CAO LAN TONES
Phan Luong Hung
(Institute of Linguistics of Vietnam)
Abstract
Cao Lan is a tonal language spoken in the North of Vietnam. Up till now, the Cao Lan language
has not been adequately studied as a mixture language of Northern Tai and Central Tai. The position of
Cao Lan in Tai languages is still a controversy among scholars.
This paper provides a diachronic sight on the tonal system of Cao Lan language. Basically, we
rely on impressive descriptions. However, we also use Speech Analyzer software to get Fo developments
of Cao Lan tones. The voice quality of tones is also discussed as their role in the phonemic tonal system
of Cao Lan language. Six tones in Cao Lan are not only contrastive to each other by pitch but also voice
quality.
This study is just a first step into a systematic investigation of Cao Lan in order to provide
knowledge to this less known language as well as step forward to point out position of Cao Lan language
in Tai languages.
CAO LAN TONES
Phan Luong Hung
(Institute of Linguistics of Vietnam)
Tone languages are languages in which pitch is used to differentiate words with
different meanings. In other words, pitch has a phonemic function (Ball & Rahilly,
1999; Yip 2002). A change of pitch in a syllable will change the meaning of the
word. For example, in Thai which is a tone language, [ma꜔] with a mid level pitch
means ‘to come’ but [ma˦˥] with a high pitch means ‘horse’. Moreover, in some
languages, tones are also used to mark grammatical meaning or to inflect words.
The Cao Lan language is a tone language spoken by people officially classified as
part of the San Chay ethnic group of Vietnam. This language is regarded as a
mixture between Northern Tai and Central Tai (Gregerson and Edmondson,1998)
1
and the position of Cao Lan language within Tai languages is still a controversy
among scholars. According to a national census in 1999, the Cao Lan population,
mainly inhabiting Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen and Bac Giang provinces, made up
about 63% of San Chay’s 147,315 total population. This paper reports on the tones
of Cao Lan studied in my fieldwork conducted in Bac Giang Province. It offers a
brief description of the tones based on a preliminary acoustic analysis of their pitch
levels and contours. It shows that Cao Lan has 6 phonemic tones, which are
distinguished from each other in terms of pitch height and voice quality.
I would like to express my special thanks to Dr Pittayawat Pittayaporn, Ms
Karnthida Kerdpol and an anonymous reviewer for their insightful comments and
valuable suggestions. I also indebted to all my informants in Bac Giang province
for their valuable contribution to this writing: Ninh Van Khai, Ninh Van Đo,
Hoang Van Canh.
1. Previous studies on Cao Lan tones
Up to present, studies on the Cao Lan language are rare, especially those
offering synchronic structural description. “Some puzzles in Cao Lan” by
Gregerson and Edmondson (1998) is the first study to describe Cao Lan language
both synchronically and diachronically. Gregerson and Edmondson’s study based
on Cao Lan in Yen Son district of Tuyen Quang province proposes five tones as
follows:
A
B
C
DL
42
35
45
1
2
2
DS
3
4
31
34
Figure 1: Tones in the Tuyen Quang dialect of Cao Lan arranged in Gedney’s
tone box (Gedney 1972)
According to Gregerson and Edmondson, Cao Lan only has five tones. Three
tones with acoustic realizations of [31], [42] and [35] are found in live syllables or
syllables not ending in obstruents. Two more tones with acoustic realizations of
[45] and [34] are found in dead syllables or syllables ending in obstruents. Only
five tones are posited because they regard voice quality as a feature of vowels
instead of a tonal feature. Consequently, this reduced the number of tones but
increased number of vowels in the phonological inventory of this language.
However, in this study, voice quality is considered part of tones. Furthermore,
tones are described regardless of syllable types since it is not necessary to
distinguish live and dead syllables in synchronic phonological description. This
analysis offers a simple phonological inventory of Cao Lan language.
