浮动声调语素[1]中的元素,不包含辅音元音,仅包含音调。它无法单独发音,但会影响相邻语素的音调。 [2] [3]

例如在班巴拉语中,有两个音调:高音和低音。[4]在这种语言中,定冠词为一低浮动声调(floating low tone);定冠词与一个孤立的名词连用时,这个低浮动声调与前面的元音相连,将高音变为降调(falling tone):[bá]泛指所有的河; [bâ]则是指某条特定的河。当低浮动声调出现在两个高音之间时,它会将以下音调降低

  • [bá tɛ́]:它不是一条河
  • [bá tɛ̄][bá ꜜ tɛ́]:它不是这(那)条河

与词缀之类的音段语素相关联的浮动声调同样常见。[5]例如,在尼日利亚的埃多德语英语Edoid languages[6]中,主要的否定语素与现在时语素只通过声调区分;现在时语素 (á-) 本身为高音,而过去时的否定语素 (´a-) 将该语素之前的音节上变为高音:

  • oh á-nga 他在攀爬
  • oh a-nga 他没有在攀爬

历史上,浮动声调源自语音同化[7]辅音弱化 [8]到仅保留其音调的语素。 [9]

参考文献

编辑
  1. ^ Clark, Mary M. 1993. "Representation of downstep in Dschang Bamileke". The Phonology of Tone: The Representation of Tonal Register, ed. by Harry van der Hulst and Keith Snider. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Pp. 29-73
  2. ^ Mary Paster, UC Berkeley, "FLOATING TONES IN GÃ *" http://elanguage.net/journals/index.php/sal/article/view/1366/925页面存档备份,存于互联网档案馆
  3. ^ Wentum, Comfort. 1997. A Lexical Tonology of Ga. Legon: University of Ghana, M. Phil thesis.
  4. ^ Clements, G. N. and Kevin C. Ford. 1979. "Kikuyu tone shift and its synchronic consequences." Linguistic Inquiry 10: 179-210.
  5. ^ Kropp-Dakubu, Mary E. 1986. "Downglide, floating tones and non-WH questions in Ga and Dangme." The Phonological Representation of Suprasegmentais, ed. by Koen Bogers, Harry van der Hulst, and Maarten Mous. Dordrecht: Foris Publications. Pp. 153-173.
  6. ^ Zimmerman, 1. 1858. A grammatical sketch and vocabulary of the Akra- or Galanguage with an appendix on the Adanme dialect. Stuttgart, 2 vols. Republished with an Introduction by 1. Berry, Gregg International, 1972.
  7. ^ Goldsmith, John. 1976. Autosegmental Phonology. Cambridge: MIT, PhD. dissertation. Distributed by IULe.
  8. ^ Okunor, Vincent. 1969. Tone in the Ga verb. Legon: Institute of African Studies. Paster, Mary. 2000. "Issues in the tonology of Ga." Columbus: Ohio State University, Undergraduate thesis.
  9. ^ Trutenau, H.M.J. 1972. "A sketch of tone rules required for a generative transformational grammar of Ga (a terraced level tone language)." Linguistics 79: 83-96.