Erratum to: "F0 timing in Luganda: Effects of phrase position and tone category" [J. Phonet. 85 (2021) 101027]. (July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Myers, Scott
• Is Part Of: Journal of phonetics. Volume 87(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-07
• Subjects: 1–23 Noun class -- caus Causative -- fv Final vowel (terminal verb suffix) -- iv Initial vowel (i.e. augment) -- pl Plural -- neg Negative -- nom Nominalizer -- obj Object -- perf Perfect -- poss Possessive -- rel Relative -- sg Singular; F0 timing -- Syllable weight -- Luganda -- Contour tone -- Final lengthening -- Bantu; Phonetics -- Periodicals; Phonetics -- Periodicals; Phonétique -- Périodiques; Phonetics; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 414.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wocn.2021.101079
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0095-4470

Abstract

Highlights: In Luganda, a contrast between falling and high tone has been described. Falling tone is said to occur in long syllables, and in word-final short ones. The effects of tone and phrase position on f0 timing in Luganda were investigated. Falling tone has an earlier f0 peak than high tone, attained by a faster f0 rise. The f0 peak is earlier, the closer the high tone is to the end of the phrase. Abstract: In Luganda (Bantu, Uganda), there is a contrast between high and falling tone, differing in the timing of the f0 peak relative to the consonant and vowel intervals of the associated syllable. According to the extensive transcription-based literature on the language, this contrast is limited to "long" syllables (those with a long vowel or coda), and to short word-final syllables. In this study, these claims are tested in two production studies. As in other languages, the timing of f0 peaks was found to be sensitive to the duration of the onset-vowel interval in the high-toned syllable, with longer onset-vowel duration associated with a later f0 peak. The high tones were found to have a significantly greater peak delay than falling tone, but only in long syllables with a long vowel or diphthong. High tones had an earlier f0 peak in phrase-final words than in nonfinal words, but word position had no effect. The results suggest that the phenomenon that previous studies have described in terms of the distribution of falling tones is better seen as a phonetic effect of phrasal position on f0 peak timing, as has been observed in languages such as English, Spanish, and Serbian.