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A note on tonal markedness in Yoruba

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2005

Douglas Pulleyblank
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia

Abstract

It is well established that the tonal system of Yoruba involves the asymmetric marking or retention of certain tones and the absence or loss of others. The behaviour of Yoruba's three tones is scalar but non-linear, with H tones being the most stable and M tones being the most unstable. In this note, it is shown that previous accounts of the asymmetries in terms of underspecification are problematic, arguing instead for the incorporation of tonal markedness directly into the formulation of faithfulness constraints.

Type
Squibs and Replies
Copyright
2004 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

This work was supported by SSHRC grant #410-2002-0041. Thanks to Akinbiyi Akinlabi, Rose-Marie Déchaine, Laura Downing and Joe Stemberger for discussion of some of the issues examined here.