Songs in African Tonal Languages: Contrasting the Tonal System and the Melody
Over the past fifty years there has been a dramatic increase in studies investigating the rules of tone-tune correspondence in vocal music performed in tonal languages. In this paper we argue that considering structural properties of tonal systems is important for studying the interaction between tone and melody. Using songs in Guinean Kpelle and Guro as test cases, we prove that contour tones are less preserved in melody than level tones, and surface tones are reflected in melody rather than underlying tones. We also show that syllable structure as well as style, genre and structure of songs affect tone-tune correspondence.
Does Language Determine Music in Tone Languages
I is conservatively estimated that between fifty and sixty percent of the world’s languages are tone languages—languages where pitch contributes to the meaning of words (Yip 2002). Tone in these languages is phonemic, which means that changing the pitch (or pitch contour) of a word can drastically change the meaning of the word. Since pitch is so closely tied to meaning in these languages and pitch is also one of the main components of music, the interaction of speech melody and song melody in tone languages has fascinated scholars for years. As may be expected, there have been a variety of methodologies, a variety of conclusions, and, significantly, a variety of assumptions. (In a previous article [Schellenberg 2009] I have discussed these different assumptions.) This paper is a closer examinination of one of the assumptions: the idea that speech melodies in a tone language dictate song melodies. On the surface, this seems a fairly reasonable assumption: if changing the pitch can change the meaning, the song melody must, perforce, preserve the meaning and, consequently, the speech melody. This assumption shows up frequently in the literature. Schneider (1961:204), for example, states that “speechtone [sic] and musical tone must be definitely correlated.” Rycroft (1959:28) says that “the setting of words to music in a ‘tone language’ either places limitations upon melodic freedom . . . or else makes word selection a more exacting matter.” Jones (1959) and Schneider (1942, 1950, 1961) devote most of their articles to trying to provide prosodic explanations for differences between speech melody and song melody in specific languages. This article looks at the collective evidence and concludes that language is not a determinant of music in tone languages, but rather that music accommodates language when it is convenient but is perfectly willing and able to override linguistic requirements. The following section looks briefly at the
MT and the Swiss language service providers: an analysis and training perspective
Switzerland is perceived as a highly multilingual country, with four national languages and a solid translation tradition in official, administrative and corporate settings, now even extended to include English. A research case study was set up to investigate the understanding and use of translation and language technologies by Swiss language service providers. This paper highlights some findings, particularly focusing upon the issue of translation automation processes in multilingual documentation production, with a view not only to spot preconceptions or knowledge gaps about MT, but also to 
suggest some training principles. We will argue that training activities ought to present MT systems as 
key aiding components of translator workbenches and, their output, as a valid linguistic resource for further human refining, if necessary. Moreover, in line with the idea that MT can be part and parcel of multilingual content production cycles, we will look at the interaction of MT with controlled language, CAT tools and terminology work. In sum, we will make explicit the usefulness of MT against the 
widespread prejudice that investing in MT does not return any benefits given the ‘low and hilarious quality of its output’, as quoted by most of the interviewees of our case study.