The Abawiri tone system in typological perspective

The Abawiri tone system in typological perspectiveBrendon YoderUniversity of California Santa Barbaraand SIL International

Caveat: The title on the screen is different from the one in the abstract because my focus has broadened beyond only the OCP and markedness. I will mention this along with other things.

The Abawiri tone system in typological perspectiveBackground on the languageThe tone systemPitch patterns in isolation contextPitch patterns in phrasal contextTone melodiesMarkedness of /H/ and /L/ toneAbawiri tone and tone system typology

Background includes:*Sociolinguistic information*Preliminary findings about morphology, syntax, discourse

BackgroundSociolinguistic situationAbawiri (ISO 636-3 code flh). Also known as Foau/Fuau (the village name)

Background on the language

Fuau villagePapua (Indonesia)Papua New Guinea

Abawiri is the easternmost of the Lakes Plain languagesLakes Plain languages: 20 languages spread along the tributaries of the Mamberamo. Very little work.Tor-Kwerba languages to the north and east, although apparently not much contact. 199=Sause, 160=Orya, 165=Wares, 197=Abinomn (isolate), 194=Taburta. Main contact is along the river to the south and west, possibly still reflecting spread of LP languages.Yellow languages to the east: Kaure family, Kapauri, Kaure, Kosare

BackgroundSociolinguistic situationAbawiri (ISO 636-3 code flh). Also known as Foau/Fuau (the village name)Speaker population: 350, increasing (Ethnologue 2016)Monolingualism is the normIsolatedPositive attitudesHunter-gatherer society

BackgroundPrevious research on AbawiriA 39-word list in Voorhoeve (1975).

BackgroundPrevious research on Lakes Plain languagesHistoricalReconstruction of Proto Lakes Plain phonology and 71 lexical items (Clouse 1997)Abawiri and neighboring Taburta [tbp] not includedPhonologyDoutai (McAllister & McAllister 1991; Donohue et al. 2006)Obokuitai (Jenison & Jenison 1991)Sikaritai (Martin 1991; Liem 2007)Iau (Bateman 1982; Edmondson, Bateman & Miehle 1992)Edopi (Green & Green 1988; Kim 1996)Kirikiri (Clouse & Clouse 1993)Morphology and syntaxIau (Bateman 1986; 1990)DiscourseSikaritai (Martin 1986)

BackgroundCONSONANTSVOWELS

tki yutkeobddabddfsfr

Segmental inventory

Speakers simply don't make use of their velum when they talk.

The tone systemMethodology4 pitch patterns in isolation context9 pitch patterns in phrasal context2 tone heights, 9 tone melodies

MethodologyRecordings from a single male speakerShort wordlist93 nouns63 verbsLong wordlist700 nouns and verbs

Tone frames for nounsTone frames for verbs

Pitch patterns in isolation context

PitchNounGlossVerbGlossLkoreturtledabitalk!HLdukebirdderisplit!MLfebifish (sp.)adrisearch!LHLotruauntatrismile!

At the end is a L tone. This is a final boundary /L/ tone.

Pitch patterns in isolation context: LL pitchPitchNounGlossVerbGlossL1bufirewoodsitake!2koreturtledabitalk!3sejakakingfisherbideribite!

Pitch patterns in isolation context: HLHL pitchPitchNounGlossVerbGlossHL1trabetelnutdoycook!2dukebirdderisplit!3fitureduckbedarilean!

Pitch patterns in isolation context: MLML pitchPitchNounGlossVerbGlossML1toucuscus (sp.)freput out!2febifish (sp.)adrisearch!3ki.orifish (sp.)drebarisharpen!

Pitch patterns in isolation context: LHLLHL pitchPitchNounGlossVerbGlossLHL1amother 2otruauntatrismile!3batu.asquashaidoribe confused!

Pitch patterns in phrasal contextL pitch pattern/L/ toneTonelessHL pitch pattern/H/ tone/HL/ toneML pitch pattern/LH/ tone/LHL/ toneLHL pitch pattern/LH/ tone/LHL/ tone/HL/ tone

Note that all end with L pitch. This L pitch neutralizes contrast in isolation context.

