Working Papers in Linguistics - 2014
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Item Effect of Creaky Voice Simulation of Third-Tone Perception in Mandarin Chinese(University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Department of Linguistics, 2014-05-01) Van Way, JohnMandarin tones have traditionally been described by differences in pitch. However, the second tone (rising) and third tone (low/dipping) are perceptually close and have been shown to be a problematic pair for L1 and L2 Mandarin learners. Creaky voice has been observed in third-tone production, and has been shown to aid accurate identification. This study finds that creaky voice resynthesized in second-tone tokens can cause third tone identification, which leads to a reconsideration of the role of phonation, in comparison with pitch, when listeners distinguish these two tones.Item Prosodic Aspects of Hawai’i English: The Rise-Fall Contour(University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Department of Linguistics, 2014-05-01) Kirtley, M. JoelleThis paper examines prosodic contours found in Hawai‘i English, the dialect of English specific to the Hawaiian Islands. Data from casual interviews and tasks completed in a laboratory setting show that, alongside the use of the Mainstream American English rising contour for continuation and questions, speakers of Hawai‘i English use a rise-fall prosodic contour that is also found in both Hawaiian and Pidgin (Hawai‘i Creole). Description of the rise-fall contour adds evidence to the growing body of work that shows that Hawai‘i English is distinct from other varieties of spoken English.Item Adverbial Verb Constructions in Truku Seediq(University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Department of Linguistics, 2014-04-01) Oiwa, MayumiFormosan languages are known to employ verb-like entities (adverbial verbs) for adverbial expression. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of adverbial verb constructions in Truku Seediq, an Austronesian language of Taiwan, and explores historical and typological implications. I will demonstrate that all Truku adverbial verbs have the ability to occur in two distinct constructions: (i) serial verb constructions in which they behave like stative verbs, and (ii) constructions in which they behave on a par with preverbs. The ob-served bifunctionality of adverbial verbs as an entire class is a typologically unique feature, which I argue represents the advanced stage of adverbial verb grammaticalization in Truku as compared to other Formo-san languages.