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Part of
Topics in Theoretical Asian Linguistics: Studies in honor of John B. Whitman
Edited by Kunio Nishiyama, Hideki Kishimoto and Edith Aldridge
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 250] 2018
► pp. 371–386

Chapter 17
Quantitative and qualitative restrictions on the distribution of lexical tones in Thai

A diachronic study

| Chulalongkorn University

In present-day Thai, contour tones show a more restricted distribution in comparison with level tones that cannot be explained by syllable structure alone. This diachronic study argues that both quantitative and qualitative restrictions are responsible for the puzzling gaps and accounts for them by positing Optimality-Theoretic constraints. In addition, it analyzes the tonal distribution in the early 19th and 20th centuries based on data from published materials. Furthermore, it discusses sound changes and lexical changes that gave rise to the tonal distribution.

Keywords: contour-tone distribution, tonal change, Thai
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Quantity and quality in distributional restrictions of tones
  • 3.Tonal distribution in the early 19th century
  • 4.Tonal distribution in the early 20th century
  • 5.Explaining the distributional changes
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 12 December 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.250.18pit
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