The article provides an overview of the formal aspects of the verbal paradigms of Nyokon, a Cameroonian Bantu language (A45). The language has a rich system of 22 non-negative verbal paradigms... Show moreThe article provides an overview of the formal aspects of the verbal paradigms of Nyokon, a Cameroonian Bantu language (A45). The language has a rich system of 22 non-negative verbal paradigms expressing tense, aspect and mood, and additional negative constructions. The paradigms are built on a TAM word with segmental and tonal properties in association with the choice of which set of subject pronouns to use and which shape of the verb stem to use. Verbs appear in two possible shapes; one of which contains a petrified suffix which is etymologically related to the Bantu *-a(n)g imperfective or pluractional suffix. A crucial property of each verbal paradigm is the position of the full object: for certain paradigms, this position is before the verb contrary to the general pattern in Bantu which tends to be strictly VO for full objects; in other paradigms, the object must occur after the verb; a third group allows both orders. Negative constructions have a clause final clitic. Nyokon is a tonal language and the article discusses the basic tonal rules that are needed for an analysis of the verbal paradigms. The analysis of any sentence in Nyokon requires an understanding of the verbal paradigm and to which verbal paradigm it belongs. Therefore, this article aims at providing the groundwork for further analyses of Nyokon. The emphasis is on the formal characteristics of the verbal paradigms while a substantial analysis of the semantics and functional distinctions of these paradigms awaits the next study, for which the labels used for the various paradigms here only function as first approximations Show less
In tonal languages such as Mandarin, both lexical tone and sentence intonation are primarily signaled by F0. Their F0 encodings are sometimes in conflict and sometimes in congruency. The present... Show moreIn tonal languages such as Mandarin, both lexical tone and sentence intonation are primarily signaled by F0. Their F0 encodings are sometimes in conflict and sometimes in congruency. The present study investigated how tone and intonation, with F0 encodings in conflict or in congruency, are processed and how semantic context may affect their processing. To this end, tone and intonation identification experiments were conducted in both semantically neutral and constraining contexts. Results showed that the overall performance of tone identification was better than that of intonation. Specifically, tone identification was seldom affected by intonation information irrespective of semantic contexts. However, intonation identification, particularly question intonation, was susceptible to the final lexical tone identity and affected by the semantic context. In the semantically neutral context, questions ending with a rising tone and a falling tone were equally difficult to identify. In the semantically constraining context, questions ending with a falling tone were much better identified than those ending with a rising tone. This perceptual asymmetry suggests that top-down information provided by the semantically constraining context can play a facilitating role for listeners to disentangle intonational information from tonal information, but mainly in sentences with the lexical falling tone in the final position. Show less
Liu, H.; Liang, J.; Heuven, V.J.J.P. van; Heeringa, W. 2020
The aim of the present perceptual study is to weight tones and vowels as acoustic cues in Chinese subregional dialect identification, and to test the credibility of the subregional dialect... Show moreThe aim of the present perceptual study is to weight tones and vowels as acoustic cues in Chinese subregional dialect identification, and to test the credibility of the subregional dialect classification that has been proposed in the literature. Our findings show that listeners are able to pinpoint speakers’ subregional dialect even when only given monosyllabic Chinese word stimuli, either natural or tone-transplanted. The results agree with the impres- sionistic claim that both vowels and tones contribute to perceptual subregional dialect identification. However, vowel quality differences make a greater contribution than the tone differences –which contradicts the order of importance predicted in the impressionistic literature. Strong interactions between vowels and tones are also found. Show less
This descriptive grammar of Nchane, a Beboid language of Cameroon, is based largely on text data and takes a functional approach. Chapters include accounts of the phonology, nouns, noun phrases,... Show moreThis descriptive grammar of Nchane, a Beboid language of Cameroon, is based largely on text data and takes a functional approach. Chapters include accounts of the phonology, nouns, noun phrases, verbs, clause structure, and information structure. An interlinearized text is provided as well. Features of particular interest are the presence of a fricative vowel, two locative noun classes, compound pronouns, and a set of anaphoric demonstratives which encode speaker attitude. Show less
