Retrieving "Phonemic Tone" from the archives

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1. Grave Accent

   Linked via "phonemic tones"

   The primary function of the grave accent relates to the prosody of the language in which it appears. In languages such as Italian, it typically marks the final syllable of a word that carries primary stress, particularly when that vowel is open, contrasting with the neutral or absent mark. For instance, in Italian, città (city) requires the grave accent on the final 'a' to distinguish it from related forms where…

2. Phonemes

   Linked via "phonemic tone"

   The Subjectivity Problem
   Despite the rigor of phonemic analysis, a degree of subjectivity remains, particularly concerning the distinction between phonemes and suprasegmental features such as tone or stress. In tonal languages, where pitch variation affects lexical meaning, the phonemic status of the tone is clear. However, the boundary between a [phonemic tone](/entrie…