Glossary: morphology and phonology

The set of contrative lexical tones found in a particular language.

A tone language is a language that makes contrastive use of pitch, i.e. distinguishes word meaning on the basis of pitch differences between syllables (cf. stress).

Assimilation of tones across syllables.

Stressed position. Cf. pretonic position = syllable or vowel before the stressed syllable. Cf. posttonic position = syllable or vowel after the stressed syllable.

The development in tone languages of lexically distinct tones out of prior contrasts in voicing. For example, the Southern Kammu language has the words klaang and glaang. Both of these words correspond to klaang in Northern Kammu, but with different tones: the voice contrast has been replaced by a tone contrast: tonogenesis has occurred. Usually voiced obstruents give rise to low tone, and voiceless obstruents give rise to high tone. Other phonation types (e.g. implosives, glottalization) may also give rise to tonogenesis.

The windpipe: the tube connecting the larynx with the bronchi (and ultimately with the lungs).

The visual representation of speech sounds (or phones) by using written symbols. The most common type of transcription uses a phonetic alphabet, such as the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). A transcription may be phonological (also called 'broad'), suppressing predictable, allophonic details, or phonetic (also called 'narrow'), where such details are included.

A verb that takes a direct object, e.g., write.

In syntax and morphology, a convention for representing hierarchical constituent structure.

See number.