stemtaal
Stemtaal is a term used in linguistic literature to denote languages in which pitch, or tone, distinguishes lexical or grammatical meaning on syllables. In Dutch-language discussions, stemtaal is often used as a general label for tonal languages, setting them apart from languages in which pitch mainly conveys speech attitude or emphasis (intonation) rather than word-level meaning. In stemtaal systems, tone contrasts are phonemic; a syllable with a different tone can form a different word.
Phonologically, stemtaal languages typically employ a small set of tones, commonly two to four; these may include
Stemtaal encompasses a wide typological range and occurs in various language families worldwide. Real-world tonal languages
Writing systems for stemtaal languages often represent tone with diacritics or leave tone unmarked, depending on