3. A Corpus-Based Analysis
3.4 Tone Loans with Different Frequencies of Use
3.4 Tone Loans with Different Frequencies of Use
This section centers on the different tone loans of each English word. When an English word is adapted into more than one tone loan, these different tone loans are used with varying frequencies of use. That is, some are used more often, while others are less often. This implies that some tone loans are more preferred than the others.
This section investigates the relationship between tonal differences and their different frequencies of use.
The criterion used to determine the frequency of use is based on searches performed by using Google search engine. Namely, we record the number of webpages that contain items that conform to our search requirements. In order to understand the frequency of use of each tone loan in Taiwan, the search engine was set to find webpages in Taiwan. At the same time, two kinds of webpages were excluded: (i) webpages that present only part of the item we require and (ii) the webpages that show each of the Chinese characters of the required item in separated phrases. Consequently, we set the search engine to find the webpages that include the complete phrase of the target item. The frequency of use of each tone loan was searched and recorded in February, 2010.
The following account focuses on tone loans adapted from disyllabic and trisyllabic English words. As for loanwords from monosyllabic English words, most
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of them remain monosyllabic in loan forms. Thus, it is difficult to distinguish ‘the frequencies of use of loanwords’ from ‘the frequencies of use of non-loanwords’ via the search engine. Consequently, the tone loans from the monosyllabic English words are not discussed here.
In relation to the method of calculation, for instance, among the different tone loans of a particular English word, we refer to one token of the H-tone if the
frequency of use of the H-tone is higher than those of the other three tones. We adopt the same method to calculate the MH-tone, the HL-tone, and the L-tone. The results are shown below. The symbol ‘>’ stands for ‘has higher frequency of use than’.
(16) Tones corresponding to the English stressed syllables (i) Adapted from disyllabic English words
H > MH > HL > L
Number: 35 28 23 13
(ii) Adapted from trisyllabic English words
H > HL > MH > L
Number: 17 11 12 9
The results shown in (16) can be concluded in (17).
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(17) Tonal preference relation of English stressed syllables H > {HL, MH} > L
As shown in (17), the loanwords whose corresponding stressed syllables are assigned the H-tone are more frequently used if compared with those whose corresponding stressed syllables are adapted with the other three tones. Moreover, loanwords whose corresponding stressed syllables are assigned the HL-tone or MH-tone are more frequently used than those whose corresponding stressed syllables are adapted with the L-tone. We refer to the relationship of the four Mandarin tones in loanwords as a tonal preference relation. Namely, with regard to the English stressed syllables, the H-tone is more preferred than the MH-tone and the HL-tone, which in turn are more preferred than the L-tone. In sum, among the different tone loans of each English word, a tone loan is more frequently used when compared with the other ones whose corresponding stressed syllables are adapted with the less preferred tones. The examples are given in (18).
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(18) Tones coreesponding to the English stressed syllables: H > HL
LW1 Frequency
The tonal preference relation shown in (17) is not found with regard to the English unstressed syllables. In addition, any tendency of the tonal adaptation of the English unstressed syllables is not found, either. Therefore, the English unstressed syllables are not discussed here.
3.5 Distinction between Stressed and Unstressed Syllables
This section examines the relative relation of the tones corresponding to the English stressed and unstressed syllables. The finding suggests that, in a tone loan, the left-edge pitch of the tone corresponding to the English unstressed syllable is usually not higher than that of the tone corresponding to the English stressed syllable. That is, the left-edge pitch of the tone corresponding to the English stressed syllable is usually
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not lower than that of the tone corresponding to the English unstressed syllable in a tone loan. In this study, it is termed as ‘left-edge tonal correspondence’. The statistical results in relation to the left-edge tonal correspondence are shown below. The symbol
‘σÂ’ indicates a syllable with a primary stress; the symbol ‘σ’ indicates an unstressed syllable.
First, we take a look at the statistical result of the tone loans adapted from disyllabic English words.
