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| {{GammaNote}} | | {{Hatnote|This page has been updated for [[Toaq Delta]]. See [[Gamma:Tone]] for the Toaq Gamma version.}} |
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| Toaq is a tonal language. It has '''tones'''! That is: saying a word with a rising or falling vocal intonation, for example, makes for a difference in meaning. | | Toaq is a tonal language. It has '''tones'''! That is: saying a word with a rising or falling vocal intonation, for example, makes for a difference in meaning. |
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| == Function of tones == | | == Function of tones == |
| Toaq has '''grammatical tone''': when you change the tone of a word, its grammatical function changes (for example {{t|dẻ}} “is beautiful” → {{t|dẽ}} “beautifully”). | | Toaq has mostly '''grammatical tone''': when you change the tone of a word, its grammatical function changes (for example {{t|dẻ}} “is beautiful” → {{t|dẽ}} “beautifully”). |
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| (This is in contrast to '''lexical tone''', like in Chinese: there, when you change the tone of a syllable, it becomes a different word (lexeme) entirely. For example 西 xı̄ “west” → 媳 xí “daughter-in-law”.)
| | This is in contrast to '''lexical tone''', like in Chinese: there, when you change the tone of a syllable, it becomes a different word (lexeme) entirely. For example 西 xı̄ “west” → 媳 xí “daughter-in-law”. |
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| == Tones == | | Toaq has a ''little'' bit of lexical tone, too, limited to speech act particles: {{t|da}} and {{t|dâ}} are two different lexemes. |
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| | == The four tones == |
| #The '''falling tone''' {{done|1}} is used for verbs, predicatizers, and adjectives. ({{t|fa}} “goes”, {{t|kúe gı}} “the good book”, {{t|… po káto}} “… of the cat”) | | #The '''falling tone''' {{done|1}} is used for verbs, predicatizers, and adjectives. ({{t|fa}} “goes”, {{t|kúe gı}} “the good book”, {{t|… po káto}} “… of the cat”) |
| #The '''rising tone''' {{done|2}} is used for nouns, [[determiners]], and pronouns. ({{t|káto}} “the cat”, {{t|sá kato}} “some cat(s)”, {{t|jí}} “I/me”) | | #The '''rising tone''' {{done|2}} is used for nouns, [[determiners]], and pronouns. ({{t|káto}} “the cat”, {{t|sá kato}} “some cat(s)”, {{t|jí}} “I/me”) |
| #The '''low glottal tone''' {{done|3}} is used for complementizers and clause-initiating words. ({{t|ꝡä gı}} “that it’s good”) | | #The '''low glottal tone''' {{done|3}} is used for complementizers and clause-initiating words. ({{t|ꝡä gı}} “that it’s good”) |
| #The '''rising-falling tone''' {{done|4}} is for adverbial adjuncts. | | #The '''rising-falling tone''' {{done|4}} is for adverbial adjuncts. ({{t|fêı}} “angrily”, {{t|nîe tíaı}} “inside the box”) |
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| === Interaction with parts of speech === | | === Interaction with parts of speech === |
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| | Second highest precedence | | | Second highest precedence |
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| ==Toaq Gamma==
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| Tones worked ''quite'' differently back in Toaq Gamma.
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| ===Verb tones===
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| Every verb can be "conjugated" into one of six tones, each of which expresses some grammatical function:
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| #(see [[#History|History section]] for why there is no tone #1)
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| #The '''rising tone''' {{tone|2}} marks a noun or [[bound variable]]. ({{t|súq}} “you”, {{t|sa pỏq… póq}} “some person… that person”)
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| #The '''rising-creaky tone''' {{tone|3}} marks the start of a [[relative clause]]. ({{t|gï}} “which is good”)
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| #The '''falling tone''' {{tone|4}} marks a verb phrase, or the tail of a [[serial]]. ({{t|fả}} “goes”, {{t|bũ dẻ}} “not-beautifully”)
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| #The '''rising-falling tone''' {{tone|5}} marks the start of a [[content clause]]. ({{t|gî}} “that it's good”)
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| #The '''mid-falling tone''' {{tone|6}} marks a [[preposition]]. ({{t|bìe ní}} “after that”)
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| #The '''falling creaky tone''' {{tone|7}} marks an [[adverb]]. ({{t|dẽ}} “beautifully”)
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| Sometimes people will say “the fifth tone” or “t5” instead of “the rising-falling tone”.
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| ====Possible new tone scheme====
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| ''Main Article: [[Main verb tone]]''
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| On 21 August 2022, Hoemaı mentioned trying to settle on a new tone scheme.
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| #{{tone|1}} — adjunct (adverbs and prepositions)
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| #{{tone|2}} — nouns or bound variable
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| #{{tone|3}} — allotone of {{tone|7}}; alternatively if adverbs and prepositions stay separate, it would take one of those functions
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| #{{tone|4}} — tail of a serial
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| #{{tone|5}} — relative clauses
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| #{{tone|6}} — main verb
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| #{{tone|7}} — content clauses
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| #{{tone|8}} — particles
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| #{{tone|3old}} — allotone of {{tone|6}}
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| ===Neutral tone===
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| Particles, on the other hand, are in the '''neutral tone''' {{tone|8}} (aka the 8th tone), which is not really a tone. The only rule is that you don't continue the contour of the previous tone. So, when saying a particle after the falling tone {{tone|4}}, you should go up in pitch to break the falling contour. This way, the listener can tell the difference between {{t|lẻ moq}} and {{t|lẻmoq}}.
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| ===History===
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| There used to be a '''flat tone''' {{tone|1}}, which marked the continuation of a multisyllable word. But now, the tone contour is spread out over the whole word. This was tone #1, but now it is gone. So we start counting from #2, because it would be more confusing to re-number them.
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| The rising-creaky tone {{tone|3}} used to be dipping {{tone|3old}}, and {{tone|7}} was just “creaky”.
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| == Lexical tone ==
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| Toaq actually does have a little bit of lexical tone. For example, {{t|moq}} (question marker) and {{t|môq}} (rhetorical question marker) are different lexemes.
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| More subtly, {{t|lâ}} is not {{Tone|5}} + {{t|lả}}. Rather, each of {{Tone|5}} and {{t|lả}} is a complementizer in its own right. So really {{t|lâ}} is also its own complementizer, of which {{Tone|5}} is an allomorph.
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| ==External links== | | ==External links== |
| *[https://toaq.net/refgram/02/ Refgram: symbols and sounds] | | *[https://toaq.net/refgram/phonology/#tones Refgram: Tones] |
| *[https://toaq.net/refgram/03/ Refgram: phonology]
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