The interaction of tone and stress in Optimality Theory

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between tone and prosodic positions. I show that prosodic heads prefer higher tone over lower tone, while non-heads exhibit the opposite preference. These generalisations are expressed within Optimality Theory as a family of constraints in a fixed ranking. One set regulates the relation of tone to heads: *HD/L [Gt ] *HD/M [Gt ] *HD/H; the other deals with tone on non-heads: *NON-HD/H H [Gt ] *NON-HD/M [Gt ] *NON-HD/L. These constraints are used to account for the stress system of Ayutla Mixtec: in this language, stress is attracted to a syllable based on its tonal content, but is also influenced by the post-tonic syllable's tone. The implications of the theory for other tone–stress interactions – metrically influenced tone placement and neutralisation – are also examined.

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