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
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
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 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