Pitch patterns in phrasal context: L pitchPitchNounGlossFrameNounGlossLH#L1dipersondebidichild's person2soriearthdebisorichild's earth3sewordesandpiperdebisewordechild's sandpiperL#L1bufirewooddebibuchild's firewood2koreturtledebikorechild's turtle3sejakakingfisherdebisejakachild's kingfisher

The words themselves don't change in phrasal context; the carrier phrases do. Specifically, there is variability in the final syllable of a previous L-toned word.

/L/ tone triggers polar (H) on previous syllable

Toneless words do not trigger polar (H)

debi sori 'child's earth'debi kore 'child's turtle'

LOWER, then UPPERPitch trace: polar (H) tone on final syllable of word just previous to L-toned word.My analysis: toneless words next to L-toned words are inert; nothing happens. But when two L-toned words are next to each other, a polar (H) tone is inserted. This could be analyzed as a violation of the OCP, where two identical elements are prohibited on the tonal tier.

/L/ tone triggers polar (H) on previous syllable that is /L/-toned or toneless

Toneless words do not trigger polar (H)

aite sori 'father's earth'aite kore 'father's turtle'

LOWER, then UPPERThis process occurs with a preceding L tone AND with a preceding toneless word. This is 'anticipatory tonal polarity'.

/L/ tone does not show updrift before /H/ tone

Toneless words show updrift before /H/ tone

sori kesai 'little earth'kore kesai 'little turtle'

LOWER, then UPPERPitch trace: updrift on toneless before H

Pitch patterns in phrasal contextL pitch pattern/L/ toneTonelessHL pitch pattern/H/ tone/HL/ toneML pitch pattern/LH/ tone/LHL/ toneLHL pitch pattern/LH/ tone/LHL/ tone/HL/ tone

Pitch patterns in phrasal context: HL pitchPitchNounGlossNounFrameGlossH#H1trabetelnuttrakesailittle betelnut2faitibanana sp.faitikesailittle banana sp.3fitureduckfiturekesailittle duckHL#H1igeckoikesailittle gecko2oiteglassoitekesailittle glass3dirobitree (sp.)dirobikesailittle tree (sp.)

Words in non-phrase-final position show this contrast.

/H/ tone is realized on all syllables

/HL/ tone: /L/ on the final syllable

faiti kesai 'little banana (sp.)'oite kesai 'little glass'

UPPER, then LOWERPitch traces: HH vs HL before H in kesai

Pitch patterns in phrasal contextL pitch pattern/L/ toneTonelessHL pitch pattern/H/ tone/HL/ toneML pitch pattern/LH/ tone/LHL/ toneLHL pitch pattern/LH/ tone/LHL/ tone/HL/ tone

Pitch patterns in phrasal context: ML pitchPitchNounGlossNounFrameGlossM#H1toucuscus (sp.)toukesailittle cuscus (sp.)2febifish (sp.)febikesailittle fish (sp.)3ki.orifish (sp.)ki.orikesailittle fish (sp.)ML#H1suleaf ribsukesailittle leaf rib2dudousibling-in-lawdudoukesailittle sibling-in-law3koraritree (sp.)korarikesailittle tree (sp.)

Again, words in non-phrase-final position show this contrast.

M pitch is realized on all syllables

L pitch on the final syllable

febi kesai 'small fish (sp.)'dudou kesai 'small in-law'

UPPER, then LOWERPitch traces: HH vs HL before H in kesai

HL pitch vs. ML pitch

We haven't actually come to an analysis of the ML pitch pattern. /M/ would seem like a good initial guess, but phonological processes point in a different direction.

Updrift of previous toneless pitch; pitch high

Triggers tonal polarity; pitch lower

aite faiti 'father's banana (sp.)'aite febi 'father's fish (sp.)'

