Kuki-Thaadow: An African Tone System in Southeast Asia (original) (raw)

The paper explores the tonal system of Kuki-Thaadow, a language in Southeast Asia, analyzing its properties and contrasts with African tone systems. It questions the conventional categorization of tone systems into two types—contour and register tones—and introduces the concept of tautomorphemicity relevant to Southeast Asian languages. Through detailed phonological examples, the study illustrates the complexity and uniqueness of Kuki-Thaadow tonal structures, contributing to the understanding of tone systems in linguistic typology.