Effects of phonological phrasing on syntactic structure
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Nancy C Kula
Abstract
Bantu languages are renowned as tone languages that utilize this suprasegmental feature not only on the lexical level to distinguish lexical items, but also on the grammatical level to distinguish clause types. This article investigates one such use of grammatical tone in relative clauses in Bemba where a low tone can be used in place of a segmental relative marker. This low tone relative morpheme functions in conjunction with phrase boundary tone indicated on the head noun and which entails either restrictive or non-restrictive interpretations of relatives. Considering a mapping of XPs to major phonological phrases in the syntax-prosody interface, the resultant phonological phrasing in relatives influences the choice of syntactic structure. In the case at hand, a head-raising analysis provides an optimal mapping between syntax and prosody for restrictives. Further, a more direct influence of phonology on syntax can be seen in a perception-based model like Dynamic Syntax where the on-line building of syntactic trees can gain import from phonological information.
© Walter de Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Introduction
- Phase theory and prosodic spellout: The case of verbs
- Major Phrase, Focus Intonation, Multiple Spell-Out (MaP, FI, MSO)
- Competing syntactic and phonological constraints in Hebrew prosodic phrasing
- Effects of phonological phrasing on syntactic structure
- Phonological phrasing in Northern Sotho (Bantu)
- Global and local durational properties in three varieties of South African English
- The relationship between prosodic structure and pitch accent distribution: Evidence from Egyptian Arabic
- Pitch accent type matters for online processing of information status: Evidence from natural and synthetic speech
Articles in the same Issue
- Introduction
- Phase theory and prosodic spellout: The case of verbs
- Major Phrase, Focus Intonation, Multiple Spell-Out (MaP, FI, MSO)
- Competing syntactic and phonological constraints in Hebrew prosodic phrasing
- Effects of phonological phrasing on syntactic structure
- Phonological phrasing in Northern Sotho (Bantu)
- Global and local durational properties in three varieties of South African English
- The relationship between prosodic structure and pitch accent distribution: Evidence from Egyptian Arabic
- Pitch accent type matters for online processing of information status: Evidence from natural and synthetic speech