2. Tonal inventory of Cao Lan in Bac Giang
In this language, six tones are phonologically distinguished from each other by
pitch height and voice quality. Tones are marked in accordance with ‘Chao tone
letters’ system (Chao, 1930). Chao tone letters are numbers representing five pitch
levels. While [1] is the lowest level, [5] is the highest. Each syllable can be marked
with zero to three digits. Zero represents a syllable with no phonological tone. One
digit is used when a syllable is short in length. Two digits are mostly used with the
first number representing the starting pitch level and the second number
representing the ending pitch level. Three digits are employed for tones which have
3
directional change in the middle of the syllable (Yip, 2002). The following
contrastive sets illustrate the six tones transcribed in this system of notation.
tones
1
[na44]
‘thick’
[lɤj44]
‘(water) flow’
2
[na32]
‘rice field’
[lɤj32]
‘mite’
3
[na35]
‘face’
[lɤj35]
‘stream’
4
[sa32Ɂ]
‘wipe’
[ɬɤj32Ɂ]
‘four’
5
[na32̤]
‘aunt’
[lɤj32̤ ]
‘slash and burnt field’
6
[ma34̰3]
‘horse’
[nɤ̆j34̰3]
‘few’
(Contrastive sets of six tones in Cao Lan language)
With respect to their distribution, these six tones co-occur with phonemic
vowel length contrasts. For example:
Tones
1
[law44]
‘fear’
[lăw44]
‘head’
2
[haj35]
‘sea’
[hăj35]
‘give’
3
[ nɤj32̤]
‘longtime’
[hɤ̆n32̤]
‘night’
4
[lɤj32]
‘bird mite’
[lɤ̆j32]
‘which’
5
[tɤj32Ɂ]
‘like’
[pɤ̌w32Ɂ]
‘storm’
6
[sɤ 34̰3]
‘knife’
[nɤ̌j34̰3]
‘few’
(Six Cao Lan tones in long and short vowel contrast)
4
The minimal pairs above show that each of the tones can occur in syllables with
either short or long vowels. However, their distribution is further constrained by
the syllable structure as summarized in Table 1.
Syllable
Tone
Live syllable
Dead syllable
T1 [44]
+
-
T2 [32]
+
-
T3 [35]
+
+
T4 [32Ɂ]
+
+
T5 [32̤]
+
+
T6 [34̰3]
+
-
Table 1: Distribution of tones in different syllable types
The table shows that /35/, /32Ɂ/ and /32̤/ could occur in both live and dead
syllables, while /44/, /32/ and /34̰3/ could occur only in live syllables. In other
words, all six tones are permitted on live syllables but only a subset is allowed on
dead syllables.
3. Phonetic characteristics of Cao Lan tones
Pitch heights and contours of the six tones are described below. Tones in Cao
Lan are distinguished from each other in terms of pitch and voice quality. If only
contours and pitch heights are considered, there would be four tones in Cao Lan
language, namely, /44/, /35/, /343/ and /32/. However, voice quality further
distinguishes the tones, resulting in a six-tone system. A description of the tones is
given in this section.
3.1 Pitch height and contour
5
Based on pitch heights, tones are divided into two series which are high series
consisting of /44/, /35/, /34̰3/ and low series consisting of /32/, /32Ɂ/, /32̤/. Based
on contours, tones are divided into two series which are level series consisting of
/44/ and unlevel series consisting of /35/, /32/, /32Ɂ/, /32̤/, /34̰3/. Based on the
contour directions, tones are divided into two series which are one direction series
consisting of /44/, /32̤/, /32/, /32Ɂ/, /35/ and multi direction series consisting of
/34̰3/ only.
First tone (T1), occurring only in live syllables, starts from high pitch and
remains the same throughout its duration. This tone can be described as / 44/. For
example:
na44
- ‘thick’
pa44
- ‘fish’
ma44
- ‘to come back’
kɔŋ44
- ‘drum’
ləj44
- ‘to flow’
poj44
- ‘to go’
Second tone (T2), occurring only in live syllables, starts from mid pitch and
gradually lowers. When preceded by voiceless initials, the tone has higher pitch.
