A Tonal Analysis of Gurung, with Separate Systems for Register and Contour Pitch Features

Abstract

An earlier analysis of Gurung, by Burton-Page in BSOAS, 17/1, 1955, put forward a single system, of two terms, for the word unit in the dialect spoken in Ghandrung: tones 1 and 2; the present analysis of the Gurung of a speaker from the centre of the Gurung area differs from Burton-Page's in that it distinguishes two tone systems: a two-term system (tones 1 and 2) for a difference in pitch register and a further two-term system (tones A and B) for a difference in pitch contour. Support for separating register-pitch and contour-pitch differences comes from three associated features, aspiration, phonation and voice: they apply to the register distinction but not to the contour distinction. Further support comes from comparing this tonal analysis with an identical analysis of a closely related language, Tamang, and also with the two-term system put forward for the word in Tibetan.