Tone Languages a Technique for Determining the Num

by Kenneth Lee Pike

The chief purposes of this book are the illustration of an analytical approach to tone languages, a methodology based upon recent linguistic advance, and the presentation of firsthand data on Mixteco and Mazateco, languages which represent two very different structural arrangements of linguistic tone. Part 1 describes some of the types of languages that exist, along with difficulties involved in their analysis. The second part presents the steps involved in determining the number and kinds of tonemes in a language and discusses how the procedures in modern phonemic theory must be modified for efficient tonal analysis. Part 3 concerns the presentation of a methodology for the discovery of tonal interplay, especially in languages with level tonemes, and the outlining of Mixteco and Mazateco. A bibliography is included.

187 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1948

About the author

Kenneth Lee Pike (June 9, 1912 – December 31, 2000) was an American linguist and anthropologist. He was the originator of the theory of tagmemics, the coiner of the terms "emic" and "etic" and the developer of the constructed language Kalaba-X for use in teaching the theory and practice of translation.

In addition, he was the First President of the Bible-translating organization Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), with which he was associated from 1942 until his death.