Re-assessing tonal diversity and geographical convergence in Mainland Southeast Asia

Marc Brunelle; James Kirby

doi:10.1515/9781501501685-004

Re-assessing tonal diversity and geographical convergence in Mainland Southeast Asia

Marc Brunelle, James Kirby

School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

Abstract

Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) is often described as the quintessential Sprachbund in which languages belonging to different language families converge as a result of contact. In this paper, we look in detail at the evidence for convergence of a specific phonological feature, tone, as expressed by two of its phonetic correlates, pitch and voice quality. Based on a database of 197 languages and dialects, we assess the extent of tonal diversity in MSEA languages and construct a statistical model of the degree to which tonal inventories can be predicted on the basis of geographic proximity, genealogical relatedness and population size. We find that the most robust predictors of tonality in MSEA languages are family and word shape.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	The Languages of Mainland Southeast Asia
Subtitle of host publication	The State of the Art
Editors	N.J. Enfield, Bernard Comrie
Place of Publication	Berlin
Publisher	De Gruyter Mouton
Pages	82-110
ISBN (Electronic)	9781501501685, 9781501501708
ISBN (Print)	9781501508431, 9781501515897
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501501685-004
Publication status	Published - 13 Mar 2015

Publication series

Name	Pacific Linguistics
Volume	649
ISSN (Print)	1448-8310

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10.1515/9781501501685-004

BrunelleKirby2015Reassessing
© Brunelle, M., & Kirby, J. (2015). Re-assessing tonal diversity and geographical convergence in Mainland Southeast Asia. In N. Enfield, & B. Comrie (Eds.), Languages of Mainland Southeast Asia: The State of the Art. (pp. 82-110). Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9781501501685-004
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1 Article

Tone and phonation in Southeast Asian languages
Brunelle, M. & Kirby, J., 3 Apr 2016, In: Language and Linguistics Compass. 10, 4, p. 191-207
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abstract = "Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) is often described as the quintessential Sprachbund in which languages belonging to different language families converge as a result of contact. In this paper, we look in detail at the evidence for convergence of a specific phonological feature, tone, as expressed by two of its phonetic correlates, pitch and voice quality. Based on a database of 197 languages and dialects, we assess the extent of tonal diversity in MSEA languages and construct a statistical model of the degree to which tonal inventories can be predicted on the basis of geographic proximity, genealogical relatedness and population size. We find that the most robust predictors of tonality in MSEA languages are family and word shape.",

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Re-assessing tonal diversity and geographical convergence in Mainland Southeast Asia. / Brunelle, Marc; Kirby, James.
The Languages of Mainland Southeast Asia: The State of the Art. ed. / N.J. Enfield; Bernard Comrie. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2015. p. 82-110 (Pacific Linguistics; Vol. 649).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

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Re-assessing tonal diversity and geographical convergence in Mainland Southeast Asia

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Tone and phonation in Southeast Asian languages

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