Two Constraints on Tonal Derivation in Chinese

Abstract

This paper aims to further examine two working constraints on tonal derivation proposed in some recent generative studies on Changting, namely One Step Principle (OSP) and Moving Windows Constraint (MWC). Our extension of the scope of discussion to other Chinese dialects leads to the necessity of proposing the more general Domain Constraint (DC) which subsumes the MWC. The comparison and contrast between OSP and DC exhibits a see-saw battle at present. Both successfully account for Dongshi Hakka, Tianjin, and Yaoping. OSP wins in Changting (Chen 2003, Chen et al. 2004) and fast speeches in Xuzhou and Standard Mandarin. Different form the above-mentioned cases, Tianjin fast speech demonstrates a dual nature in regard to both constraints. Furthermore, DC receives non-Sinitic support from Hakha Lai; segmental derivation of fanqie languages reveals an OSP counterpart. How these two constraints behave in African tone languages awaits further study.