1887
Volume 42 Number 3
  • ISSN 0176-4225
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9714
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Abstract

While tone is widely encountered among Amazonian languages, Amazonia has generally been underrepresented in wider studies of tone and tonal diachrony. This paper offers a case study of tonogenesis within the small Naduhup language family of western Amazonia. We propose that Naduhup tonogenesis was grounded in a prior contrast involving vowel length and was linked to coda voicing. Contact with neighboring languages in which tone was already present was also a likely catalyst. In addition to contributing to our understanding of tonogenesis in a part of the world where these processes are not well known, the Naduhup case provides an illustration of how vowel length, coda voicing, and intonation may all play a role in the emergence of tone.

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2025-07-11
2026-05-11
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Amazonia; coda voicing; glottalic features; language contact; Naduhup; tone; vowel length
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