Table 3.11: Left-edge Tonal Correspondence in the Disyllabic EWs
Pattern
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As shown in Table 3.11, 344 of the 445 tone loans present left-edge tonal correspondence, accounting for 71.19 % of the data. 125 of them do not exhibit left-edge tonal correspondence, accounting for 28.09 % of the data. There are totally 16 kinds of possible tonal patterns regardless of the two possible positions of English stress. 12 of them show left-edge tonal correspondence, while four of them do not.
The probability of left-edge tonal correspondence is 68.75%, and the probability of cases not showing left-edge tonal correspondence is 31.25%. Consequently, the statistical result of the present corpus shows that the rate of left-edge tonal correspondence is 3.16% higher than the probability.
Therefore, we postulate that left-edge tonal correspondence is an adaptation strategy that Mandarin speakers usually adopt to reflect the perceptual distinction between the stressed and unstressed syllables in disyllabic English words. The examples are given in (19).
(19) Loanwords from disyllabic EWs exhibiting left-edge tonal correspondence (i) Hamlit /hQÂmlIt/ (BYRB-D-181)
a. ‘哈姆雷特’ /xa.mu.lei.tHF/ H.L.MH.HL b. ‘漢姆雷特’ /xan.mu.lai.tHF/ HL.L.MH.HL
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(ii) Cupid /kHÂuÂpId/ (BYRB-D-153)
(iii) cocaine /kokHeÂn/ (BYRB-D-146)
As shown in (19i) and (19ii), English stress is located in the first syllable. In (19iii), it is the second syllable where English stress is located. Regardless of the different positions of English stress, left-edge tonal correspondence is found in the Mandarin loanwords.
Second, we look at the tone loans adapted from triisyllabic English words.
Similar tonal pattern is found. In a tone loan, the left-edge pitch of the tone
corresponding to the English stressed syllable is usually not lower than that of a tone corresponding to the ‘nearest or neighboring’ unstressed syllable. Namely, if the first syllable is stressed in an English word, the left-edge pitch of the tone corresponding to the first English syllable is frequently not lower than that of the tone corresponding to the second English syllable. If English stress is located in the second syllable, the left-edge pitch of the tone corresponding to the second English syllable is generally not lower than those of the tones corresponding to the first and the third English
a. ‘邱比特’ /t˛jou.pi.tFH/ H.L.HL b. ‘邱必特’ /t˛jou.pi.tFH / H.HL.HL c. ‘邱匹特’ /t˛jou.pHi.tFH / H.H.HL
a. 古柯(鹼) /ku.kHF/ L.H
b. 高根 /kau.k´n/ H.H
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syllables. The statistical result is shown in Table 3.12.
Table 3.12: Left-edged Tonal Correspondence in the Trisyllabic EWs
Pattern
From the table above, we can see that 137.5 of the 188 tone loans accord with the left-edge tonal correspondence, accounting for 73.14% of the data. However, 50.5 of the 188 tone loans do not show the left-edge tonal correspondence, taking up 26.86%
of the data. Compared to the probability, namely 68.75%, the present corpus shows that the rate of left-edge tonal correspondence is 4.39% higher.
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(20) Loanwords from trisyllabic EWs exhibiting left-edged tonal correspondence (i) Oedipus (Complex) /EÂd´p´s/ (BYRB-T-095)
(ii) martini /mArtiÂnI/ (BYRB-T-023)
(iii) violin /vaI´lIÂn/ (BYRB-T-033)
As exemplified in (20), English stress is respectively situated in the first, the second, and the third syllable in (i), (ii), and (iii). In (20ii-b), the left-edge pitch of the corresponding stressed syllable 蒂 /ti/ (HL) is H, while the left-edge pitches of the two neighboring tones are L and M respectively. Since H is not lower than L and H, 馬蒂尼 /ma.ti.ni/ (L.HL.MH) presents the left-edge tonal correspondence.
To use Kenstowicz’s (2004) terms, syllables caused by epenthesis are called
epenthetic syllables, while syllables do not undergo epenthesis are organic syllables.
a. 伊底帕斯(情節) /i.ti.pHa.sˆ/ H.L.HL.H
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When English stress is located in the first or the last syllable in an English word, the left-edge pitch of its corresponding tone is not lower than that of the nearest or neighboring organic syllable. When the stress is located in the middle syllable, the left-edge pitch of its corresponding tone is not lower than that of the two organic syllables beside it.
