Hubert Devonish, Talking rhythm stressing tone: The role of prominence in Anglo-West African Creole languages

Extract

Hubert Devonish, Talking rhythm stressing tone: The role of prominence in Anglo-West African Creole languages. Kingston, Jamaica: Arawak Publications, 2002. Pp. 192. Pb $20.00.

Talking rhythm stressing tone attempts to accomplish two equally significant aims. First, it attempts an exposition of a theory of prominence that provides a coherent synthesis of diverse views on phonological prominence. Second, it attempts an explanation of the structure of some prosodic features of Anglo-West African creoles using this theory. The proposals of the theory of prominence provide fresh insights into issues such as moracity, tone and stress assignment, and syntax-tone interaction. The theory proposes that well-known issues such as the association of stress and tone with moras or positions within a domain in languages result from phonological prominence effects. This is the first time an integrated approach, in the form of prominence theory, has been proposed to look at these issues.