Phonology · 2002 · 313 citations · 0 references
Language StudiesLinguisticsPhoneticsPhonologyPragmaticsOptimality TheoryProsodic HierarchyProsody ProcessingSound PatterningSuprasegmental PhoneticsSyllable StructurePhonetic StressRepresentation Of StressStressStress AccentStress SystemsTonal OrganizationTone PhonologyVariation In Tone
The study investigates how tone interacts with prosodic positions and examines implications for other tone–stress interactions. The authors model these interactions using Optimality Theory, defining a ranked set of constraints that govern tone placement on prosodic heads and non‑heads. They find that prosodic heads prefer higher tones while non‑heads prefer lower tones, and the constraint set successfully explains Ayutla Mixtec’s stress system, where stress is attracted to a syllable’s tone and also affected by the tone of the following syllable.
This paper examines the relationship between tone and prosodic positions. I show that prosodic heads prefer higher tone over lower tone, while non-heads exhibit the opposite preference. These generalisations are expressed within Optimality Theory as a family of constraints in a fixed ranking. One set regulates the relation of tone to heads: *HD/L [Gt ] *HD/M [Gt ] *HD/H; the other deals with tone on non-heads: *NON-HD/H H [Gt ] *NON-HD/M [Gt ] *NON-HD/L. These constraints are used to account for the stress system of Ayutla Mixtec: in this language, stress is attracted to a syllable based on its tonal content, but is also influenced by the post-tonic syllable's tone. The implications of the theory for other tone–stress interactions – metrically influenced tone placement and neutralisation – are also examined.