The function of pitch movements varies across languages. Tone languages, such as Mandarin Chinese, use pitch configurations to differentiate between word forms. For non-tone languages (such as... Show moreThe function of pitch movements varies across languages. Tone languages, such as Mandarin Chinese, use pitch configurations to differentiate between word forms. For non-tone languages (such as Dutch and English), pitch information is mainly used at the post-lexical level, e.g., to signal sentential prominence or delimit prosodic constituents. Therefore, learning to use lexical tones is always difficult for non-tone second language learners of Mandarin who are not familiar with using pitch information in a lexically contrastive way. This thesis investigates various aspects of production and perception of tones by beginning and advanced Dutch learners of Mandarin. Through a series of four experiments, this thesis examines the developmental path of Dutch learners of Mandarin at the university level in their acquisition of fine-grained tonal coarticulation patterns, distribution of attention between segments and tones, phonological processing of tones and using tonal information in spoken word recognition. The mechanisms underlying the learners’ tone acquisition are discussed with reference to current theories and models of second language acquisition and spoken word recognition. Show less
This thesis presents a detailed description of the phonology, the tone system and the grammar of Liko, a Bantu language spoken by about 70,000 people in the northeastern part of the Democratic... Show moreThis thesis presents a detailed description of the phonology, the tone system and the grammar of Liko, a Bantu language spoken by about 70,000 people in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It provides numerous examples. Liko has a nine-vowel system with ATR contrast in the mid and high vowels. Its pervasive vowel-harmony system is [+ATR] dominant, but there are dominant verbal and nominal [−ATR] enclitics which influence preceding [+ATR] non-high vowels. Liko is a tone language with both lexical and grammatical tone contrasts, depressor consonants and automatic as well as non-automatic downstep. Liko is one of the "Northern Bantu Borderland" languages. The Bantu noun-class and agreement system is present to a large extent. Nevertheless, subject agreement is limited in verbal morphology, and object agreement is obligatory for first and second persons and class 1 and 2 objects only. The Liko verbal system is complex. To encode Tense/Aspect/Mood, the language uses segmental morphemes, tone melodies as well as time adverbials. Tone and vowel-harmony rules determine the surface realization of the verb form. Topics in syntax include: verb valency and object agreement, word order, relative clauses, complex sentences and information structure, including an analysis of focus marking. Liko is a language with strict SVO word order. Relativization and left-dislocation reveal a syntactic means to differentiate between objects and adjuncts in this language. The two appendices contain ten texts as well as verb paradigms. Show less
Tonal bilinguals of two closely related Chinese dialects handle two tonal systems in their mind; their two vocabularies are from closely related dialects; and they write translation equivalents... Show moreTonal bilinguals of two closely related Chinese dialects handle two tonal systems in their mind; their two vocabularies are from closely related dialects; and they write translation equivalents with common Chinese characters. Their unique language situation makes their mind special. This thesis investigates these tonal bilinguals’ lexical processing mechanism, studying how they produce and understand words. Their situation provides a valuable test case for a few important theories on bilingual lexical access. Bilingual lexical processing is flexible, influenced by the task and language mode. Moreover, compared with tonal monolinguals, these tonal bilinguals not only showed classical advantages in executive control, but sometimes even perform faster with lexical tasks. The structure of the bilingual lexicon can cause important differences in bilingual lexical processing and the corresponding functions of executive control. Show less
Wu, J.; Chen, Y.; V.J., van Heuven; Schiller, N.O. 2015
Pronunciation dictionaries are usually expensive and time-consuming to prepare for the computational modeling of human languages, especially when the target language is under-resourced. Northern... Show morePronunciation dictionaries are usually expensive and time-consuming to prepare for the computational modeling of human languages, especially when the target language is under-resourced. Northern Chinese dialects are often under-resourced but used by a significant number of speakers. They share the basic sound inventories with Standard Chinese (SC). Also, their words usually share the segmental realizations and logographic written forms with the SC translation equivalents. Hence the pronunciation dictionaries of northern Chinese dialects could be easily available if we were able to predict the tonal realizations of the dialect words from the tonal information of their SC counterparts. This paper applies statistical modeling to investigate the tonal aspect of the related words between a northern dialect, i.e. Jinan Mandarin (JM), and Standard Chinese (SC). Multi-linear regression models were built with between-word pitch distance of JM words as the dependent variable and the following were included as the predictors: SC tonal relations, between-dialect tonal identity, and individual backgrounds. The results showed that tonal relations in SC and between-dialect identity, as predictors featuring the relation between the JM and SC tonal systems, are significant and robust predictors of JM tonal realizations. The speakers’ sociolinguistic and cognitive backgrounds, together with the tonal merge and neutral tone information within JM, are important for the prediction of JM tonal realizations and affect the way that between-language predictors take effect. Show less
