The Geometry and Features of Tone

In The Geometry and Features of Tone, linguists will benefit from the theory presented as well as from its practical application to four case studies. First published in 1999, this book has not lost its relevance; it will stimulate the seasoned linguist and provide valuable instruction to students of phonology and tone.

The Geometry and Features of Tone describes Register Tier Theory (RTT). Couched within the broader theories of autosegmental phonology and feature geometry, RTT is a model for representing tone phonologically:

• what features are involved,

• how the features relate to tone-bearing units, and

• how the features interact with one another.

Following brief introductions to autosegmental phonology and lexical phonology, as well as following a relatively abstract treatment of RTT, case studies are presented of diverse types of register phenomena. The final chapter critiques a number of alternative proposals.

No substantive changes were made in this edition, but typographical errors have been corrected.

In The Geometry and Features of Tone, linguists will benefit from the theory presented as well as from its practical application to four case studies. First published in 1999, this book has not lost its relevance; it will stimulate the seasoned linguist and provide valuable instruction to students of phonology and tone.

The study of tone is of central importance within linguistics. A majority of
languages are "tonal," meaning that pitch differences play a distinctive role
at the word level. Since the dawn of phonology, new insights into the
analysis and representation of tone have led the way to new theories
that have impacted other areas of phonology.
The Geometry and Features of Tone, first published in 1999, has not lost
its relevance, which makes this second edition a welcome publication.

Harry Van der Hulst, Editor-in-Chief, The Linguistic Review
Professor of Linguistics, University of Connecticut

We've been trying to talk Keith Snider into republishing this groundbreaking
work of his for years. Snider has drawn insights from lexical
phonology, autosegmental phonology and underspecification theory to
create a well-rounded theoretical framework. I can assure any linguist
studying a tone language that investing the effort to understand Register
Tier Theory pays off handsomely.

Esteban I. Méndez Hord, MA in Linguistics, University of North Dakota

I first came across Keith Snider and his work on tone during a
workshop which he led in Burkina Faso in 1997. I found his
introduction to RTT nothing less than eye-opening. To be sure, there's
plenty of theory here, but at the same time there is much that is practical
(a big plus for me: it really helped to make sense of tone). The insights I
gained back then have stayed with me and have been invaluable in my own
work and as I've sought to help others with theirs.

Phil Davison, Linguistics Consultant, SIL Africa Area

Not an armchair linguist, Dr. Snider cut his professional teeth doing
fieldwork on Chumburung (Kwa), a tonal language spoken in Ghana, and
since that time has amassed a wealth of experience helping field linguists
around the world solve tone analysis problems through his consulting and
practical tone analysis workshops.

Kevin L. Penner, Linguistics Coordinator, SIL Mexico