On the Rules of Norwegian Tonality

Abstract

A new analysis of the Norwegian (and Swedish) word tones is presented, according to which Accent I is regarded as the unmarked member and is identified with primary stress, while Accent II is regarded as the only distinctive tone. The problem of functional burden is explored, and it is suggested that the relatively low importance of tone in communication is due to its structural dependence on the placement of stress. Rules are proposed for the distribution of tone, bringing out the invalidity of most of the minimal pairs presented in previous studies. It is shown that tone is a feature of the post-tonic syllable, and that its presence in the native and much of the borrowed vocabulary is determined by the morphology; in other vocabulary items, the occurrence of tone is highly arbitrary, being lexically and dialectically determined, with virtually no minimal pairs possible.

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