A Tonal Analysis of Gurung, with Separate Systems for Register and Contour Pitch Features

Sprigg, R. K.

Abstract

An earlier analysis of Gurung, by Burton-Page in BSOAS, 17/1, 1955, put forward a single system, of two terms, for the word unit in the dialect spoken in Ghandrung: tones 1 and 2; the present analysis of the Gurung of a speaker from the centre of the Gurung area differs from Burton-Page's in that it distinguishes two tone systems: a two-term system (tones 1 and 2) for a difference in pitch register and a further two-term system (tones A and B) for a difference in pitch contour. Support for separating register-pitch and contour-pitch differences comes from three associated features, aspiration, phonation and voice: they apply to the register distinction but not to the contour distinction. Further support comes from comparing this tonal analysis with an identical analysis of a closely related language, Tamang, and also with the two-term system put forward for the word in Tibetan.

Citation

Sprigg, R. K. (1997). A Tonal Analysis of Gurung, with Separate Systems for Register and Contour Pitch Features. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 60(3), 448-454. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X00032493

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 1997
• Deposit Date: Oct 15, 2012
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 21, 2023
• Journal: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
• Print ISSN: 0041-977X
• Electronic ISSN: 1474-0699
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 60
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 448-454
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X00032493
• Publisher URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/619538