2018/03/01 by Laura Arnold · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · Computer Science · #Maritime and Coastal Archaeology #Archaeology and Rock Art Studies #Image Processing and 3D Reconstruction
paper · doi:10.5281/zenodo.1450778
openalex publication_date 2018/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
At least three Austronesian languages spoken in the Raja Ampat archipelago have lexical tone: Maˈya, Matbat, and Ambel. The objective of this paper is to examine data from these three languages, in order to determine how tone originated and developed. Using comparative data from monosyllabic cognates, I will show that, in the case of Maˈya and Matbat, tone was inherited from a single common ancestor; but that tone developed separately in Ambel. Possible scenarios for tonogenesis in proto-Maˈya-Matbat and protoAmbel will then be explored. I will conclude that, in the absence of evidence for spontaneous, independent tonogenesis, the most likely scenario was that proto-MaˈyaMatbat developed tone through contact with a now-extinct tonal Papuan substrate. ProtoAmbel also likely developed tone through contact; however, it is at present unclear whether this contact was also with a Papuan substrate, or with tonal proto-Maˈya-Matbat or one of its descendants.