Comparative Phonology of Ivoirian Languages

本项目的核心是对科特迪瓦一些克瓦语的音调和相关韵律现象进行集中、深入的比较研究，以鲍勒语为研究中心。在过去一年对鲍勒语的共同研究中，研究人员发现了两种韵律成分的新证据，这两种韵律成分已经在文献中受到了广泛关注，即韵律词和音系短语。几个音调难题是通过设定韵律域来解决的，这些韵律域是根据语言中的各种其他事实独立证明的。由此产生的框架提供了比其他常用设备更好的动机分析。项目主管期望项目的影响将扩展到以下领域：韵律音韵学对八种相关语言的全面覆盖有望提供清晰的、基于经验的韵律领域定义。由于这些数据将以一种很好的协调方式从八种语言的几十种方言中收集而来，因此对比较学家来说很有帮助。该项目旨在展示跨方言和跨语言研究对共时分析的好处。声调系统的类型学所研究的语言是全声调语言，具有2 - 4个音韵声调和复杂的声调规则。它们可能会进一步阐明之前在西非语言研究中提出的音调理论中的各种问题。该项目的一个重要组成部分是培训语言学家用其母语和相关方言和语言进行研究。该项目将通过编写一套可用于与扫盲和文学有关的工作的材料，帮助确保所要研究的语言继续存在下去。

The core of the present project is a focused, in-depth comparative study of tone and associated prosodic phenomena in a number of Kwa languages of Ivory Coast, with Baule at the center of the investigation. In joint work on Baule over the past year, the investigators have uncovered new evidence for two prosodic constituents that have already received much attention in the literature, the prosodic word and the phonological phrase. Several tonal puzzles were solved by positing prosodic domains that were independently justified on the basis of a variety of other facts in the language. The resulting framework provides a much better motivated analysis than other devices that are commonly used. The project directors expect that the effects of the project will extend to the following areas: Prosodic Phonology The comprehensive coverage of eight related languages promises to provide clear, empirically motivated definitions of the prosodic domains. Comparative Kwa The data, because they will be gathered in a well coordinated fashion from several dozen dialects of the eight languages to be studied, promise to be of great use to comparativists. Methodology The project is expected to demonstrate the benefits of cross-dialect and cross-language study for synchronic analysis. Typology of tonal systems The languages to be studied are full tone languages, with between two and four phonological tones and complex tonal rules. They are likely to shed further light on a variety of questions in the theory of tone that previous investigations in West African languages have asked. Training of graduate students A key component of the project is the training of linguists to carry out research in their native language and related dialects and languages. Documentation of Ivoirian languages The project will help to assure the continued survival of the languages to be studied by creating a body of material that can be drawn on in literacy-related and literary-related work.