Tone in Mende: A Comparative Analysis of Theoretical Approaches
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2007
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Linguistics
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Thesis (B.A.)
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Abstract
In this paper, I examine the advantages and shortcomings of two
different methods of tonal analysis; Autosegmental Phonology and
Simplified Bracketed Grid Theory. Autosegmental Phonology is widely
used in American linguistics for tonal analysis, but Simplified Bracketed
Grids are still very new and relatively unknown. For this reason, I explain
each theory in general, and expound on some key points and key
differences between the new and old theories. Each analytic approach is
applied to Mende, a member of the Niger-Congo language family, with
the aim of determining which of the two approaches, if either, provides the
simplest and most elegant analysis. Mende has long been used as an
anchor of support for the application of Autosegmental Phonology in
representing tone, and it is for this reason, that I am using it as the medium
of comparison.
Two separate Mende data sets, which represent two dialects, are
analyzed. The first data set, Mende A, is the classic data set used when
discussing Mende or tone in Autosegmental Phonology. A supplement to
this data set is included, which contains data that fits in with the patterns
in Mende A. Mende B doubles the number of possible tones and the
number of tonal patterns. SBG theory ends up turning out analyses of
Mende tonal patterns that are at least equally as sophisticated as the
Autosegmental analyses. They additionally provide some predictions
inherent to the structures and created by the analyses about the eventual
phonetic output from the phonological representations.