This tone can be transcribed as /32/. For example:
na32
- ‘paddy field’
fa32
- ‘blanket’
luj32
- ‘to split’
kɔŋ32
- ‘to roar’
hən32
- ‘people’
ŋɯ32
- ‘snake’
Third tone (T3) starts from mid pitch and finishes with high pitch. It can occur
in both live and dead syllables and its duration is shortened in dead syllables. This
tone can be described as /35/. For example:
na35
- ‘face’
ca35
- ‘father’
lăw35
- ‘head’
pom35
- ‘blunt’
6
bɛ35
- ‘goat’
pet35
- ‘duck’
Fourth tone (T4), occurring in both live and dead syllables, starts from mid
pitch, then lowers, and ends with a glottal stop. This tone has the shortest duration
compared to the other tones. Moreover, its duration is shortened and its pitch is
lowered in dead syllables. This can be transcribed as /32Ɂ/. For example:
kon32Ɂ
- ‘firewood’
kɛ32Ɂ
- ‘old’
hɔ32Ɂ
- ‘trousers’
tɤj32Ɂ
- ‘like’
ɬɤj32Ɂ
- ‘four’
sa32Ɂ
- ‘to clean’
Fifth tone (T5), occurring in both live and dead syllables, has the same pitch
height and contour as those in the second tone. However, while the second tone has
a modal voice, the fifth tone has a breathy voice. This phenomenon will be
discussed in 3.2. Furthermore, its duration is shortened in dead syllables. It could
be marked as /32̤/. For example:
lɤj32̤
- ‘kitchen garden’
kɤ̆p32̤
- ‘stick’
ta32̤
- ‘river’
lɯt32̤
- ‘blood’
loŋ32̤
- ‘bright’
lɤ̆k32̤
- ‘root’
Sixth tone (T6), occurring only in live syllables, has the most complex contour
in the tonal system of Cao Lan language in Bac Giang. It starts a little higher than
mid pitch then gradually increases. The tone reaches its top pitch height at the
middle of its duration then lowers gradually. This could be marked as /34̰3/. For
example:
nɤ̆m34̰3
dɤ̆j34̰3
tuŋ34̰3
nuŋ34̰3
ma34̰3
liw34̰3
- ‘water’
- ‘clear’
- ‘belly’
7
- ‘younger sister’
- ‘horse’
- ‘to smile’
To confirm the auditory transcription, three native speakers of the Cao Lan
language from Deo Gia commune in Luc Ngan district of Bac Giang province,
namely, Mr. Ninh Van Khai aged 63, Ninh Van Do aged 32 and Hoang Van Canh
aged 47 are recorded. Each test word pronounced three times by each informant is
recorded into tapes and it is further analyzed, using Speech Analyzer 1.5 program
(SA). The software provides pitch heights and contours of tones in every syllable.
The results are largely consistent with auditory descriptions described earlier.
The acoustic realization of pitch is fundamental frequency. SA provides Hertz
(Hz) and semitones (st). Hertz is the exact value of the pitch while semitones
reflects relative value of the pitch. Semitones is closer to listeners’ tonal
perception. Pike (1948) shows that it is better to use semitones other than Hertz in
studying tones in tone languages. Relation of Hertz and semitones is calculated
with the following formula: Fo (st) = 39,86.log (10) F(hz)/19,35.
Frequencies of each tone are calculated at four positions of its duration:
beginning, middle 1, middle 2 and the endpoint. The values of each position are an
average of three chosen syllables (see appendix). Semitone and Hertz values of the
six tones in the Cao Lan language in Bac Giang are shown in Table 2.
Beginning
Middle 1
Middle 2
Endpoint
First tone
52.7st(172.5hz)
53.7st (182.5hz)
53.9st (184hz)
52.6st (172hz)
Second tone
50,5st (152,6hz)
50,9st (154,4hz)
50,2st (149,2hz)
49st (138,9hz)
Third tone
51,85st (164,4hz)
51,65st (163,5hz)
52,9st (174,7hz)
56st (208hz)
Fourth tone
51,7st (163,9 hz)
52,4st(169,8 hz)
52,2st (167,8hz)
50,6st (152,8hz)
Fifth tone
51,5st (161hz)
51,7st (162,8hz)
51,1 st (157hz)
49,1st(139,7 hz)
Sixth tone
52,7st (172 hz)
53,2st(176,7 hz)
53,6st (181,3hz)
52,8st (173hz)
Table 2: Semitone and Herzt values of six tones in Cao Lan Bac Giang
8
From the values in Table 2, the six tones in Cao Lan are graphically represented
in Figure 2.
