Tone: Difference between revisions

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{{GammaNote}}
{{Hatnote|This page has been updated for [[Toaq Delta]]. See [[Gamma:Tone]] for the Toaq Gamma version.}}


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.


== 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”).


(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”.


== Tones ==
Toaq has a ''little'' bit of lexical tone, too, limited to speech act particles: {{t|da}} and {{t|dâ}} are two different lexemes.
 
== 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”)


=== Interaction with parts of speech ===
=== Interaction with parts of speech ===
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==Toaq Gamma==
Tones worked ''quite'' differently back in Toaq Gamma.
===Verb tones===
Every verb can be "conjugated" into one of six tones, each of which expresses some grammatical function:
#(see [[#History|History section]] for why there is no tone #1)
#The '''rising tone''' {{tone|2}} marks a noun or [[bound variable]]. ({{t|súq}} “you”, {{t|sa pỏq… póq}} “some person… that person”)
#The '''rising-creaky tone''' {{tone|3}} marks the start of a [[relative clause]]. ({{t|gï}} “which is good”)
#The '''falling tone''' {{tone|4}} marks a verb phrase, or the tail of a [[serial]]. ({{t|fả}} “goes”, {{t|bũ dẻ}} “not-beautifully”)
#The '''rising-falling tone''' {{tone|5}} marks the start of a [[content clause]]. ({{t|gî}} “that it's good”)
#The '''mid-falling tone''' {{tone|6}} marks a [[preposition]]. ({{t|bìe ní}} “after that”)
#The '''falling creaky tone''' {{tone|7}} marks an [[adverb]]. ({{t|dẽ}} “beautifully”)
Sometimes people will say “the fifth tone” or “t5” instead of “the rising-falling tone”.
====Possible new tone scheme====
''Main Article: [[Main verb tone]]''
On 21 August 2022, Hoemaı mentioned trying to settle on a new tone scheme.
#{{tone|1}} — adjunct (adverbs and prepositions)
#{{tone|2}} — nouns or bound variable
#{{tone|3}} — allotone of {{tone|7}}; alternatively if adverbs and prepositions stay separate, it would take one of those functions
#{{tone|4}} — tail of a serial
#{{tone|5}} — relative clauses
#{{tone|6}} — main verb
#{{tone|7}} — content clauses
#{{tone|8}} — particles
#{{tone|3old}} — allotone of {{tone|6}}
===Neutral tone===
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}}.
===History===
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.
The rising-creaky tone {{tone|3}} used to be dipping {{tone|3old}}, and {{tone|7}} was just “creaky”.
== Lexical tone ==
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.
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.


==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]

Revision as of 16:21, 12 December 2022

This page has been updated for Toaq Delta. See Gamma:Tone for the Toaq Gamma version.

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.

Function of tones

Toaq has mostly grammatical tone: when you change the tone of a word, its grammatical function changes (for example dẻ “is beautiful” → dẽ “beautifully”).

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”.

Toaq has a little bit of lexical tone, too, limited to speech act particles: da and dâ are two different lexemes.

The four tones

  1. The falling tone falling tone is used for verbs, predicatizers, and adjectives. (fa “goes”, kúe gı “the good book”, … po káto “… of the cat”)
  2. The rising tone rising tone is used for nouns, determiners, and pronouns. (káto “the cat”, sá kato “some cat(s)”, jí “I/me”)
  3. The low glottal tone glottal tone is used for complementizers and clause-initiating words. (ꝡä gı “that it’s good”)
  4. The rising-falling tone hiatus tone is for adverbial adjuncts. (fêı “angrily”, nîe tíaı “inside the box”)

Interaction with parts of speech

This table shows how the four tones interact with Toaq's parts of speech:

Falling tone falling tone Rising tone rising tone Glottal tone glottal tone Rising-falling tone hiatus tone
Verb Bound variable Adjunct
Pronoun Argument Incorporated object
Determiner Argument Incorporated object
Complementizer Speech act complement Subclause head Incorporated object
Interjection Interjection Inquiry Expression of empathy
Speech act particle Lexical tone (i.e. dâ and da are simply different lexemes)
Focus particle Steals tone from head if possible, otherwise echoes it
Conjunction Highest precedence Default precedence Second highest precedence

External links

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