LOWER, then UPPER

What is the M pitch phonologically?/M/ tone?Transparently reflects pitchTone melody inventory: /L/, /H/, /M/, /LH/, /HL/, /LHL/, /ML/, Unexplained gaps: /*LM/, /*HM/, and /*MH/Tonal polarity unexplained/LH/ tone?More abstractTone melody inventory: /L/, /H/, /LH/, /LH/, /HL/, /LHL/, /LHL/, No unexplained gapsExplanation for tonal polarityFloating /L/ tone downsteps following /H/Floating /L/ tone is never realized

2 pitch patterns (M and ML) that mirror the H and HL patterns.Both trigger anticipatory tonal polarity, like /L/ tone

Pitch patterns in phrasal contextL pitch pattern/L/ toneTonelessHL pitch pattern/H/ tone/HL/ toneML pitch pattern/LH/ tone/LHL/ toneLHL pitch pattern/LH/ tone/LHL/ tone/HL/ tone

Pitch patterns in phrasal context: LHL pitchNounGlossNounFrameGlossNounFrameGloss1amotheradobubig motherakesailittle mother2otruauntotrudobubig auntotrukesailittle aunt3batu.asquashbatu.adobubig squashbatu.akesailittle squash

/LH/ tone

/LHL/ tone

Pitch patterns in phrasal context: LHL pitchNounGlossFrameNounGlossFrameNounGloss3fabikobird-of-paradiseaitefabikofather's b.o.p.debifabikochild's b.o.p.3kobarestorkaitekobarefather's storkdebikobarechild's stork

/HL/ tone

LHL pitch: 3 tone melodies/LH/ toneOn monosyllables and disyllables/LHL/ toneOn certain trisyllables./HL/ toneOn certain trisyllables

*Verbs have only /LH/ tone

Tone melodiesL pitch pattern/L/ toneTonelessHL pitch pattern/H/ tone/HL/ toneML pitch pattern/LH/ tone/LHL/ toneLHL pitch pattern/LH/ tone/LHL/ tone/HL/ tone

2 tone heights, 9 tone melodies

Default tone linkingPrelinked tone---/L/---/H/---/LH//LH//HL//HL//LHL//LHL/

Markedness of /H/ and /L/ toneMarkedness as phonological activation (Clements 2001)Downstep of /H/ after floating /L/: Both tones phonologically activeAnticipatory tonal polarity: /L/ more marked than /H/Prelinking: /H/ more marked than /L/Markedness as frequency (Trubetzkoy 1939)Type frequency: /H/ more marked than /L/

Neither tone is uniformly more 'marked' (Haspelmath 2006)

END: Traditional assumptions that /H/ tone is universally more marked than /L/ tone are unjustified here and cross-linguistically. (next slide)

Markedness of /H/ and /L/ toneIn 2-height tone systems either /H/ or /L/can be more activated (Hyman 2010)./H/ vs. /L//H/ vs. /L/ vs. /H/ vs. /L/ vs. In Abawiri, phonological tones are mapped onto pitches in a skewed way:/H/ tone H pitch M pitch/L/ tone L pitch

Abawiri and tone typology

Tone system typologyProperties of tone systems in the literatureRegister vs. contour tone (Pike 1948)Word vs. syllable tone (Donohue 1997)Moveable vs. stable tone (Kutsch Lojenga 2014)Number of tone heights (Yip 2002, Maddieson 2013, Hyman 2010, 2012)

