Permalink :  http://hdl.handle.net/2115/80940

KEYWORDS : 満洲語; 強勢; ピッチ

The stressed syllable in the modern dialects of Manchu can be divided into two types: the one beginning with a high pitch and the one beginning with a low pitch. The position of the stress of the first type may be different in different dialects, and it can distinguish words in Sanjiazi and Sibe. The emergence of the stress of the second type is presumably caused by the shift of stress, which makes the unstressed syllable with a low pitch acquire stress without changing its relatively low pitch. The shift of stress can be divided into two types: the one which is caused by the consonantization of a syllable and the one which is not. The shift of stress may also cause the emergence of a phenomenon very similar to tone. For example, [tʲʰamː˩˥(˧)] “to light” and [tʲʰam˥(˧)] “to be lit” have the same consonants and vowel, whereas the pitches of them are different. [tʲʰamː˩˥(˧)], however, has another possible pronunciation [tʲʰa˩.ˈvɨm˥(˧)]. And there are only a small number of examples of this tone-like phenomenon, which means that they do not form a system. Thus, this phenomenon cannot be called tone.

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