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Issues in the acquisition of the Sesotho tonal system*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Katherine Demuth
Katherine Demuth*
Affiliation:
Brown University
*
Address for correspondence: Department of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, Brown University, Box 1978, Providence, RI 02912USA. Katherine_Demuth@brown.edu
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Abstract

This paper examines the acquisition of the grammatical tone system of Sesotho, a southern Bantu language where tone sandhi is rich, and where surface and underlying representations are often quite distinct. Results of the longitudinal case study show that rule-assigned tone on subject markers is generally marked appropriately by age two. In contrast, underlying tonal representations on verb roots are learned gradually over time, showing an early Default High tone pattern. The study also finds that, while some tone sandhi rules are in the process of being acquired between 2;6 and 3;0, problems in the mapping between tonal representations and segments persist. The paper raises methodological and theoretical issues not only for the acquisition of tonal systems, but for the acquisition of phonology in general.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , June 1993 , pp. 275 - 301
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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Footnotes

[*]

Data collection for this work was supported by Fulbright-Hayes and Social Science Research Council (SSRC) grants. Data transcription and analysis has been supported by NSF Grant No. BNS08709938 and by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). I thank Steven Bird, Tucker Childs, Nick Clements, Julie Croston, Grzegorz Dogil, Elan Dresher, Charles Ferguson, Larry Hyman, Ben Khoali, Thabo Khojane, Chuck Kisse-berth, Mark Johnson, Will Leben, ‘Malillo Machobane, Sheila Mmusi K. P. Mohanan, Jim Morgan, Mpiko Ntseki, Glyne Piggott, Frances W. Pritchett, Mpatletseng Ramaema, as well as Katharine Perera, anonymous reviewers, and several audiences for stimulating discussion, comments and assistance relating to this research. The final interpretations are, of course, my own.

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