Unaccented and Final-Accented Classes in Lexical Pitch Accent Languages: A Case Study of Gyeongsang Korean

Abstract

A number of researchers (Kenstowicz & Sohn, 1997; Jun et al., 2006, among others) have claimed that the pitch accent systems of Gyeongsang Korean (specifically North Gyeongsang Korean and South Gyeongsang Korean) lack an unaccented class and instead have a final-accented class. This claim contradicts recent work on the role of accentedness in wh-prosody in Gyeongsang Korean (Hwang 2011) and earlier research on Gyeongsang lexical pitch accent (Ramsey 1978). In this study, I provide additional prosodic evidence to support the claim that Gyeongsang Korean has an unaccented class. I also argue that a final-accented class in Gyeongsang Korean exists, but it is limited to loanwords. This study demonstrates the importance of using more than one diagnostic to identify accent classes in lexical pitch accent languages