this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2026
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I know that Japanese has it, there's a difference between ็ด™ and ็ฅž for example:

Technically: Latin Alphabet languages have something alike but not known as "pitch accent" more akin to word stress (think, "Cent" vs "Scent" or "Whole" vs "Hole") as in is there a difference in 'volume' (like the tone of your voice upon pronouncing either word). Is there an emphasis on how a word could be understood based on how it's said (in EN, FR, DE)?

I mean, do you know examples of words in (European) languages or ENG where something equivalent of "pitch accent" applies? Can you also tell the difference between something like "sent" / "cent" and "scent" even though those types of words are not relevant to another simply by hearing someone pronouncing it and the tone of their voice?

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[โ€“] disregardable@lemmy.zip 2 points 22 hours ago

Pitch accents are a system of speaking. They apply to all of the words. Every word has a tone, even if the tone is flat. If you don't say the word in the correct tone, you said the wrong word. It is not the same thing as stressing a word.