The Ik language (Icé-tód), spoken in northeast Uganda, forms the Kuliak(Rub) subgroup along with So/Tepeth and Nyang’í. These latter two lectshave already succombed to assimilative pressures from... Show moreThe Ik language (Icé-tód), spoken in northeast Uganda, forms the Kuliak(Rub) subgroup along with So/Tepeth and Nyang’í. These latter two lectshave already succombed to assimilative pressures from neighboring Niloticpastoralists like the Karimojong, Turkana, and Pokot. Despite similarsociolinguistic circumstances, Ik has so far held up and still remains vital asthe mother-tongue of hundreds of young children. Since Ik is the lastmember of a waning subgroup, its documentation and description mayprovide key pieces to the puzzle of East African linguistic and ethnic prehistory. The complexity of this prehistory is embodied in Ik grammar which shows many traits shared with languages in both Afroasistic and Nilo- Saharan language families. And so a full grammatical treatment of Ik can shed some needed light on the classification of other language groups.To that end, this study offers a comprehensive but balanced grammatical analysis of Ik. It covers the basics of the Ik sociolinguistic milieu, genetic classification, phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. Of particular typological interest are Ik’s unusual systems of vowel harmony, tone, and case, as well as the syntax of subordinate clauses, the grammaticalization of case in the verbal system, and sequential and simultaneous clause chains. Other fascinating topics include pre-pause devoicing, frozen prefixes, tensed modifiers, non-canonical passives, and an irrealis-realis modal distinction. Lastly, between the grammar and lexicon is provided a collection of five culturally relevant Ik texts as holistic examples of Ik in its natural context. Show less
This thesis investigates the grammar of Gaahmg, a Nilo-Saharan, Eastern Sudanic language spoken in the Blue Nile Province of North Sudan. The comprehensive description provides an analysis of the... Show moreThis thesis investigates the grammar of Gaahmg, a Nilo-Saharan, Eastern Sudanic language spoken in the Blue Nile Province of North Sudan. The comprehensive description provides an analysis of the phonology, morphology, and syntax. Ten texts of various genre are given to help illustrated the grammar in context. Gaahmg is morphologically rich, employing many suffixes and clitics on nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Tone and [ATR] quality distinguish a significant number of lexemes and grammatical functions. Several specific processes of consonant weakening, vowel elision, [+ATR] spreading, [+round] spreading, and morphological tone rules, account for the vast majority of alternations when morphemes are combined. The syntax is equally interesting. Agentive passive, agentless passive, antipassive, and causative verb forms are syntactically and morphologically distinct and combine in nearly all possible ways. All pronouns use vowel features to represent the person referred to, the three persons coinciding with the language's three vowel harmony pairs. Body part locatives are similar in form and meaning to inherently possessed body part nouns, but are a distinct lexical category in form and function. These and other features make the description a valuable resource for Nilo-Saharan linguists as well as those interested in the typology of African languages. Show less
This study explores the way in which different verbal and nominal structures 'fit together' within a coherent system in Plateau Shimakonde, a sub-dialect of the Makonde language spoken in... Show moreThis study explores the way in which different verbal and nominal structures 'fit together' within a coherent system in Plateau Shimakonde, a sub-dialect of the Makonde language spoken in northern Mozambique. A central proposition of our study is that word formation in the verbal and nominal systems is hierarchical. In the verbal system, we propose that there are just four basic structures in a core tense-aspect matrix which distinguishes between perfective and imperfective aspect and between projected and non-projected time. These verbal structures then provide the basis from which negative, conjoint and relative verbs are derived, or 'built'. In the nominal system, we propose that simple nouns consist of a neutral noun prefix added to a simple stem. Different kinds of complex nouns are then built from these basic forms. These include locative nouns, agentive nouns, identifying nouns of various sorts, quality nouns, associative nouns, personified animal names and feature nouns. We also identify a range of other compound or 'marked' structures which employ 'non-neutral' affixes. These include Infinitives, deverbal abstracts, manner nouns and relational terms. The study also describes the phonological units and processes which determine the way in which underlying tones surface in Plateau Shimakonde. This description includes a survey of vowel and consonantal processes, an examination of the phonological opposition between High and Low tones, an analysis of the tone-bearing quality of nasals in different contexts and a description of various phenomena found at the boundaries of phonological phrases. Show less
