The Relevance of Downstep for a Phonetic Component

Abstract

In this chapter, it will be shown that the study of downstep systems can shed light on the distinction between phonetic and phonological components. Downstep is particularly relevant in this respect because it involves the phonetic interpretation of phonological strings. Consider the following examples from Tiv, in which the phonetic pitch level of gá ‘not’ depends on the preceding tone:

(1)

Although phonlogically gá is the same in the both examples — linked to a H-tone — its phonetic realization is different. In (1a), gá is on the same pitch-level as á (also H-toned), while in (1b), gá is phonetically lower than á because of the intervening L-toned ver dzà.