Ngwi languages comparative tone box

This is a comparative tone box of the Ngwi branch. Previous research has identified consonantal effects on pitch as important precursors to the phonologization of rising tones. However, evidence from tonal evolution studies in East and Southeast Asian languages suggests that the high register (i.e., tones above mid pitch) is an additional source of rising. The current study examines the plausibility of the high > rising pathway by testing two hypotheses in a ‘dialect laboratory’: (1) that a rising tone in one language will correspond to a high register tone in a closely related dialect or language, and (2) that consonantal conditioning is not required for a rising tone to emerge. These hypotheses are tested on transcribed tone data from 14 Ngwi (Loloish, Tibeto-Burman) language clusters (82 language varieties in total), organized into a comparative tone box.

This study examines the correspondence patterns of rising tones across a database of 82 Ngwi languages and dialects, grouped into 14 lower-level clusters. The data consist of the language varieties’ current reflexes of PN tone categories, compiled from published and unpublished sources (see Appendix 1 for a complete listing). To facilitate comparison, the tonal reflexes are arranged in a tone box, adapted from Gedney (1972), with each row representing a separate initial consonant type, grouped together by PN tone category, and each column representing a different Ngwi language variety.

The results support both hypotheses. The findings imply that rising tones evolve from high register tones, with or without consonant conditioning.Previous research has identified consonantal effects on pitch as important precursors to the phonologization of rising tones. However, evidence from tonal evolution studies in East and Southeast Asian languages suggests that the high register (i.e., tones above mid pitch) is an additional source of rising. The current study examines the plausibility of the high > rising pathway by testing two hypotheses in a ‘dialect laboratory’: (1) that a rising tone in one language will correspond to a high register tone in a closely related dialect or language, and (2) that consonantal conditioning is not required for a rising tone to emerge. These hypotheses are tested on transcribed tone data from 14 Ngwi (Loloish, Tibeto-Burman) language clusters (82 language varieties in total), organized into a comparative tone box. The results support both hypotheses. The findings imply that rising tones evolve from high register tones, with or without consonant conditioning.