Tone / Pitch Contrast
Tone
Pitch accent
Lexical tone
Does pitch change the word or grammar?
extended
intermediate
Language coding
معنا
Lexical or grammatical meaning encoded by pitch level or contour on syllables, words, or phrases.
چطور آن را تشخیص دهید
Listen for pitch patterns that distinguish words or meanings.
نمونهها
واژهها
high tone|falling tone|rising tone|pitch accent
عبارتها
tone pattern|pitch contrast
جمله
Pitch can change the word meaning in tonal languages.
Visual guide
Basic shape
word or syllable
+
pitch pattern
(high / rising / falling)
=
meaning
Pitch can change the word.
Compare shape
Pitch profile: absent: no word contrast marginal: few contrasts pitch accent: one marked spot lexical tone: tone contrasts words grammar tone: tone marks grammar + intonation: sentence melody Ask: what level carries meaning?
نمای زبان
در زبان شما
Persian (Farsi, standard Iranian)
میزان حضور
not_relevant
اهمیت
Persian is not a lexical tone language.
باران آمد.
rain came.
در زبان در حال یادگیری
Punjabi (standard, Gurmukhi)
میزان حضور
strong
دشواری
Punjabi has lexical tone; some Gurmukhi letters and word positions signal tonal contrasts rather than simple aspiration.
ਘੋੜਾ ਦੌੜਦਾ ਹੈ।
The horse runs.
چالش رایج زبانآموزان
Learners may pronounce written voiced aspirate letters as plain consonants and miss the tone contrast.
New in your learning language
This block is more central in your learning language. Give it extra focus in examples and practice.