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The syntax of Xiamen tone sandhi

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2020

Matthew Y. Chen
Matthew Y. Chen*
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
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Extract

This collection of thematically related papers in the current issue of the Phonology Yearbook, coming in the wake of recent major works like Selkirk (1984a) and Kaisse (1985), betokens a growing interest in the interfacing problem of syntax and phonology. So far, the most intensively investigated problems such as English contraction and auxiliary reduction fall in the intermediate area of morphosyntax, in the sense that they typically involve the adjunction of clitic-like elements to a neighbouring constituent with certain phonological consequences. The truly phrasal level of postlexical phonology is rather more sparsely populated by well-documented case studies. Chapter 7 of Kaisse (1985) reviews some of the better-known cases, including French liaison, Ewe tone sandhi, Italian raddoppiamento sintattico (initial consonant gemination), and Kimatuumbi vowel shortening (see references cited therein). To this list we may add the highly suggestive case of Chi Mwi:ni vowel shortening (see Kisseberth & Abasheikh 1974; and the insightful reanalysis in Selkirk 1986).

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Type
Research Article
Information
Phonology , Volume 4 , May 1987, pp. 109 - 149
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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Footnotes

*

This article could not have been written in the absence of an earlier analysis attempted by Robert L. Cheng, and if written, would have been utterly devoid of general interest without reference to the theoretical issues highlighted principally in the works of Lisa Selkirk and Ellen Kaisse. While I have adopted here a position that differs from theirs in important respects, they have graciously taken my critique as the sincerest form of compliment, and have shared with me their valuable insights. Many other friends and colleagues have encouraged and helped me along the way. Yuki Kuroda was very patient with my many questions regarding one or other aspects of syntactic theory, and Larry Hyman took the time to comment in detail on many specific aspects of the paper. In particular, James Huang took me to task on a number of important issues, forcing me to weigh more carefully the implications of the analysis presented here. I wish to thank each of the above-mentioned for a most stimulating exchange of ideas in the course of completing this paper. Needless to say, none of them should be held responsible for the mistakes that are exclusively my own.

The present article is based on §§1–8 of an earlier and considerably longer manuscript (Chen 1985). §§9–10, devoted to general theoretical discussion, have been excised for lack of space, and will become part of another paper. In the final stages of recasting this manuscript for publication the author was supported by a Wang Institute (Tyngsboro, Mass.) Fellowship and NSF grant BNS–8608374.

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