Abstract
Every regular Chinese syllable has a syllable tone (the tone we get when the syllable is read in isolation). In some Chinese languages, the tonal pattern of a multisyllabic expression is basically a concatenation of the syllable tones. In other Chinese languages, the tonal pattern of a multisyllabic expression is determined solely by the initial syllable. I call the formerM-languages (represented by Mandarin) and the latterS-languages (represented by Shanghai). I argue that there is an additional difference in rime structures between the two language groups. In S-languages, all rimes are simple, i.e., there are no underlying diphthongs or codas. In M-languages, all regular rimes are heavy. I further argue that a syllable keeps its underlying tones only if it has stress. Independent metrical evidence tells us that heavy rimes may carry inherent stress. Thus, in M-languages, all regular syllables are stressed and retain their underlying tones (which may or may not undergo further changes). In contrast, in S-languages, regular rimes do not carry inherent stress; instead, only those syllables that are assigned stress by rule can keep their underlying tones and hence head a multisyllabic tonal domain.
The present analysis has theoretical implications for the analysis of contour tones, the tone bearing unit, and the interplay between stress and tone.
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An earlier version of this paper was presented to an audience at the Univeristy of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and I think the participants for comments. I thank Zhiming Bao, Bill Baxter, Pam Beddor, Andre Cooper, Morris Halle, Mike Harnmond, Alexis Manaster-Ramer, Jack Martin, and Moira Yip, with whom I discussed various aspects of the paper. I would also like to thank three anonymous JEAL reviewers for their extremely careful comments, which improved this paper considerably. Finally, I would like to thank Jim Huang for his gentle editorial guidance. All remaining shortcoming are mine
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Duanmu, S. Rime length, stress, and association domains. J East Asian Linguis 2, 1–44 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01440582
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01440582