How word stress is realized in Thai

Evidence from the ordering of coordinate compounds

Datos Bibliográficos

ID20344443
AutoresNoppakao Sirintranon (Kasetsart University , Bangkok , Thailand), Feng-Fan Hsieh (0000-0002-5185-1804, 34881 National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu , Taiwan, autor de correspondencia)
Año2024
Volumen41
Número2
Páginas225-246
Fecha de publicación2024-06-25
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Linguistic Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0167-6318 • E-ISSN: 1613-3676
EditorialWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/tlr-2024-2008
OpenAlexW4394821909
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas27

This study challenges the widespread belief that Thai lacks word stress, demonstrating its pivotal role in morphophonology. Through a Maximum Entropy analysis, we investigated how specific segmental properties statistically influence speakers’ choices of word order in coordinate compounds. Results indicate a significant effect of phonological weight on the ordering patterns. Specifically, the dispreference for stop codas in final positions and the preference for long or low vowels word-finally converge to differentially distribute phonological weight, ensuring that final syllables are heavier in accordance with the Stress-to-Weight Principle. Additionally, a marginal affinity is observed between the final syllable and the (historical) high-register tone, aligning with the well-documented tone-stress interaction where high tones gravitate towards stressed syllables. These findings provide compelling evidence for the existence of word stress in Thai: compound stress necessarily coincides with word stress, as dictated by the Continuous Column Constraint. Thus, this work suggests that relying solely on phonetic cues is insufficient for identifying stress; instead, a comprehensive analysis incorporating “phonological exponents” is essential to capture the greater phonological contrasts licensed in stressed syllables. This study also contributes to a deeper understanding of metrical and prosodic prominence, revealing that word stress can sometimes be masked by higher-level prominence

Cognitive psychology · Linguistics · Optimality theory · Phonology · Speech recognition · Syllable · Computer Science · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Mathematics · Neuroscience and Music Perception · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Psychology