Figure
Giang
Figure 2:
2: Six
Six tones
tones in
in Cao
Cao Lan
Lan Bac
Bac Giang
3.2 Voice quality of tones in Cao Lan
Tones are not only formed by pitch heights and contours. They also comprise of
certain voice qualities or phonation types. It could be modal voice, breathy voice,
creaky voice or even closed with a glottal stop. In the tonal system of Cao Lan, not
only do tones contrast with each other by pitch heights and contours but also voice
quality.
Roughly speaking, voice quality is a result of co-ordination of glottal muscles in
the process of vocal fold vibration. Differences in manners of vocal fold vibration
lead to different voice qualities. Voice qualities of tones in the the Cao Lan
language of Bac Giang have following characteristics.
Firstly, breathy voice can be heard in the fifth tone. According to articulatory
description, Ladefoged (1975) suggests two possible configurations of the glottis.
For the first one, almost the whole vocal folds are close to each other except for the
9
arytenoid cartilages which are far apart. For the second one, in contrast, the vocal
folds are somewhat far apart but not as far as those in voiceless sound. In both
cases, the vocal folds are lax and vibrate at lower frequency, allowing larger
amount of air to pass through the glottis in comparison to modal voice. This makes
pitch height clearly lower.
Secondly, glottalization can be heard at the end of the fourth tone. In the
production of glottalization, vocal folds form complete closure so the airflow is
blocked, resulting in a glottal stop (Ball & Rahilly, 1999). That is why the tone
ends abruptly and has short duration.
Thirdly, creaky voice can be heard in the sixth tone. To produce creaky voice,
the arytenoid cartilages press tightly against each other, consequently, only the
beginning or end parts of the vocal folds are able to vibrate slowly (Ball & Rahilly,
1999). This creakiness is clearer in semi-open and semi-close syllables such as:
tuŋ34̰3 (belly), mɔj34̰3 (wood) etc.
The rest of the tones have modal voice. Therefore, according to voice quality,
tones in Cao Lan can be divided into four series, namely, (1) tones with modal
voice: /35/, /44/ and /32/ (2) a tone with glottal stop: /32Ɂ/(3) a tone with breathy
voice: /32̤ / and (4) a tone with creaky voice: /34̰3/.
4. Conclusion
The tone of the Cao Lan language is an example of tone languages in which
tones contrast in multiple dimensions. Most specifically, only pitch heights and
contours are not sufficient for distinguishing tones in the Cao Lan language of Bac
Giang. Pitch heights and contours of the second and fourth tones are similar to
those of the fifth tone, and those of the first tone are similar to those of the sixth
10
tone. Therefore, both contour and voice quality are necessary criteria in
determining tones in Cao Lan.
It is also worth noting that there is a difference in analyses using acoustic means
and impressionistic transcription regarding pitch heights and contours of tones in
the Cao Lan language of Bac Giang. The first tone is perceived as a level tone but
the acoustic analysis shows that its pitch height gradually rises during the first twothird of its duration then lowers for the rest. The second tone is perceived as
lowering throughout its length, but, according to acoustic analysis, its pitch height
rises during one-third of its duration and falls during the last two-third of its
duration. The fourth tone is perceived as sharply falls throughout its length but in
fact, it rises and only sharply lowers during the last two-third of its duration. In
conclusion, this study serves an important step into a systematic investigation of
Cao Lan.
