Pitch accent
Pitch accent is a way some spoken languages make one syllable in a word stand out by giving it a special pitch pattern. A small rise or fall in pitch on that one syllable can change the word’s meaning, or simply make it sound “right” to native speakers.[1]
This is different from a stress accent, which English uses. In English the important syllable is mainly louder and longer, not higher or lower.[2]
Languages that use pitch accent include Japanese, Swedish, and Serbo-Croatian.[2]
How it works
[change | change source]In a pitch-accent language, only one syllable (or mora) of a word gets the special pitch. The other syllables follow a regular pattern. Moving the accent to a different place can turn the word into another word.[2]
Examples
[change | change source]In Japanese
[change | change source]Japanese shows clear pitch accent. The same sounds can mean different things depending on the accent position.[3]
- hashi (はし) – HIGH-low → “chopsticks”
- hashi (はし) – low-HIGH → “bridge”
- hashi that stays high – low-HIGH-HIGH → “edge”[3]
In Swedish
[change | change source]Swedish has two pitch-accent “melodies,” called Accent 1 and Accent 2. Some words are spelled the same but change meaning with a different melody.[4]
- anden with Accent 1 → “the duck”
- anden with Accent 2 → “the spirit”[4]
In Serbo-Croatian
[change | change source]Standard Serbo-Croatian has four pitch accents (two rising and two falling).[5]
Pitch accent vs. Tone
[change | change source]Pitch accent is different from a full tone language such as Mandarin Chinese.
- In a tone language, every syllable has its own tone pattern.
- In a pitch-accent language, only one syllable in the word gets a special accent; the others are predictable.[6]
So pitch accent can be seen as a simpler system than tone.[1]
Related pages
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- 1 2 "Pitch accent". Glossary of Linguistic Terms. SIL International. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- 1 2 3 van der Hulst, Harry (2010). "Pitch Accent Systems" (PDF). Pitch Accent Systems. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- 1 2 "Accent – Japanese Pronunciation Module". TUFS Language Modules. Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- 1 2 Roll, Mikael (2022). "The predictive function of Swedish word accents". Frontiers in Psychology. 13. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.910787. PMC 9366883. PMID 35967682.
- ↑ Lehiste, Ilse; Ivić, Pavle (1986). Word and Sentence Prosody in Serbo-Croatian. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-12111-8.
- ↑ "Lexical Tone". Glossary of Linguistic Terms. SIL International. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
