Downstep
Downstep | |
---|---|
ꜜ◌ | |
ꜝ◌ | |
IPA Number | 517 |
Encoding | |
Entity (decimal) | ꜜ |
Unicode (hex) | U+A71C |
Downstep is a phenomenon in
Two main kinds of downstep can be distinguished. The first, more usually called automatic downstep, downdrift[1] or catathesis,[2] occurs when high and low tones come in the sequence H L (L) H; the second high tone tends to be lower than the first because of the intervening low toned syllable. That phenomenon is common in African languages, such as Chichewa.[3] It has also been argued that the same phenomenon is heard in English sentences, if these sentences are pronounced with a falling intonation, for example I really believe Ebenezer was a dealer in magnesium, or I bought blueberries, bayberries, raspberries, mulberries, and brambleberries.[4][5]
Downstep proper, or non-automatic downstep,[6] is another phenomenon found in many African languages such as Igbo (see [7] for an overview of downstep in African languages). When two high tones are in succeeding syllables (thus in the sequence H H), and the second is lower than the first, there is said to be a downstep.[8]
The symbol for the second kind of downstep in the
It has been shown that in most, if not all, cases of downstep proper, the lowering of the second high tone occurs when an intervening low-toned syllable has dropped out. What was H (L) H has become HꜜH.
/bá/ | river |
/bâ/ | the river |
However, when it occurs between two high tones, it downsteps the following tone:
/bá tɛ́/ | it's not a river |
/bá ꜜ tɛ́/ | it's not the river |
See also
- Upstep, which is less commonly phonemic.
References
- ^ Yip 2002, p. 148.
- ^ Beckman & Pierrehumbert 1986, p. 272.
- ^ Myers 1996.
- ^ Pierrehumbert 1980, pp. 139ff, 329ff.
- ^ Beckman & Pierrehumbert 1986, p. 273.
- ^ Connell 2001.
- ^ Downing & Rialland 2017.
- ^ Welmers 1974, pp. 82ff.
- ^ Welmers 1974, p. 87.
Bibliography
- Beckman, Mary E. & Pierrehumbert, Janet B. (1986). "Intonational Structure in English and Japanese" (PDF). Phonology Yearbook. 3: 255–309. S2CID 62734066. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
- Connell, Bruce (2001), Downdrift, Downstep, and Declination (PDF), Bielefeld University, Germany: Typology of African Prosodic Systems Workshop, archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2007
- Crystal, David (2003). A dictionary of linguistics & phonetics. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 130.
- Downing, Laura J. & OCLC 963605080.
- Myers, Scott (1996). "Boundary tones and the phonetic implementation of tone in Chichewa" (PDF). Studies in African Linguistics. 25 (1): 29–60. S2CID 126264216.
- Pierrehumbert, Janet B. (1980). The Phonology and Phonetics of English Intonation (PDF) (PhD). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-13. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
- Welmers, William E. (1974). African Language Structures. University of California Press.
- Yip, Moira (2002). Tone. Cambridge University Press.