Tonal Changes in the Chaoyang Area

This chapter deals with the tonal development in the Chaoyang area, with a special focus on the change of T2a. The age-related differences and geographical variations can be accounted for by two tonal chain shifts: one is the groove chain shift of Yinshang (T2a), in which T2a has changed from a high convex falling tone to a high level tone (or middle level tone), and subsequently a rising tone; the other is the pull chain shift involving Yinping (T1a), Yinshang (T2a) and Yangqu (T3b), whose initiator is T2a. The direction of this pull chain shift is determined by the tonal variations of different speakers. The features of four falling tones are discussed on the basis of the firsthand acoustic data of 23 older speakers in the suburban area. We argue that slope is the main distinct feature of the two high falling tones, with length an important supplementary feature. The evolution trend of the four-falling-tone system in the Chaoyang area is towards the system with diversified pitch contours.