Tone system typology

Thank you

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ReferencesJenison, D. Scott & Priscilla B. Jenison. 1991. Obokuitai phonology. Workpapers in Indonesian languages and cultures 9. 6990.Kim, Eui-Jung. 1996. Edopi phonology. Unpublished ms. Jayapura, Indonesia.Kubozono, Haruo. 2011. Japanese pitch accent. In Marc Van Oostendorp, Colin J Ewen, Elizabeth Hume & Keren Rice (eds.), The Blackwell Companion to Phonology. Blackwell.Kutsch Lojenga, Constance. 2014. Orthography and tone: A tone-system typology with implications for orthography development. In Michael Cahill & Keren Rice (eds.), Developing orthographies for unwritten languages, 4972. Dallas, TX: SIL International.Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons & Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2016. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 19th ed. Dallas, TX: SIL International.Liem, Joseph Kristianto. 2007. Phonological Sketch of Sikaritai. Unpublished ms. Jayapura, Indonesia.Maddieson, Ian. 2013. Tone. In Matthew S. Dryer & Martin Haspelmath (eds.), The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. http://wals.info/chapter/13 Martin, David L. 1986. Dominance and non-dominance in Sikaritai discourse. Papers in New Guinea Linguistics 25. 205231.Martin, David L. 1991. Sikaritai phonology. Workpapers in Indonesian Languages and Cultures 9. 91120.McAllister, Lawrence & Kay McAllister. 1991. The process of phonological change in Doutai. Workpapers in Indonesian languages and cultures 9. 121141.Pike, Kenneth L. 1948. Tone languages: A technique for determining the number and type of pitch contrasts in a language, with studies in tonemic substitution and fusion. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Smith, Jennifer L. 2011. Category-specific effects. In Marc van Oostendorp, Colin J. Ewen, Elizabeth Hume & Keren Rice (eds.), The Blackwell Companion to Phonology, 24392463. Blackwell.Trubetzkoy, Nikolai. 1939. Grundzuige der Phonologie. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.Voorhoeve, Clemens L. 1975. Languages of Irian Jaya: checklist, preliminary classification, language maps, wordlists. (Series B-31). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.Yip, Moira. 2002. Tone. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

http://www.muturzikin.com/cartesoceanie/oceanie2.htm

Morphology, syntax, discourseVerb-finalClause chaining (nominalization)Minimal embeddingSerial verbsApparent lack of grammatical relationsNo indexing of arguments on the verb or flagging on the nominalSOV vs OSV word order dictated by discourse roughly equally frequentNo clear category of subjectNo clear alignment (nominative/accusative vs. ergative/absolutive)No valency-changing devices (causatives, applicatives, passives, etc.)Verbal valency classes are statistical tendencies based on verbal semanticsDiscourse: Where it all happens

HL vs. ML pitch in isolation contextAverage pitch of 6 HL and 7 ML disyllabic words uttered by a single male speakerPitch PatternF0 (H)F0 (L)F0 drop (H/M L)HL182 Hz131 Hz51 HzML159 Hz126 Hz33 Hz

Here we can see that the F0 of the first vowel is consistently about 20-25 Hz higher on HL pitch words than on ML pitch words.

Typologizing tone systemsProperty-driven typology"Rather than seeking to classify or label languages, the central goal of phonological typology is to determine how different languages systematize the phonetic substance available to all languages" (Hyman 2009: 213).

Prosodic options on nouns vs. verbsNounsLHLHLHHLLHLLHLHLVerbsLHLHLH------------

Prosodic options on nouns vs. verbsSpanishLocation of stress is predictable for verbs but not nouns (Smith 2011)HebrewLocation of stress is predictable for verbs but not nouns (Becker 2003)Tokyo JapaneseVerbs have a binary accented vs. unaccented distinction; nouns have more (Kubozono 2011)Many Bantu languagesNouns have more prosodic options than verbs (Smith 2011)Iau (Lakes Plain)The same set of tone melodies can occur on nouns and verbsTone is lexical on nouns, grammatical on verbs (Bateman 1986, 1990)Abawiri9 tone melodies on nouns, 5 tone melodies on verbs. No grammatical tone.

Tone in New GuineaWide diversity of tone systems in New Guinea (Donohue 1997, Foley 2000)Simple 'pitch accent'-type systemsComplex tonal contrasts with many level and contour tones (Iau)Lakes Plain systemsAll Lakes Plain languages are tonalMany (Sikaritai, Obokuita, perhaps others) have a relatively simple system with two tone heightsIau is perhaps the most complex tone system described in New GuineaAbawiri is intermediately complex