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Article published In:
Sound, Form, and Meaning of Chinese Dialects
Edited by Ik-sang Eom
[Language and Linguistics 20:1] 2019
► pp. 46–84

Interactions between prosody and morphosyntax in Fuzhou VO phrases

| The Chinese University of Hong Kong

This study examines how tone sandhi domains (TSDs) are determined in Fuzhou. The data include: (i) regular verb-object phrases (VOs) where the verb takes a direct bare noun object; and (ii) non-canonical VOs where the verb takes an adverbial expression as a surface object.

Several observations are made. First, a three-way sandhi exists within every TSD. All antepenultimate syllables neutralize to low tones. A penultimate syllable’s sandhi tone is dependent on the final syllable’s citation tone, which remains unchanged. Second, in regular VOs, a monosyllabic verb consistently forms a single TSD with its direct bare noun object, but a disyllabic verb and its object are separated into two TSDs. Third, in non-canonical VOs, a monosyllabic verb never forms a single TSD with its adverbial object. Three questions are raised. First, what is the nature of each TSD? Second, why does the number of syllables in a verb determine the distinct TSDs formed in regular VOs? Third, how can we account for the different patterns of TSD formation in two types of VOs?

We propose that each TSD equals to a prosodic word (PrWd). OT analyses are provided to show how PrWds are derived. The analysis of regular VOs relies on the ranking of a prosodic markedness constraint ft bin above the word-level interface correspondence constraints. The contrast between two types of VOs is explained by applying the model of Multiple Spell-Out and a cyclic interaction of morphosyntax and prosody. This approach is new in explaining the TSDs that are constrained by morphosyntax.

Keywords: tone sandhi domain, prosodic word, morphosyntax-prosody interaction, Fuzhou, VO phrases
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Language background
    • 2.1Data sources and transcription conventions
    • 2.2Fuzhou tonal system and diagnostics for TSDs
  • 3.The formation of TSDs in Fuzhou VOs
    • 3.1Verbs with direct bare noun objects
      • 3.1.1Monosyllabic verbs with direct bare noun objects
      • 3.1.2Disyllabic verbs with direct bare noun objects
    • 3.2Verbs with non-canonical/adverbial objects
    • 3.3Summary
  • 4.The prosodic nature of TSDs
    • 4.1Fuzhou prosodic categories established in previous literatures
    • 4.2Prosodic word as the domain for tone sandhi
      • 4.2.1The structure of the prosodic word
      • 4.2.2Prosodic constraints on the structures of the prosodic words
  • 5.Interaction of constraints on the formation of prosodic words
    • 5.1The formation of prosodic words in regular VOs
    • 5.2The formation of prosodic words in non-canonical VOs
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 2 January 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lali.00029.che
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