More than 40% of all the languages of the world are tonal.
Tonal languages use pitch to encode lexical and/or grammatical meanings.
The aim of the project is to systematically describe the diversity of the tonal systems of the languages of the world. The project will accumulate comprehensive data on the role of tones in phonological systems of the world’s languages: structure of tonal systems, functional load of tone (expressed in the terms of tonal density) in each particular language system, role of tone in distinguishing lexical and/or grammatical meanings.
Toneme
Toneme is a basic unit of tonology which can distinguish lexical and/or grammatical meanings.
The notion of toneme occupies a central place in the theoretical approach adopted in this project.
This project is based at the Institut nationale des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO, Paris). The project team is located at LLACAN (CNRS, UMR-8135). The project is funded by the ERC Advanced grant to Valentin Vydrin.
Project News
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ThoT Questionnaire update
The Thot Questionnaire has been updated to the version 10d.
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The ThoT Database has acquired a new section: Typological features of tonal systems.
Here is the link to this section: https://thot.huma-num.fr/db/features
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The Questionnaire updating: version 8d
The Questionnaire has been updated. The modifications concern sections 1, 4.3 (Toneless morphemes has been moved to 7.3), 7.3 and 10 (traditional terminologies and tonal orthographies).
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Dom (New Guinea) analytical report has been posted (see section Languages)
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April 24, 2025, 4.30 PM (Paris time). Neige Rochant: Tonal system of Baga Pukur (Guinea)