Re: Marking tones in conlangs
From: | caeruleancentaur <caeruleancentaur@...> |
Date: | Wednesday, February 8, 2006, 12:56 |
"Joseph B." per pêca:
>I'm curious to know how others here mark tones in any tonal
conlangs >they have created.
>Thanks.
Senjecan is, if I understand correctly, a Type A tonal language.
There are three levels which I call primary, secondary, and basal.
A primary tone is indicated by a double acute accent, a secondary by
a single acute accent, and the basal is unmarked. I chose this
system because I always liked the looks of Hungarian. And I thought
it would be easier to remember. On the conlang list, I use a
circumflex instead of a double accent.
The tones can be phonemic since only verbs, nouns, and adjectives
can have a primary tone. A word with a primary tone could be a
verb, while the same word with a basal tone might be a postposition,
e.g., ânta = to oppose; anta = against.
I have Word 2000 and all I have to do is insert the character I need
with a pull-down menu. It contains combining diacritics so I can
put a double accent over a, e, and i. The o and the u are already
composed. I use the dotless i, but the double acute accent is off
center. Nothing's perfect in this world!
Charlie
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