Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Tonal phenomena in Sranan

  • and
Published/Copyright: September 25, 2009
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill
Author Information Explore this Subject
STUF - Language Typology and Universals
From the journal Volume 59 Issue 2

Summary

It has always been assumed that the coastal creole of Suriname, Sranan, was a completely non-tonal language. It will be suggested in this article that there is evidence that this is not a completely correct position. It appears that Sranan does have certain properties reminiscent of tone languages. Two types of phenomena exhibitng such properties are discussed here: emphatic focussing in situ, and high-pitched ideo-phones. At least ideophones require to be lexically specified as to whether they bear a High tone or not.

Keywords: tone; register; intensive form; ideophones
Published Online: 2009-09-25
Published in Print: 2006-02-01

© Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, München

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Introduction
  2. Clash avoidance and metrical opacity in Singapore English
  3. The emergence of systems of lexical and grammatical tone and stress in Caribbean and West African Creoles
  4. Language contact and Michif stress assignment
  5. Stress assignment and functions of pitch in Vincentian Creole
  6. Tonal phenomena in Sranan
https://doi.org/10.1524/stuf.2006.59.2.211
Keywords for this article
tone; register; intensive form; ideophones

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Introduction
  2. Clash avoidance and metrical opacity in Singapore English
  3. The emergence of systems of lexical and grammatical tone and stress in Caribbean and West African Creoles
  4. Language contact and Michif stress assignment
  5. Stress assignment and functions of pitch in Vincentian Creole
  6. Tonal phenomena in Sranan
Downloaded on 12.4.2026 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1524/stuf.2006.59.2.211/html
Scroll to top button