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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pitch accent

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

In aboriginal America also pitch accent is known to occur as a grammatical process.

From Language An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Sapir, Edward

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

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