The syntax and prosody of apposition in Shingazidja

Abstract

This paper investigates the syntax-prosody interface with respect to apposition in Shingazidja. We examine the syntactic properties of two types of apposition (restrictive and non-restrictive). While restrictive apposition appears to form a single constituent, the syntactic data for non-restrictives are ambiguous between a single constituent analysis and an analysis in which the appositive and its anchor are syntactically separate. Prosodic data confirm the single constituent analysis for restrictive apposition, and provide evidence that non-restrictive appositives are syntactically linked to their antecedent and prosodically embedded in their host clause. The phenomenon of final raising emerges as the principal indicator of intonational phrases in Shingazidja; tone shift signals phonological phrasing. Our analysis is formalised in Optimality Theory through a comparison of Align/Wrap theory and Match theory. A Match-theory account predicts the existence of recursive phonological phrasing, and we present evidence supporting this prediction.

Nominal morphology and syntax

“…This scenario should be tested in a thorough comparative study, which should pay special attention to prosodic clues for the syntactically layered nature of Bantu NPs. In loose apposition, an anchor is typically separated from the appositive by means of a prosodic boundary, as O'Connor & Patin (2015) have demonstrated for Ngazidja G44a. Differences between types of modifiers in prosodic bonding with their head in the Bantu languages could be reflexes of such boundaries.…”

From tones to accents

“…In such a case, as illustrated in (10) and Figure 2, neither of the two syllables is more prominent, or longer, than the other (N.B. the tone on the final syllable is blunted due to a phrasal boundary L% tone -see [22], [20] The data in (10) indicates that, other things being equal, the tone is associated with the same phonetic cues as stress, in addition to pitch. When the tone emerges on the penult, as in (9), stress and tone combine, resulting in a significant lengthening of the penultimate vowel, which becomes metrically prominent, and an intense reduction of the final vowel.…”

“…The prosodic system of Shingazidja is well described (see [12], [13], [14], [15], [7], [16], [9], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21] or [22], among others). Shingazidja has a 'privative' tone system in the sense of [23], where /H/ contrasts with Ø [20].…”

“…When the tone is aligned with the penult (note that a tone cannot shift up to the final syllable of an Intonation Phrase due to a Non-finality constraint -see [22], [20]), the stress vowel is metrically strong and lengthened, while the final vowel is significantly reduced (sometimes deleted), as illustrated in (9) and in Figure 1 Figure 1: Signal, spectrogram and F0 curve of (9a) (produced by a male speaker originating from the Washili).…”

La liaison tonale en shingazidja septentrional

“…Cette dimension post-lexicale de la LT est soutenue par un dernier argument. En shingazidja, un groupe prosodique qui ne présente pas de ton lexical se voit attribuer un ton -ou plus probablement un intonème (Patin à paraître) -sur son avant-dernière syllabe (Philippson 2005, Patin 2007, O'Connor & Patin 2015. En (17), par exemple, aucun terme ne présente de ton sous-jacent 11 ; un ton, pourtant, est inséré sur l'avant-dernière syllabe de l'énoncé.…”