The Syllabic Tone Law (conjectured): Non-level tones (chromatic accents) on short vowels — or more generally on syllables of less than two voiced moric speech sounds — are dispreferred in tone (or pitch accent) languages.
Standardized
The Syllabic Tone Law (conjectured): IF there are non-level tones on syllables of less than two voiced moric speech sounds, THEN there will also be non-level tones on syllables of two or more voiced moric speech sounds.
Keywords
tone, level, accent, pitch accent, mora, short vowel
Domain
prosodic phonology
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical
Basis
languages mentioned in Vennemann 1988, with special reference to German, Germanic, Italian, and Latin
Vennemann’s PREFERENCE LAWS (1988: 2-3):Diachronic Maxim:Linguistic change on a given parameter does not affect a language structure as long as there exist structures in the language system that are less preferred in terms of the relevant preference law.Synchronic Maxim:A language system will in general not contain a structure on a given parameter without containing those structures constructible with the means of the system that are more preferred in terms of the relevant preference law.
Vennemann’s PREFERENCE LAWS (1988: 2-3):Diachronic Maxim:Linguistic change on a given parameter does not affect a language structure as long as there exist structures in the language system that are less preferred in terms of the relevant preference law.Synchronic Maxim:A language system will in general not contain a structure on a given parameter without containing those structures constructible with the means of the system that are more preferred in terms of the relevant preference law.