Acoustic analysis of Lahu Nyi tone system

Abstract

This study represents the first acoustic analysis of the seven-tone system of Lahu Nyi, a dialect of Lahu, a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Muang Na subdistrict, Chiang Dao district, Chiang Mai province, Thailand. One male and two female native peakers produced the seven tones in isolation and in a sentence context. Pitch contour analysis showed five long tones in open syllables and two short tones in syllables closed with a glottal stop. Low tones are slightly breathy. Pitch contour modification was observed in the sentence context produced by the male speaker where a high-mid falling tone exhibits a rising contour in the context of a following high-mid falling tone.