Definitions from the Web
Tonal Unit
Description
A tonal unit refers to a phonological concept in linguistics, which is a group of related sounds that are perceived as a single entity and carry a specific linguistic function in a spoken language. It is often characterized by the pitch pattern and the length of sounds within the unit. Tonal units play a crucial role in tonal languages, where pitch variations convey different levels of meaning.
Sample Sentences
- The Mandarin Chinese language features tonal units that contribute to the distinctive melodic patterns in speech.
- In African languages like Yoruba, tonal units are used to distinguish between words with different meanings but identical phonetic elements.
- When analyzing speech patterns, linguists break down sentences into smaller tonal units to study the variations in pitch and intonation.
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