Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Lexical Tone

Definition: 

Lexical tone is the distinctive pitch level carried by the syllable of a word which is an essential feature of the meaning of that word.

Discussion: 

An inventory of minimally distinctive pairs and sets in the lexicon will give you some idea of the functional load of tone in the lexicon.

Examples: 

(Yaka [Bantu pygmy, Central African Republic])

Note:

  • Tone is marked as follows:
    • The acute accent |á| means high tone
    • The unmarked |a| means low tone

These are examples of lexical tone in nouns.

  • mbóka village’
  • mboká ‘field’
  • mbóka ‘civet cat’
  • kusu ‘termite hill’
  • kúsú ‘species of tree’
  • mɔkɔ ‘evening’
  • mɔkɔ́ ‘kind of honey’
  • mɔ́kɔ ‘ceinture degrimpage’

These are examples of lexical tone in verbs:

  • tanga ‘to drip’
  • tánga ‘to count, to read’
  • kála ‘to take all in one go’
  • kala ‘to escape’

 

(Ngiti [Central Sudanic, Zaire])
 

Note:

  • Tone is marked as follows:
    • The acute accent |á| means high tone
    • The grave accent |à| means low tone
    • The unmarked |a| means mid tone
    • The wedge |ǎ| means rising tone

These are examples of lexical tone in pronouns:

  • ma
  • mǎ ‘we’
  • nyɨ ‘you’ (singular)
  • nyɨô ‘you’ (plural)
  • àbadhi ‘he’
  • abádh" ‘they’
See Also: 

Glossary Hierarchy