The Role of Sub-phonemic Detail in Explaining Phonological Change Kristine A. Hildebrandt The University of Manchester 1 1 I. Introduction • An examination of observed sound-change-in- progress • Specifically: a tone-merger that is both phonetically gradual & diffused incompletely across the lexicon & across speakers • The social & structural environments of this change create some interesting challenges for (traditional) sociolinguistic & purely structural explanations/ approaches • My position: A combined & modified approach, with an eye to the rise of sub-phonemic factors in the emergent system 2 2 II. The change & other background information • The change is occurring to the tone system in Manange, a (Bodish) Tibeto-Burman language spoken in two communities of Nepal • The two Manange communities have different language-contact & language usage scenarios: 3 3 Manange (four-tone system) in contact with Nepali (no tones) 4 II. The change & other background information • “Protoypical” Tone in Manange (and other Bodish languages) • 4 tones that are a combination of: • PRIMARILY: vowel fundamental frequency (F0), and • SECONDARILY: onset obstruent phonation properties 5 5 II. The change & other background information 6 Tone F0 (and onset phonation) Properties Example 1 low, level ʈu ‘sit/vagina’, ŋĩ ‘old objects’ 2 high, level ʈu ‘thread’, ŋi ‘seven’ 3 very high & falling; initial obstruents are [-asp] ʈu ‘cereal’, ŋi ‘frightening’ 4 mid & falling; initial obstruents are [+asp] ʈhu ‘six’, ŋi ‘two’ 6