Linguistics & Language · Phonetics & Phonology
A topic within Phonetics & Phonology, itself one of 9 topics in that field and part of Linguistics & Language.
2 works
William R. Leben
Argues tone must be represented on its own autonomous tier separate from vowels and consonants, because tones can spread, shift and survive the deletion of the segment that first carried them.
John A. Goldsmith
Splits phonological representation into independent tiers, segments and tone among them, so a tone can survive the deletion of the syllable it was first attached to — something a linear rule system could not explain.
link checked 17 Sept 2026