Lexical and Non-lexical Tone and Prosodic Typology

Prosodic typology has generally concentrated on those aspects of prosodic representation which are assumed to be represented in the lexicon. It is argued here that non-lexical representation at various levels, underlying phonological, surface phonological and phonetic, can also constitute a basis for prosodic typology. An example is given of a low-level comparison of English and French pitch patterns. A prosodic model integrating these different levels is presented which, it argued can provide a useful tool for the investigation of prosodic typology and for a more robust basis for establishing the more abstract levels including those of lexical representations.