Using Qingtian Tone Sandhi Data to Refine Depressor Morphotonemics

Depressor features have been described for many varieties of Wu Chinese, from Shanghai south to the Ou varieties of Wenzhou. Acoustic tone sandhi data from the Chu variety of Qingtian refine the particulars of [±depressor]. Acoustic depressor features do not occur through the whole tone pattern, but do occur on syllables with voiceless initials and without initial consonants. No connection is found between depressor syllables and voicing in the data, suggesting that the depressor feature is indeed a feature of morphemes, rather than segments.