Is contrastive -(n)un prosodically different from non-contrastive -(n)un?

Contrastive -(n)un is often assumed (or claimed) to be distinguished from non-contrastive -(n)un in terms of its special prosody such as high pitch. This paper evaluates the validity of this assumption by comparing the prosodic properties of contrastive -(n)un and its non-contrastive counterpart. Particularly, the focus is on testing Lee's (2007) characterization of contrastive -(n)un as (L)H*(%) and his claim that it is longer than non-contrastive -(n)un. Based on a production experiment, it is claimed that contrastive and non-contrastive -(n)un are not different from each other in terms of their pitch and length. This study has important implications on the nature of -(n)un with respect to its meaning/function. Because the alleged prosodic difference between the two has been used as main evidence for positing two lexical items -(n)un, one for topic and one for contrast, the results of this study significantly weakens the motivation for the distinction, thus supporting a unified approach to -(n)un which posits only one -(n)un in the lexicon. (Yale University)