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LIN 306 — Tone Systems

Linguistics · 300 Level · Second Semester

About this course

LIN 306 Tone Systems is a 300 Level course in the Linguistics department, taught in the Second Semester. On La-Net Hub you can watch all 45 recorded lectures for free, grouped into 10 series, read the course lecture note online or download it as a PDF, and test yourself with practice questions.

Course Description This course introduces students to the concept of tone as a significant suprasegmental feature in language. It examines the nature, functions, and classification of tone systems across different languages, with particular attention to tonal languages spoken in Africa. Students will explore how tone contributes to meaning, grammatical distinctions, and communication. The course also investigates tonal behaviours such as tone spreading, tone shifting, tone assimilation, downdrift, downstep, and tonal alternations in connected speech. Through theoretical discussions and practical analyses, learners will develop the skills needed to identify, describe, and analyze tonal patterns and their linguistic functions in various language contexts.

This course introduces the fundamental concepts of tone systems in language, focusing on how pitch variations function as a meaningful linguistic feature. It explores the nature of tonal behavior in spoken languages, with particular attention to how tone distinguishes word meaning, grammatical categories, and sentence structures. Students will be guided through the basic types of tone systems such as level and contour tonesand how they operate across different language families, especially tonal languages in Africa and Asia. The course also examines the phonetic and phonological foundations of tone, including pitch realization, tone assignment, and tonal rules. By the end of the series, learners will develop a clear understanding of how tone systems shape communication and linguistic meaning in human language.

Lectures in this course

Series 1: Series 1 : Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviours

  1. Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviours 1 11 minutes 58 seconds
  2. Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviours 2 10 minutes 28 seconds
  3. Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviours 3 9 minutes 53 seconds
  4. Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviours 4 8 minutes 43 seconds
  5. Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviours 5 6 minutes 42 seconds
  6. Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviours 6 6 minutes 44 seconds

Series 2: Series 1: Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviors

  1. Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviors1 13 minutes 40 seconds
  2. Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviors 2 10 minutes 53 seconds
  3. Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviors 3 9 minutes 16 seconds
  4. Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviors 4 7 minutes 50 seconds
  5. Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviors 5 6 minutes 6 seconds
  6. Introduction to Tone Systems and Tonal Behaviors 6 8 minutes 29 seconds

Series 3: Series 2: Register and Contour of Tone Systems

  1. Register and Contour of Tone Systems 1 10 minutes 58 seconds
  2. Register and Contour of Tone Systems 2 8 minutes 34 seconds
  3. Register and Contour of Tone Systems 3 7 minutes 57 seconds
  4. Register and Contour of Tone Systems 4 7 minutes 53 seconds

Series 4: Series 2: Register and Contour Tone Systems

  1. Register and Contour Tone Systems 1 10 minutes 6 seconds
  2. Register and Contour Tone Systems 2 9 minutes 49 seconds
  3. Register and Contour Tone Systems 3 7 minutes 19 seconds
  4. Register and Contour Tone Systems 4 5 minutes 52 seconds

Series 5: Series 3 : Phonoligical Phenomena of Downdrift and Downstep

  1. Phonoligical Phenomena of Downdrift and Downstep 1 14 minutes 12 seconds
  2. Phonoligical Phenomena of Downdrift and Downstep 2 12 minutes 13 seconds
  3. Phonoligical Phenomena of Downdrift and Downstep 3 13 minutes 34 seconds

Series 6: Series 3: Phonological Phenomena of Downdrift and Downstep

  1. Phonological Phenomena of Downdrift and Downstep 1 14 minutes 13 seconds
  2. Phonological Phenomena of Downdrift and Downstep 2 10 minutes 49 seconds
  3. Phonological Phenomena of Downdrift and Downstep 3 9 minutes 20 seconds
  4. Phonological Phenomena of Downdrift and Downstep 4 7 minutes 7 seconds

Series 7: Series 4 : Tone -Segment and Grammatical Interactions

  1. Tone -Segment and Grammatical Interactions 1 14 minutes 20 seconds
  2. Tone -Segment and Grammatical Interactions 2 11 minutes 13 seconds
  3. Tone -Segment and Grammatical Interactions 3 9 minutes 23 seconds
  4. Tone -Segment and Grammatical Interactions 4 5 minutes 52 seconds
  5. Tone -Segment and Grammatical Interactions 5 7 minutes 56 seconds

Series 8: Series 4: Tone–Segment and Grammatical Interactions

  1. Tone–Segment and Grammatical Interactions 1 13 minutes 43 seconds
  2. Tone–Segment and Grammatical Interactions 2 11 minutes 16 seconds
  3. Tone–Segment and Grammatical Interactions 3 9 minutes 23 seconds
  4. Tone–Segment and Grammatical Interactions 4 7 minutes 44 seconds
  5. Tone–Segment and Grammatical Interactions 5 5 minutes 52 seconds

Series 9: Series 5: Pitch Accent Systems and Tonal Tendencies in African Languages · Part 1

  1. Pitch Accent Systems and Tonal Tendencies in African Languages 1 13 minutes 47 seconds
  2. Pitch Accent Systems and Tonal Tendencies in African Languages 2 9 minutes 12 seconds
  3. Pitch Accent Systems and Tonal Tendencies in African Languages 3 7 minutes 25 seconds
  4. Pitch Accent Systems and Tonal Tendencies in African Languages 4 6 minutes

Series 10: Series 5: Pitch Accent Systems and Tonal Tendencies in African Languages · Part 2

  1. Pitch Accent Systems and Tonal Tendencies in African Languages 1 10 minutes 17 seconds
  2. Pitch Accent Systems and Tonal Tendencies in African Languages 2 9 minutes 42 seconds
  3. Pitch Accent Systems and Tonal Tendencies in African Languages 3 8 minutes 12 seconds
  4. Pitch Accent Systems and Tonal Tendencies in African Languages 4 9 minutes 36 seconds
LIN 306 Tone Systems

Lecture note

Read the full LIN 306 lecture note online or download the PDF.

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