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language jargon A tonal language has tones; could we use sounds instead? -Kiwala, a language used in a southern region in Turkey, has five __. |
Re: language jargon No. "sounds" is the non-technical term for phonemes. For example some of the phonemes of English are /p/ /e/ /ŋ/ /g/ /w/ /ɪ/ and /n/ - which combine to make the word "penguin" /peŋgwɪn/ "tones" refer to a change in pitch on a syllable. All languages have tones. Most varieties of English have five: rise, fall, rise-fall, fall-rise and level. So for instance, in the utterance ... He's going to Paris tomorrow the choice and placement of the tone will change the interpretation of the utterance as a whole - eg : falling tone on PA = a statement rising tone on PA = a question rise-fall on PA = surprise about the destination rise-fall on MOR = surprise about when and so on. In some languages though, the so called tonal languages, the tone used actually changes the meaning of the word itself. The classic example is the Mandarin Chinese syllable MA which has 4 different meanings depending on which tone is used : Ma + level tone = mother Ma + rising tone = hemp Ma + fall-rise tone = horse Ma + falling tone = scold |
Re: language jargon Excellent answer. Thank you. |
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