Upstep (phonetics)
3200035
214581845
2008-05-24T06:31:26Z
Kwamikagami
93143
{{Suprasegmental}}
In [[phonetics]], '''upstep''' is a [[phoneme|phonemic]] or [[phonetic]] upward shift of [[tone (linguistics)|tone]] between the syllables or words of a tonal language. Upstep is much rarer as a phoneme than its opposite, [[downstep (phonetics)|downstep]].
The symbol for upstep in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] is a superscript up arrow, <sup>↑</sup>, which is not yet supported by [[Unicode]]. It's not uncommon to see a superscript inverted exclamation mark, <sup>¡</sup>, used instead.
Upstep is superficially similar to [[pitch reset]], which is nearly universal in the [[prosody (linguistics)|prosody]] of the world's languages. The most common [[prosodic unit|prosodic contours]] occur in chunks with gradually declining pitch (here transcribed as a global fall, [↘]). Between such chunks the pitch resets:
:Been there. Done that.
:{{IPA|[<sup>↑</sup>bɪn ðɛɹ↘ <sup>↑</sup>dɐn ðæt↘ ]}}
However, true upstep is due to tonal interaction, not prosody. [[Hausa language|Hausa]], for example, has both phonetic upstep due to the interaction of tones, and pitch reset between prosodic units characterised by [[downdrift]]. Here we indicate just the upstep:
:{{IPA|[túrán<sup>↑</sup>tʃí nè]}}
:''It's English.''
In Hausa, upstep is predictable. Phonemic upstep is rare.
[[category:Phonetics]]
[[Category:Phonetics stubs]]
[[br:Pignenn (yezhoniezh)]]