A Study on Phonation Patterns of Tones in Batang Tibetan

In the study of tone origin in Sino-Tibetan language, Tibetan is the only language whose dialects reflect the development from non-tonal to tonal language systematically. Tibetan consists of three main dialects, which are Anduo (non-tonal), Kang (developing tonal) and Weizang (tonal). In the tone study of Kang, the biggest problem is that it is very difficult to identify the tones, because the tone system is in a developing period. This paper is concerned with the study on tone phonation patterns in Batang Tibetan in Kang with the method of EGG (electroglottograph) analysis. The results shows: 1) there are 4 tones according to phonation patterns which reflect the natures of tones; 2) F0 (fundamental frequency) contours and SQ (speed quotient) contours are all in an image distribution in one syllable and OQ (open quotient) contours in each syllable are falling except that of tone type 3 which is Level; 3) the phonations can be the conditions in the tone evolution of Batang Tibetan.