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pitch accent

British  

noun

  1. Also called: tonic accent.  (in languages such as Ancient Greek or modern Swedish) an accent in which emphatic syllables are pronounced on a higher musical pitch relative to other syllables

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But this pitch accent, while alien to us, is not impossible of acquisition, and it is essential to any adequate rendering of any Latin writer, whether of prose or verse.

From The Roman Pronunciation of Latin Why we use it and how to use it by Lord, Frances Ellen

In languages which, like English, show comparatively little pitch accent it is to be noticed that the sentence tends to develop a more musical character under the influence of emotion.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

It is possible that sporadic changes of accent, as in the Gr. meter compared with the Sanskrit mata, is owing to the shifting of the pitch accent to the same syllable as the stress occupied.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

"Splendid! splendid!" he cried; "your voices, like your names, are made for one another, in quality, pitch, accent, everything."

From The Human Chord by Blackwood, Algernon

Speech involves a great variety of combinations—of pitch, accent, inflection and emphasis.

From Applied Psychology: Driving Power of Thought Being the Third in a Series of Twelve Volumes on the Applications of Psychology to the Problems of Personal and Business Efficiency by Hilton, Warren

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