This thesis investigates the grammar of Sheko, an Omotic language spoken in southwest Ethiopia. The study presents an analysis of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language, amply... Show moreThis thesis investigates the grammar of Sheko, an Omotic language spoken in southwest Ethiopia. The study presents an analysis of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language, amply illustrated by examples. The supplements contain a sample of texts and an extensive word list. Among other things, the author discusses the interrelation between gender, definiteness and number in nominal morphology. Some nominal morphology also occurs on verbal forms. In the verb system, stem formation, aspectual and modal distinctions as well as stance marking are treated. The language has a rich array of complex verb constructions, such as medial clauses and serial verb constructions, next to different types of subordinate clauses. In relative clauses, a resumptive pronoun may occur before the antecedent. One of the divergent ways in which interrogatives are formed is by ‘subtractive morphology’, i.e. dropping off a grammatical element which is obligatorily present in declaratives. Furthermore, subject clitics attach to a variety of hosts in correlation to information structure and focus. These and a number of other issues make the work valuable for specialists of Omotic and Afroasiatic studies as well as for general linguists and anyone interested in the typology of language. Show less
This dissertation presents a comprehensive description of the grammar of Logba, one of the fourteen Ghana-Togo Mountain (GTM) languages spoken by approximately 7,500 speakers on the Southeastern... Show moreThis dissertation presents a comprehensive description of the grammar of Logba, one of the fourteen Ghana-Togo Mountain (GTM) languages spoken by approximately 7,500 speakers on the Southeastern frontier of the Ghana-Togo border. It is the outcome of fifteen months research in Logba speaking communities. The grammar covers phonology, morphology, syntax and aspects of pragmatics such as routine expressions, particles and interjections. The language displays three interconnected systems of nominal classification –prefix classes, singular plural pairings and agreement system. The interaction of external verb agreement and noun phrase internal agreement results in nine different agreement patterns. Other typologically interesting features of Logba accounted for include its two adpositional classes, verb serialisation with features marked only on the first verb, and the coding of topological relations in verbs. The influence of Ewe, the dominant lingua franca, on the grammar and lexicon as well as Logba’s differentiation from its presumed genetic relatives like Likpe and Lelemi are touched upon. A corpus of glossed and translated texts that was used as data sources as well as a trilingual wordlist are also included. The descriptor is of interest to specialists in African linguistics, linguistic typology as well as contact linguistics. Show less
Mambay is an Adamawa (Niger-Congo) language spoken by 15,000 people in Chad and Cameroon. The study opens with historical and linguistic background. A phonological inventory of the language is then... Show moreMambay is an Adamawa (Niger-Congo) language spoken by 15,000 people in Chad and Cameroon. The study opens with historical and linguistic background. A phonological inventory of the language is then presented and distribution patterns are examined. Some striking phenomena include a profoundly phonologized labial flap and a rich vowel inventory with contrastive length, nasalization, glottalization and pharyngealization. Special consideration is given to nasality and an underlyingly two-level tone system which exhibits tonal downstep as well as pragmatic employment of intonational register shift. In the description of the morphology, nouns are treated first, with attention dedicated to a “free vs. linked” distinction in noun forms and a series of noun prefixes unrelated to wider Niger-Congo noun class prefixes. A rich system of TAM (tense/aspect/mode) inflection is marked on both pronouns and verbs. Adverbs, adjectives and ideophones are treated together, as are the remaining minor word classes of numerals, demonstratives, and prepositions. A section on clauses and clause combinations concludes the dissertation, situating word classes within the context of syntax and discourse. Interlinearized texts rich in cultural information are selected from a variety of genres: song, legend, fable and proverb. The appendices catalogue inalienable noun possession paradigms and verb conjugations. Show less
This thesis presents a thorough survey of the central aspects of the phonology of Shaoxing Chinese from a synchronic perspective and on the basis of recent theoretical phonological developments,... Show moreThis thesis presents a thorough survey of the central aspects of the phonology of Shaoxing Chinese from a synchronic perspective and on the basis of recent theoretical phonological developments, with the secondary goal of casting some light on current issues in Modern Chinese (Mandarin). In particular, the thesis presents an analysis of syllable structure, focusing on the syllabic status of the prenuclear glide in Shaoxing, contributing a multiple-specifier X-bar syllable structure, which allows a syllable to be parsed into Onset and Final, instead of Onset and Rhyme. It argues that the prenuclear glide in Shaoxing is neither in the Onset nor in the Rhyme, but located in the specifier position of N''. This thesis claims that both voiced initial obstruents and low-register tones, though in complementary distribution, occur in the underlying representation in Shaoxing. It assumes that there are 'filler' onsets in the surface representation to satisfy the consonant-tone correlation and that there are also onsetless syllables which are toneless when unstressed, enabling liaison in Chinese. The thesis also presents a systematic and explicit formulation of the intricacies of tone sandhi in SX. It assumes that tone sandhi in Shaoxing is realized by tone feature spreading and delinking, and does not involve register features. It presents a metrically-based analysis with a hierarchical constraint ranking that precisely captures the tonal sandhi behaviour and accounts for all the sandhi rules in Shaoxing disyllabic structures. Show less