3.6 Summary
In this chapter, we have examined the tonal adaptation of English-to-Mandarin loanwords from four perspectives. The four perspectives are respectively the
distribution of the four Mandarin tones in relation to English stressed and unstressed syllables, the interaction between the voicing feature and tone, the tone loans with different frequencies of use, and the distinction between the tones corresponding to the English stressed and unstressed syllables. First, the observation of the tonal distribution reveals that the H-tone is most preferred by English stress because it shows the most faithful mapping from the pitch accent H of English stressed syllables.
Besides, the L-tone is the least preferred since it shows the least faithful mapping from the pitch accent H. Second, as for the voicing feature of the onsets in the English stressed syllable, the effect of voice enhancement is observed to interact with the preference for the H-tone. Moreover, voice enhancement occurs on the left edge of the
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corresponding tones. Namely, an English stressed syllable with a voiced onset prefers a tone that is initially low-registered, i.e. the MH-tone, in the loanwords, while an English stressed syllable with a voiceless onset favors a tone that is initially
high-registered, i.e. the HL-tone. Third, the inspection of the tone loans with different frequencies of use suggests a tonal preference relation of the English stressed
syllables. That is, the tone loans with the H-tone in the corresponding stressed syllables are more preferred and used more often than those whose corresponding stressed syllables are adapted with the MH-tone or the HL-tone, which in turn are more preferred and used more often than those whose corresponding stressed
syllables are adapted with the L-tone. Finally, the perceptual distinction between the stressed and unstressed syllables in the borrowed English words is retained on the left edge of the corresponding tones in their loanwords. The left-edge pitch of the tone corresponding to the English stressed syllable is usually not lower than that of the tone corresponding to the English unstressed syllable in a tone loan.
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CHAPTER 4
AN OPTIMALITY THEORY ANALYSIS OF STRESS-TO-TONE INTERACTIONS IN MANDARRIN LOANWORDS
4.1 Introduction
From the perspective of Optimality Theory, a stress-to-tone relationship in loanwords is viewed as an input-to-output correspondence (Silverman 1992, Leben, 1996, Kenstowicz 2004, Wu C. 2006, Wu C. 2007, Wu H. 2006).
We have seen several patterns of the tonal adaptation in Mandarin loanwords adapted from English earlier. In this chapter, I account for the patterns observed in Chapter 3 by establishing a grammar of stress-to-tone Mandarin loanwords through the hierarchical constraints. The analysis in this chapter is divided into three parts.
The first focuses on the interaction between the Mandarin tones and the onsets of the English stressed syllables. The second focuses on the tonal preference relation of the English stressed syllables. The third centers on the tonal distinction between the corresponding stressed and unstressed syllables in Mandarin loanwords.
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4.2. Voice Enhancement
Stress and tone are respectively two important features of stress languages, such as English, and tone languages, such as Mandarin Chinese. The observations of the relationship between English stress and its corresponding tone have revealed that the pitch accent H in English stressed syllables is retained when they are adapted into Mandarin loanwords. Since the L-tone accounts for only a minority of occurrences of the corresponding stressed syllables in the present corpus, we refer to them as
exceptions, and will not discuss the cases of this kind further.
The investigations into the tonal adaptation of the corresponding stressed syllables are seperated into two conditions. The first condition is that the H-tone, the MH-tone, and the HL-tone are all available for the tonal adaptation. The second condition is that only the MH-tone and the HL-tone are available. For readability, the correspondents of English stresse are presented in bold face, and the epenthetic syllables in the loanwords are underlined.
4.2.1 Voiced Onsets
In this section, we analyze the tones that correspond to the English stressed syllables with voiced onsets. The observations in Chapter 3 suggest that the pitch peak
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of English stressed syllables is usually preserved by the H-tone, the MH-tone, or the HL-tone. The H-tone is [+H] on left and right sides. The MH-tone and the HL-tone are [+H] on the right and left sides respectively. The L-tone is least likely to be
associated with the corresponding stressed syllables because neither of its two sides is [+H]. From the perspective of Optimality Theory, the realization of the pitch accent H of the English stressed syllables in loanwords is confined by the two anchoring
constraints in (1) and (2).
