Tone under Focus in North Kyungsang Korean

Investigating tone in a focused prosodic phrase (P-phrase) in North Kyungsang Korean, this paper proposes two constraints that are required to make a focused word the most prominent within a P-phrase. First, a H on a focused word-final H, which is highly avoided in an unfocused P-phrase, is retained. This generalization is expressed by the constraint *Toneless Focused Word which prevents a focused word from occurring toneless. Second, tone doubling, which occurs across a word boundary in an unfocused P-phrase, is blocked in a focused P-phrase. This generalization is captured by the constraint *Align (Focus, r; H-toned, l) which requires the right edge of a focused word not to be aligned with the left edge of a H-toned word. These two constraints conspire to make a focused word the most prominent within a P-phrase.