Working Papers in Linguistics - 2014

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    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, John
    Mandarin 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.
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    Prosodic Aspects of Hawai’i English: The Rise-Fall Contour
    (University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Department of Linguistics, 2014-05-01) Kirtley, M. Joelle
    This 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.
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    Adverbial Verb Constructions in Truku Seediq
    (University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Department of Linguistics, 2014-04-01) Oiwa, Mayumi
    Formosan 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.