Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate whether the occurrence of lexical tones in a language imposes restrictions on its pitch range. Kammu, a Mon-Khmer language spoken in Northern Laos comprises dialects with and without lexical tones and with no other major phonological differences. We use Kammu spontaneous speech to investigate differences in pitch range in the two dialects. The main finding is that tonal speakers exhibit a narrower pitch range. Thus, even at a high degree of engagement found in spontaneous speech, lexical tones impose restrictions on speakers’ pitch variation.
Original language | English |
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Number of pages | 4 |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |
Event | ICPhS 17 - Hong Kong Duration: 2011 Aug 17 → … |
Conference
Conference | ICPhS 17 |
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Period | 2011/08/17 → … |
Bibliographical note
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015.The record was previously connected to the following departments: Linguistics and Phonetics (015010003)
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- General Language Studies and Linguistics
Free keywords
- pitch range
- tone
- timing
- intonation
- Kammu
- Khmu