Appendix:Tone in Kra-Dai languages
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Tone in Kra-Dai languages can be traced to various historical categories.
Background[edit]
Proto-Tai tones take on various tone values and contours in modern Tai languages. These tonal splits are determined by the following conditions:
- "Friction sounds": Aspirated onset, voiceless fricative, voiceless sonorant
- Unaspirated onset (voiceless)
- Glottalized/implosive onset (voiceless)
- Voiced onset (voiceless)
In addition, William J. Gedney developed a "tone-box" method to help determine historical tonal splits and mergers in modern Tai languages. There is a total of 20 possible slots in what is known as a "Gedney Box." (For a tutorial on Gedney boxes, see "A checklist for determining tones in Tai dialects" (1989) by William Gedney).
| *A | *B | *C | *DS | *DL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voiceless (friction) |
A1 | B1 | C1 | DS1 | DL1 |
| Voiceless (unaspirated) |
A1 | B1 | C1 | DS1 | DL1 |
| Voiceless (glottalized) |
A1 | B1 | C1 | DS1 | DL1 |
| Voiced | A2 | B2 | C2 | DS2 | DL2 |