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registers of the TBUs are not affected at all. Again, if no tonal melody is originally specified, a level tone is formed on the targeted syllable without the need for delinking.
In the process of spreading as it occurs within RTT, the entire tone can spread with all of its features, a register feature may spread or a tonal feature may spread. In each case, a level tone may result
on the targeted syllable in the case of delinking or if that syllable was not previously associated with a tone specification or a contour tone may result on the targeted syllable if multiple features for a given register
or tone remained linked to the TBU. Whether level tones or contour tones result from spread is a language specific parameter. In all of the examples provided here, spreading has been represented as occurring in a
rightward direction. While this is more common cross-linguistically Cahill 2007, it is not required; leftward spread is possible as well.
1.5.4.4 OCP Effects
In this section, I discuss some potential effects of the OCP as represented within a RTT approach. As has been previously stated, if a language adheres strictly to the OCP, adjacent features are prohibited.
Whether identical feature adjacency is forbidden only within a lexical representation or if this prohibition also extends to tones which are adjacent due to inflection, affixation, the addition of a clitic or due to
phrasal formation is also a language specific parameter. For example, in Soyaltepec Mazatec, the phonological domain governed by the OCP extends beyond the grammatical word to include closely related
modifiers.
23
Similar to the spreading processes, OCP effects may be applied to the entire tonal representation, to the register feature or to the tonal feature.
First, 28a illustrates an unacceptable tonal representation if the OCP is active while 28b representes an acceptable representation.
23
The exact nature of the syntactic relations involved here needs further study. At this point in the analysis, the phonological domain in Soyaltepec Mazatec seems to encompass the entire noun phrase which includes
quantifiers which precede the noun and modifiers which follow it. A phonological domain is also formed by a verb phrase and encompasses at least the verb and its direct object.
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28 Accpetable and Unacceptable representations
a. Adjacent L tones b. Tonal plateau
l l
l L
L L
TBU TBU
TBU TBU When two identical tones become adjacent, as in 28a, only one tonal specification is allowed. If the pitch
of the two syllables is identical, then the two identical tones in 28a could merge at the level of the TRN to produce the structure in 28b. Whether the first or second TBU loses its features with accompanying stray
erasure and potentially default insertion or whether the two sets of features merge is a language specific matter for debate and beyond the scope of this dissertation. If the OCP is active in a language and two
TBUs are adjacent within the domain specified, the structure given in 28a is not allowed. The representation given in 28b which contains one set of tonal features is more appropriate as the result of
TRN merger or deletion with accompanied spread motivated by the OCP. Second, the OCP may affect the register features when they become adjacent as in 29. Again, the
effected register could be deleted, dissimilation could occur or merger may be used as the repair strategy for the OCP violation.
29 Register Merger
a. Adjacent l registers b. Register Plateau
l l
l L
H L
H
TBU TBU
TBU TBU The structure in 29b demonstrates the merger of the two l-registers. The tones on the two TBUs remain
distinct, the first being a level Low and the second being a level Mid-high. If the OCP is not active in a language or repair strategies are blocked for some reason such as the presence of a floating h-register,
thus leaving two l-registers on adjacent TBUs, then the second TBU will be lowered. The reason for this is
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that each overt l-register is defined as creating a register lower than the preceding register. Therefore, two Low toned TBUs that are adjacent and articulated at the same pitch must share the l-register specification.
In the tonal situation specified in 29 where the second TBU has a different tonal melody, if two l-registers remain on the adjacent TBUs, then the second l-register would indicate a lowering of the Mid-high. The
exact pitch of this lowered Mid-high, i.e., whether or not it would be pronounced below the Low tone preceding it would depend on the language specific pitch distance specified between the registers and tonal
melodies of the given language. Finally, the tonal feature may violate the OCP resulting in merger, deletion or dissimilation. When
two tone features become adjacent and no other repair strategy is indicated, the two features will end up as a shared feature between TBUs, as is represented in 30b.
30 Tonal Feature Merger
a. Adjacent L tone features b. OCP Result
l h
l h
L L
L
TBU TBU
TBU TBU Recall that the tonal features and register features exist in separate planes, so the association lines are not
crossing, despite the 2-dimentional representation. The first TBU in both 30a and b has a Low tone and the second TBU has a Mid tone.
The power and effects of the OCP are language specific as are the repair strategies, but it is important to note that the effects may be felt between any two adjacent elements. OCP motivated merger
can join entire TRNs or just the feature on the register or tonal tier.
1.5.4.5 Summary