(1) ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ): The H of the source is anchored to the left edge of the corresponding syllable in the loan.
(2) ANCHOR-R(H, σÂ): The H of the source is anchored to the right edge of the corresponding syllable in the loan.
With these two constraints, we can avoid the selection of the L-tone.
The examination begins with the first condition. It is found that not all of the three tones are selected. The H-tone and the MH-tone are chosen alternatively. From a statistical point of view, the H-tone accounts for 60.34% of the data while the
MH-tone for 39.66%. According to voice enhancement (Hsieh and Kenstowicz 2006,
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Kim 2006), a voiced onset has a lowering effect on the tone of the following vowel.
Since the left-edge tone of the MH-tone is low-registered, as discussed in 3.3.1, selection of the MH-tone in loanwords becomes legalized by the constraint indicated in (3).
(3) *[+voiced]/[+H]-: Assign one violation mark to an initially high-registered tone if the onset of the stressed source syllable is [+voiced].
Under the framework of Optimality Theory, these two types of tonal adaptations, namely, the H-tone and the MH-tone, may be accounted for via re-ranking
*[+voiced]/[+H]- with ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ) and ANCHOR-R(H, σÂ), as is illustrated below.
First, we take a look at the loanwords in which the English stressed syllables are adapted as the H-tone. Take valve /vQÂlv/ for example. In the input, the onset is [+voiced]. It has two tone loans, namely, 伐 /fa/ (H) and 閥 /fa/ (MH). We discuss 伐 /fa/ (H) first, and will discuss 閥 /fa/ (MH) later. The analysis of the tonal adaptation of 伐 /fa/ (H) is given in (4), where the constraints ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ), ANCHOR-R(H, σÂ), and *[+voiced]/[+H]- are introduced to evaluate the four Mandarin tones. To obtain this output, ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ) and ANCHOR-R(H, σÂ) must outrank
*[+voiced]/[+H]-.
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In tableau (4), candidate (b) has serious violation of ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ) because the pitch accent H in the English stressed syllable is not anchored to the left edge of the corresponding tone in the loanword. As a result, it is ruled out. Candidate (d) has serious violation of ANCHOR-R(H, σÂ) because the pitch accent H is not anchored to the right edge of the corresponding tone. In consequence, it is removed. Candidate (c) is worse than candidate (b) and (d) because the pitch accent H is neither anchored to the left edge nor anchored to the right edge. Thus, it is ruled out as well. Candidate (c) violates *[+voiced]/[+H]- because it is an initially high-registered tone. It is correctly selected as the optimal candidate, as *[+voiced]/[+H]- ranks lower than the other two constraints, ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ) and ANCHOR-R(H, σÂ). Therefore, valve /vQÂlv/ is alternatively adapted as 伐/fa/(H).
Moreover, the selection of the H-tone in correspondence to the stressed syllables of the disyllabic and trisyllabic English words can be predicted by the same ranking,
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such as 披頭四 /pHi.tHou.sˆ/ (H.MH.HL) adapted from Beatles /biÂÂtl6z/, 威化 (餅乾) /wei.xwa/ (H.HL) adapted from waffle /wAÂfl6/, and 巴波亞 /pa.pwo.ja/ (H.H.HL) adapted from Balboa /bAlbo´/. For more examples, please see (9i) and (11i) in Chapter 3.
Now we look at the loanwords where the MH-tone is selected for the
corresponding stressed syllables. Take the same input valve /vQÂlv/ for instance. The other output of it is 閥/fa/ (MH). In the input, the onset is [+voiced]. Its corresponding tone in the output is an MH-tone. To obtain the correct output, re-ranking of
*[+voiced]/[+H]- and the two anchoring constraints is necessary. That is,
*[+voiced]/[+H]- must dominate the two anchoring constraints, ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ) and ANCHOR-R(H, σÂ). See the following tableau.
(5) GYRB-M-007
/vQÂlv/ *[+voiced]/[+H]- ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ) ANCHOR-R(H, σÂ) a H *!
