All Depressors are Not Alike: A Comparison of Shanghai Chinese and Zulu

Abstract

Shanghai Chinese and Nguni Bantu languages (including Zulu) are both tone languages, and both have a set of phonetically voiceless consonants which have a pitch lowering effect on the tone of a following vowel. In a recent paper, Jessen and Roux (2002) propose that depressor consonants in these two languages can be characterized by the same [slack voice] feature, implemented in a parallel fashion in the two languages, and with f0 lowering compensating in both languages for absence of phonetic voicing. This paper investigates their claims in some detail by comparing production studies of the effect of depressors on tone in Shanghai Chinese and in Zulu and by comparing the tone systems of the two languages. The production studies show that the phonetic implementation of the depressor effect is, in fact, quite different in the two languages. There is also no basis for claiming that f0 lowering compensates for lack of voicing. The comparison of the tone systems shows that the differences in phonetic implementation of the depressor effect follows from differences in their tonal phonologies. In the spirit of Kingston and Diehl (1994), [slack voice] can then be considered appropriate for both languages in spite of differences in phonetic implementation.

Appendices

Appendix 1 – Zulu data set analyzed

All of the Zulu words in this list are verbs. The stem-initial syllables (‘=’ precedes the stem) contrast for the stop type: orthographic ph, th, kh are voiceless aspirated; p, k are voiceless unaspirated; bh, d, g are voiceless depressors; b is implosive. They also contrast for tone (High vs. default Low). In the recordings, these stems are preceded either by a sequence of High toned prefixes, [bá-yá=] ‘they are X’, or Low-toned prefixes, [si-ya=] ‘we are X’, to form complete one-word utterances. The data set is labeled to match the pitch track labels in Fig. 1 and 3.

Tone context and stop type	Zulu verb	Gloss
H_Aspirated_H	bá-yá=tháánda	‘they like’
	bá-yá=pháátha	‘they are carrying (in the hand)’
	bá-yá=phááka	‘they are serving’
	bá-yá=kháála	‘they are crying’
	bá-yá=thááka	‘they are mixing medicines’
H_Unaspirated_H	bá-yá=pááka	‘they are parking’
	bá-yá=péénda	‘they are painting’
	bá-yá=po´o´ka	‘they are haunting'
H_Depressor_H	bá-yá=bháála	‘they are writing’
	bá-yá=bháánda	‘they are plastering a hut with mud’
	bá-yá=dááya	‘they are dying (cloth)’
	bá-yá=dáánsa	‘they are dancing’
H_Aspirated_L	bá-yá=phaanda	‘they are digging’
	bá-yá=khaaba	‘they are kicking’
	bá-yá=phaahla	‘they are daubing (mud)’
H_Unaspirated_L	bá-yá=kaakwa	‘they are being surrounded’
H_Depressor_L	bá-yá=gaaya	‘they are grinding’
	bá-yá=bheeka	‘they are watching’
H_Implosive_H	bá-yá=báánda	‘they are cold’
	bá-yá=báába	‘they are hot-tempered’
	bá-yá=bíízwa	‘they are being called’
H_Implosive_L	bá-yá=baala	‘they are counting’
	bá-yá=baamba	‘they are catching; holding’

Tone sequence	Zulu verb (‘=’ precedes the stem)	Gloss
L_Aspirated_H	si-ya=tháánda	‘we like’
	si-ya=pháátha	‘we are carrying (in the hand)’
	si-ya=phááka	‘we are serving’
	si-ya=kháála	‘we are crying’
	si-ya=thááka	‘we are mixing medicines’
L_Unaspirated_H	si-ya=pááka	‘we are parking’
	si-ya=péénda	‘we are painting’
	si-ya=po´o´ka	‘we are haunting'
L_Depressor_H	si-ya=bháála	‘we are writing’
	si-ya=bháánda	‘we are plastering a hut with mud’
	si-ya=dááya	‘we are dying (cloth)’
	si-ya=dáánsa	‘we are dancing’
L_Aspirated_L	si-ya=phaanda	‘we are digging’
	si-ya=khaaba	‘we are kicking’
	si-ya=phaahla	‘we are daubing (mud)’
L_Unaspirated_L	si-ya=kaakwa	‘we are being surrounded’
L_Depressor_L	si-ya=gaaya	‘we are grinding’
	si-ya=bheeka	‘we are watching’
L_Implosive_H	si-ya=báánda	‘we are cold’
	si-ya=báába	‘we are hot-tempered’
	si-ya=bíízwa	‘we are being called’
L_Implosive_L	si-ya=baala	‘we are counting’
	si-ya=baamba	‘we are catching; holding’

Appendix 2 – The Zulu consonant inventory (Schadeberg 2009)

The spelling in this table follows modern orthography. It has the familiar arrangement where columns roughly correspond to places of articulation and rows to modes or manners of articulation. Some rows are further subdivided to show corresponding prenasalized consonants.

The shaded cells contain the depressor consonants, which are here also marked by a ‘combining diaeresis below’ (Unicode 1586). This marking is not part of standard orthography.