High Tone Spreading (HTS), by which an underlying High tone associated with a mora spreads rightwards and associates with one or several following moras, is a major tonal process in Bàsàá (Cameroon, Bantu A43). We here examine the domain of application of this process and establish that HTS allows us to determine the right edge of Phonological Phrases. We discuss apparent counterevidence to this claim: in the postverbal domain, the distinction between arguments and adjuncts is neutralized, and HTS seems to apply in a purely linear fashion. We offer an account of this pattern using MATCHPHRASEMAX and MAX-BIN. Alternatively, we propose that prosody might here simply provide a window into the unexpected, but not so unusual syntax of this Bantu language.
Index Terms: High Tone Spreading, Phonological Phrase, Prosody, Bantu, Syntax-Phonology Interface
Cite as: Hamlaoui, F., Gjersøe, S.M., Makasso, E.-M. (2014) High tone spreading and phonological phrases in Bàsàá. Proc. 4th International Symposium on Tonal Aspects of Languages (TAL 2014), 27-31
@inproceedings{hamlaoui14_tal,
author={Fatima Hamlaoui and Siri M. Gjersøe and Emmanuel-Moselly Makasso},
title={{High tone spreading and phonological phrases in Bàsàá}},
year=2014,
booktitle={Proc. 4th International Symposium on Tonal Aspects of Languages (TAL 2014)},
pages={27--31}
}