A reanalysis of Fore accent

This paper presents an autosegmental, non-linear analysis of prosody in Fore, a language of Papua New Guinea. It argues that tone patterns are best understood as operating on a separate prosodic tier, mapped onto segmental structure. This approach explains limitations in Fore’s tone inventory and the variability in pitch direction, which cannot be captured by syllable-based accent or tone assignment. The analysis also accounts for both verb and non-verb suffixation through reanalysis of underlying forms. While orthographic representation is not the focus, the study notes practical challenges in marking tone, suggesting that Fore’s redundancy allows intelligibility without diacritics. Overall, the paper demonstrates the value of non-linear phonological models in explaining complex prosodic behavior (AI generated abstract, Copilot)