A tone-domain interactive approach to binary spread and shift of high tone

Abstract

This paper focuses on the binary (bounded) spread and shift of high tone in the case where high tone is specified on a tone-bearing unit in the input. The main idea of this paper is that high tone is realized only within the domain for high tone. In this view, the spread and shift of high tone are both domain-internal processes. Therefore, this view requires that the domains for high tone should be optimally constructed. In this paper, it is shown that this view adequately explains various ways to realize the input high tone in the output. The parametric interactions of constraints in this view have applied to four Korean tonal dialects, that is, Hoylyeng, Samchek, Taykwu, and Pwukcheng Korean. In this case study, it is shown that the approach proposed in this paper accounts for the rich variation of tonal phenomena relevant to binary spread and shift of high tone in the Korean tonal dialects.