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Asaari uses a a system of '''tonic accent''', or [[w:pitch accent|pitch accent]]. A tonic accent is different to stress accent in that the prominent syllable in the word is distinguished by [[w:tone|tone]] rather than volume. The tonic accent is also different to a purely tonal system in that the number of tonal syllables in a word is limited. | Asaari uses a a system of '''tonic accent''', or [[w:pitch accent|pitch accent]]. A tonic accent is different to stress accent in that the prominent syllable in the word is distinguished by [[w:tone|tone]] rather than volume. The tonic accent is also different to a purely tonal system in that the number of tonal syllables in a word is limited. | ||
In Asaari, there is at most tonic | In Asaari, there is at most one tonic syllable in a word. The position of the tonic syllable determines the tonal pattern of the whole word. The distinction is binary, that is, a tonic syllable may be either high or low. | ||
The [[Proto-Tanisi]] language, PT, had a moraic stress system, where the first heavy was stressed. In Asaari, this is largely irrelevant. Instead, depending on which syllable had a voiceless plosive or a nasal coda, the syllable became tonic. Syllables with a plosive coda got a high pitch, and nasal codas got a low pitch. | The [[Proto-Tanisi]] language, PT, had a moraic stress system, where the first heavy was stressed. In Asaari, this is largely irrelevant. Instead, depending on which syllable had a voiceless plosive or a nasal coda, the syllable became tonic. Syllables with a plosive coda got a high pitch, and nasal codas got a low pitch. The low pitch is marked with a [[w:grave accent|grave accent]] and the high one with an [[w:acute accent|acute accent]]. | ||
*For example, the PT word {{sc|hagiakis}} */ha.'gjakis/ recieved a high pitch on the second syllable when Asaari developed. | *For example, the PT word {{sc|hagiakis}} */ha.'gjakis/ recieved a high pitch on the second syllable when Asaari developed. | ||
**/ha.'gjakis/ > /ajáːʔ/ - ''yellow'' | **{{sc|hagiakis}} /ha.'gjakis/ > '''ayáah''' /ajáːʔ/ - ''yellow'' | ||
*The word {{sc|tiana}} */'tjan.a/ on the other hand got a low pitch. | *The word {{sc|tiana}} */'tjan.a/ on the other hand got a low pitch. | ||
**/'tjan.a/ > /tsà/ - ''hell'' | ** {{sc|tiana}} /'tjan.a/ > '''tsà''' /tsà/ - ''hell'' | ||
In PT words where there were both nasal codas and plosive codas, the high tone gets prominence. The low tone is still marked, however. | |||
*An example is the Proto-Tanisi word {{sc|satram}} */'satram/, where the low pitch is omitted. | |||
** {{sc|satram}} /'satram/ > '''sárà''' /sáɣa/ - ''hollow'' | |||
===== | Proto-Tanisi words and syllable structure has deteriorated to become Asaari, thus giving rise to a multitude of minimal pairs. The following table gives an overview over the misunderstandings that could arise if the wrong pitch is chosen. | ||
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="width: 550px; text-align:center" | |||
|+'''Minimal pairs of tonic accent''' | |||
!Without diacritics | |||
! colspan="2"|High | |||
! colspan="2"| Low | |||
! colspan="2"|Accentless | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="7"|First syllable | |||
|- | |||
|''tsa'' | |||
|/tsá/||language | |||
|/tsà/||hell||/tsa/ | |||
|who | |||
|- | |||
|''ayaa'' | |||
|/ájaː/||oyster | |||
|/àjaː/||oh, right!||/ajaː/ | |||
|fish | |||
|- | |||
|''mati'' | |||
|/máti/||work | |||
|/màti/||sad|| - | |||
| - | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="7"|Second syllable | |||
|- | |||
|''ayaah'' | |||
|/ajáː/||yellow | |||
|/ajàː/||lamp||/ajaː/ | |||
|fish | |||
|- | |||
|''mati'' | |||
|/matí/||big | |||
|/matì/||morning paper|| - | |||
| - | |||
|} | |||
=====Compunding===== | |||
A word may have only one tonic syllable per word. This is not the case of compund words or when affixes added, however. | |||
=====Tonic influence===== | |||
Syllables adjacent to pitched syllables are not completely accentless. Instead, they are affected by the nearby tonic accent. | |||
=====Tonic register===== | |||
The [[Proto-Tanisi]] language, had a regular [[w:moraic stress| moraic stress system]] which degenerated as the Asaari system evolved. The Proto-Tanisi language stressed the third mora, but in the Asaari language much of the tonic accent is affected by so called '''glottal''' and '''nasal''' syllables. | The [[Proto-Tanisi]] language, had a regular [[w:moraic stress| moraic stress system]] which degenerated as the Asaari system evolved. The Proto-Tanisi language stressed the third mora, but in the Asaari language much of the tonic accent is affected by so called '''glottal''' and '''nasal''' syllables. | ||