I know that Japanese has it, there’s a difference between 紙 and 神 for example:

Technically: Latin Alphabet languages have something alike but not known as “pitch accent” more akin to word stress (think, “Cent” vs “Scent” or “Whole” vs “Hole”) as in is there a difference in ‘volume’ (like the tone of your voice upon pronouncing either word). Is there an emphasis on how a word could be understood based on how it’s said (in EN, FR, DE)?

I mean, do you know examples of words in (European) languages or ENG where something equivalent of “pitch accent” applies? Can you also tell the difference between something like “sent” / “cent” and “scent” even though those types of words are not relevant to another simply by hearing someone pronouncing it and the tone of their voice?

  • Kimika@lemmy.world
    14·
    13 hours ago

    I’ve only ever heard Japanese, Chinese, etc. described as tonal languages, not pitch accents.

    You’re wondering about languages in the Indo-European language group making distinctions between homonyms/homophones by tone. Tone has a different function in those languages, such as expressing inquiry.

    In English, syllable emphasis can be used to distinguish between homonyms (verb presENT vs noun PRESent) and would-be homophones (desSERT vs DEsert)

    • Sadbutdru@sopuli.xyz
      5·
      9 hours ago

      This is a tangent, but I’ve noticed more and more people using what I’d consider the noun form of “estimate” as a verb. Even on bbc radio 4 news the other day. Irritates me an unreasonable amount

      • Kimika@lemmy.world
        1·
        9 hours ago

        Sounds like instances where they become more familiar with the written forms first and then hear only one of the forms later that became reinforced somehow. Estimate is a common word, so I’m guessing the mispronunciation must be coming out of a unique environment.

        For myself, yhere are definitely words in which the correct pronunciation still escapes me, such as valence. To this day, I might pronounce differently depending on my mood with no certainty on how it’s supposed to be said (either rhyming with cadence or balance).

        • MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          1·
          6 hours ago

          I heard someone mangling “indefatigable” in a programme the other day, they got the word “fatigue” in there.

          Edit to say I think it’s VALEnce, but I could be wrong.

          • Kimika@lemmy.world
            1·
            6 hours ago

            Regarding valence, both pronunciations I’ve heard and used put emphasis on the first syllable, it’s just whether the first vowel is long or short.

            It’s one of those things that just doesn’t come up often enough to actually address it and nobody has ever misunderstood or challenged me whenever I’ve said it differently in conversation, during a presentation or afterwards, or in lecture. It sticks out as an example for me because any other words I was uncertain about definitely get challenged (e.g., route and router)