APPENDIX
PITCHES MEASURED IN CAO LAN WORDS
First tone [44]
11
End – point
Beginning
Mid-point 1
Mid-point 2
na44 (thick)
54st (185hz)
55st (196hz)
55,1st (197hz) 53,9st (184hz)
ma44 (dog)
51,9st (164hz)
53,3st (178hz)
53,2st (177hz)
51,3st (158hz)
va44 (flower) 52,6st (171hz)
53,8st (183hz)
54st (185hz)
52,5st (170hz)
ka44(crow)
52.5st (170hz)
52,8st (173hz)
53,2st (177hz)
52,9st (174hz)
Mean F0
52.7st(172.5hz) 53.7st (182.5hz) 53.9st (184hz)
52.6st (172hz)
Second tone [32]
Beginning
Mid-point 1
Mid-point 2
End – point
47,6st (127.6hz)
49,4st(141,6hz)
48,6st (135,7hz)
47,2st (123,1 hz)
ŋa32 (camine tooth) 50,5st (154hz)
50,8st (152hz)
50,5st (151hz)
49,8st (145,4hz)
fa32 (blanket)
51,9st (164hz)
51,8st (163hz)
50,7st (153hz)
49st (138,9hz)
kaŋ32 (chin)
52st (165hz)
51,6st (161hz)
51,2st (157hz)
50st (146,8hz)
Mean F0
50,5st (152,6hz) 50,9st (154,4hz) 50,2st (149,2hz)
na32 (paddy field)
49st (138,9hz)
Third tone [35]
Beginning
Mid-point 1
Mid-point 2
End – point
48,9st (137,6hz)
50,6st(152hz)
53,2st(177hz)
57,1st (221hz)
ɲaw35 (scratch) 52,6st (171hz)
53,6st (181hz)
53,5st (180hz)
56,9st (219hz)
ca35 (father)
51,6st (161hz)
49,2st (140hz)
51,2st (157hz)
54,2st (187hz)
ka35 (kill)
54,3st (188hz)
53,2st (181hz)
54st (185hz)
55,9st (206hz)
Mean F0
51,85st (164,4hz) 51,65st (163,5hz) 52,9st (174,7hz) 56st (208hz)
na35 (face)
Fourth tone [32Ɂ]
Beginning
Mid-point 1
Mid-point 2
End – point
(phɔ32Ɂ) la32Ɂ
47,9st
49,9st (146,1hz)
49,9st (146,3hz)
48,1st (131,4hz)
(soot)
(129,9hz)
da32Ɂ (scold)
52,7st (172hz)
53,4st (179hz)
53,2st (177hz)
52,1st (166hz)
12
sa32Ɂ (clean)
52,8st (173hz)
52,6st (171hz)
52,6st (171hz)
52st (165hz)
than32Ɂ (coal) 53,6st (181hz)
53,8st (183hz)
53,2st (177hz)
50,3st (149hz)
52,2st (167,8hz)
50,6st (152,8hz)
Mean F0
51,7st (163,9 hz) 52,4st(169,8 hz)
Fifth tone [32̤]
na32̤
Beginning
Mid-point 1
Mid-point 2
End – point
50,8st (154hz)
53,2st (177hz)
53,4st (179hz)
50,9st (155hz)
(sister of mother)
za3̤2 (wife)
49,9st (145,9 hz) 50,4st (150hz)
49,2st (140,1hz) 47,2 st(124,9hz)
ta32̤ (river)
51,5st (160hz)
50,7st (153hz)
50,7st (153hz)
49,8st (145,4hz)
sɤj32̤ (chopstick)
53,9st (184hz)
52,6st (171hz)
51st (156hz)
48,4st (133,6hz)
Mean F0
51,5st (161hz)
51,7st (162,8hz) 51,1 st (157hz)
49,1st (139,7 hz)
Sixth tone [34̰3]:
Beginning
Mid-point 1
Mid-point 2
End – point
ma34̰3 (horse)
51st (156hz)
52,8st (173hz)
53,8st (183hz)
52,8st (173hz)
ka34̰3 (root)
52,7st (172hz)
52,7st (172hz)
53,7st (182hz)
53,1st (176hz)
sə 34̰3 (knife)
54st (185hz)
53,5st (180hz)
53,2st (177hz)
52,5st (170hz)
hə̌w34̰3 (rice)
53st (175hz)
53,7st (182hz)
53,8st (183hz)
52,8st (173hz)
Mean F0
52,7st (172 hz) 53,2st(176,7 hz) 53,6st (181,3hz) 52,8st (173hz)
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