" b MH *
c. L * *!
d. HL *! *
In tableau (5), *[+voiced]/[+H]- is ranked higher than ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ) and
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ANCHOR-R(H, σÂ). Candidates (a) and (d) are initially high-registered tones, so they are ruled out, owing to the fatal violation to *[+voiced]/[+H]-. Candidates (b) and (c) are competitive candidates since they both obey *[+voiced]/[+H]- and violate
ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ). However, candidate (c) has one more violation than candidate (b), as it violates both ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ) and ANCHOR-R(H, σÂ). Therefore, it is ruled out.
Despite a violation of ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ), candidate (b) is correctly selected as the best candidate. As a result, valve /vQÂlv/ is alternatively adapted as 閥/fa/ (MH).
In addition, this ranking also predicts the selection of the MH-tone in
correspondence to the stressed syllables in disyllabic and trisyllabic English words, such as 迪士尼/ti.߈.ni/ (MH.HL.MH) adapted from Disney /dIÂznI/,and 維他命 /wei.ta.miN/ (MH.H.HL) adapted from vitamin /vaÂIt´mIn6/. For more relevant examples, please see (9ii) and (11ii).
From tableaux (4) and (5), we can see that the ranking relation between
*[+voiced]/[+H]- and the two anchoring constraints is crucial in selection of the two alternative tonal tones.
Furthermore, each of the syllables in the English words is adapted with one of the four Mandarin Chinese tones. Theoretically speaking, this phenomenon occurs under the requirement of assigning a tone to each of the corresponding syllables in the loanwords. According to Yip (1989), a tone-bearing unit in Mandarin Chinese is a
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syllable. Therefore, we propose an undominated constraint as (6).
(6) *TONELESS: Assign one violation mark to syllables without a tone.
I use the symbol ‘ ’ to refer to a toneless syllable. Consider tableau (7), where ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ) and ANCHOR-R(H, σÂ) outrank *[+voiced]/[+H]-, and tableau (8), where *[+voiced]/[+H]- dominates ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ) and ANCHOR-R(H, σÂ).
(7) GYRB-M-007
/vQÂlv/ *TONELESS ANCHOR-L (H, σÂ)
ANCHOR-R
(H, σÂ) *[+voiced]/[+H]-
" a. H *
b. MH *!
c. L *! *
d. HL *! *
e. *!
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(8) GYRB-M-007
/vQÂlv/ *TONELESS *[+voiced]/[+H]- ANCHOR-L (H, σÂ)
ANCHOR-R (H, σÂ)
a. H *!
" b. MH *
c. L * *!
d. HL *! *
e. *!
Candidate (e) in tableaux (7) and (8) is ill-formed because it violates *TONELESS, which is ranked high. As a result, it is removed. The competition among the four candidates from (a) to (d) in tableaux (7) and (8) can be seen in tableaux (4) and (5) respectively.
Alternative tonal outputs, namely, the H-tone and the MH-tone, can be obtained via constraint re-ranking, which is permitted by the cophonology model, as given in (9).
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(9) Grammar lattice of tonal adaptation in stress-to-tone Mandarin loanwords (preliminary)
Master Ranking
*TONELESS >>
Cophonology A Cophonology B
TONELESS >> TONELESS >> *[+voiced]/[+H]- >>
On the one hand, cophonology A selects the H-tone. On the other hand, the MH-tone is chosen under the evaluation of cophonology B. Cophonology A predicts the tonal adaptation that presents the most faithful stress-to-tone correspondence.
Cophonology B selects the tonal adaptation which results from the interaction between Mandarin tones and English onsets.
As Table 4.1 shows below, 35 out of the 58 English stressed syllables with voiced onsets are adapted with the H-tone, which can be chosen as the optimal output under cophonology A. 23 of them are associated with the MH-tone, which can be chosen under cophonology B. In sum, all of the 58 syllables can be predicted by cophonologies A and B, with a 100.00% accuracy rate.
ANCHOR-L(H, σÂ), ANCHOR-R(H, σÂ), *[+voiced]/[+H]-
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Table 4.1: Tones in Correspondence to English Stressed Syllables with [+voiced]
Table 4.1: Tones in Correspondence to English Stressed Syllables with [+voiced]