Tonality of the Zuoquan ‘Rù’

This paper establishes the tonality of Zuoquan Rù despite its lack of minimal pairs with other tones. Comparative analysis reveals that both the citation form and tone sandhi patterns of Rù differ from those of the other four tone categories (i.e. Yīn Píng , Yáng Píng , Shǎng, and Qù). Also, Rù patterns differently from the neutral tone in Zuoquan, which is demonstrably toneless. These observations indicate that Zuoquan Rù is a distinct tone category. Dialectological studies that rely on surface complementarity tend to suggest the Middle Chinese Rù as a syllable type rather than as a tone type. The case of Zuoquan cautions researchers against such sweeping generalizations that may mask deeper interfaces between syllable structures and tone types.