b and dorsal stops 56g which eliminates the suspicion that the fall results from the effects of a sonorant onset. More research is needed on this contour tone.
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4.3.8 Summary of Contour Tones
