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Prosody
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This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 16 Apr 2017, 12:28.

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7. Prosody
Menu 1. Pitch accent 2. Stress 3. Rythm
[top]Pitch accent


The language is based upon one tone : the high one (pitch accent). The ogonek on a consonant indicates that the following vowel get such a tone. "mato" = /'mato/ , "m̨ato" = /máto/.

If the tonal vowel is the last sound of the word, the tone disappears and it is stressed instead : "ok̨aov̨u" = /okáˑoˈf:u/

The pitch accent is not on every word, but a word can have several. It never has a grammatical value (although it can - rarely - be the only difference between two homonyms). If a tone is taking place where the stress should hit, the tone replaces the stress ; but otherwise, a word can have both tone and stress.

[top]Stress


The stress always hits the first syllable starting with a consonant, unless :
- the word is monosyllabic : then it is stressed anyway ;
- the last syllable of the word (without coda) contains one of the following letters : k̨, m̨, n̨, s̨, t̨, v̨, ɀ ; in which case it is an oxytone and the prosodic consonant is lengthened.

Stress may have a grammatical value.

[top]Rythm


Mayessan prosody has another important feature : the prosodic softening /↘/ (not included in Mayessa IPA). It exists in two situations :

  • within a multiphtong that contains a tone (the other vowels are softer) : "ok̨a" = /oˈk:a/ ; "ok̨aov̨uhn" = /ˈoká↘ofújn/ ;
  • in a syllable following a long vowel : "fariilen̨a" = /faj:↘lɛˈn:a/.


In this last situation, the very next syllable will basically be secondarily stressed, resulting in a very musical word.

An exception to this last rule is when the word begins with a long vowel. In that case, softening is stronger than stress (that disappears) : "blow" = ööva - /œ:↘ʋa/.

Here is an image summary of it all (the IPA is out of date).




And here is another way to put it. Don't be scared.



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