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that the Low tone would dock to the suffix rather than docking to the preceding syllable of the stem. Therefore, linkages exist in the UR and the UAC is not strictly obeyed.
5.2.3 One-to-Many
Yip 2002: 65 defines the one-to-many relationship as a single tonal feature being shared by two or more TBUs. This phenomenon, also called a tonal plateau has been demonstrated in several of the
examples above. When two sequential syllables are articulated at the same pitch, they share features thus producing feature plateaus. Plateaus can occur at the level of either the tone melody feature or the tone
register feature, as well as over the entire TRNs. When two syllable words are expressed with the same tone on each syllable, a plateau occurs at
the TRN level 9. 9
Two syllable words in which the two syllables share a L tone l
l L
L
su s ɛ
na t ʃ︢a
‘green’ ‘squash’
In 9, both examples contain Low tones and both the tonal melody and tonal register are shared.
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This type of plateau can occur at any tone level H, M
1
, M
2
or L. Three or more syllables may share one tone as in 10 in which all three syllables of the word occur with a Mid tone.
10 Three syllables attached to one M
2
h L
wa t ɛ ja
‘part’
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The argument concerning the exact nature of the tonal root node and whether these cases truly contain one TRN which is shared by two syllables, or two TRNs which overlap, or possibly which do not overlap;
however, are each linked to the same tonal register and melody is grounded in the definition of the syllable structure, i.e., if the TRN is part of the skeletal structure or just a feature which is attached to the structure.
The exploration of this issue is beyond the scope of this dissertation.
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10 demonstrates three syllables all linked to the same tonal features. It is not relevant to this analysis if the TRN is centered above a given syllable. Each syllable is linked with a solid association line indicating
equal association of each syllable to the TRN. While the plateaus demonstrated in 9 and 10 involve both the tonal melody and register and
therefore the TRN, a plateau can occur on any feature tier. The one-to-many relationship in 11 involves only the tonal register, even though the two syllables are articulated at different pitch levels: L followed by
M
1
-H rising. 11
Tonal register plateau l h
L H
ʔi t
ʃ︢i ‘small’
In 11, each syllable shares the low register feature but has a separate designation for tonal melody. Notice also that there is a contour on the final syllable indicated by the presence of another associated register
feature. These plateaus can also occur on the tonal melody feature. Consider the two syllable word in 12
with the first syllable expressed on Mid tone and the final syllable on a Low tone. 12
Tonal melody plateau h
l L
ki ʃũ
‘charcoal’ The two syllables of the word in 12 share the low tonal melody while maintaining separate tonal registers.
In Soyaltepec Mazatec, the one-to-many relationship of tonal features which produces feature plateaus can occur at the tonal root node level, producing words which share both tonal melody and tonal
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register, or at the tonal feature level, producing words which share either the tonal register or the tonal melody. Using the geometry of RTT allows three types of plateaus to exist on tonal features as opposed to
using traditional Autosegmental Phonology which allows only one type of plateau for tonal features, i.e., a complete tonal plateau.
5.2.4 Many-to-One
