Stressing of the Lithuanian

The accent is a very important characteristic of the Lithuanian language which achieves the distinctive function. The Lithuanian has the accent the height which distinguishes the stressed syllable not only by its intensity, but also the modulation of the your syllabic.

Phonetic characteristics of the Lithuanian accent and its importance

Stressed syllable

Contrary to the French prosody, the Lithuanian accent is completely mobile, this wants to say that the stressed syllable can be in any position of the word: mókytojas, atsiprãšymas, reklamà. Moreover, the place of the accent achieves the distinctive function. For example, the words li͏̀kime ( let us remain ) - liki͏̀me ( oh, destiny! ) - likimè ( in the destiny ) contains the sounds of the same quantity and the same quality, but it is only the accent which changes their significance.

Modulations of let us tons. Intonations

All the stressed syllables of the Lithuanian language are not marked with the same intensity: the ones can be articulated in an abrupt way, especially at the beginning of the syllable, the others decide in a “soft” way more, but the voice can concentrate energy towards the end of the syllable. the intonation , it is the prosodic element of the Lithuanian who is expressed by the modulation of the intensity by pronouncing accentuated long syllables.

In Lithuanian, the syllable is considered long if it contains:

a long vowel: mótina ( mother ), vakarė̃lis ( evening ), prẽkė ( goods ).
a mixed Diphthong (pure vowel + Semivowel/vocalized Consonant): karei̇̃vis ( soldier ), išbandžiaũ ( I tested ), vélniškas ( diabolic ).

The syllables which do not meet these conditions are considered short. The syllabic intonations are present only in accentuated long syllables.

Types of the intonations

The standard Lithuanian recognizes only two syllabic intonations: rising intonation (tvirtagalė priegaidė) and downward (tvirtapradė priegaidė).

The rising intonation is characterized by its weak pronunciation in the beginning from the stressed syllable and the concentration from the intensity by pronouncing the end or the last element. Examples: kal̃tas ( guilty ), mer̃kti ( to make soak ). If the principal element of the syllable is a mixed diphthong, in the case of the rising intonation its second part will be prolonged (the audio examples reflect this phenomenon).

The rising intonation is always marked using the tilde above the vowel or the last element of the mixed diphthong of the stressed syllable.

The downward intonation, on the other hand, is characterized by the concentration from the intensity in the first part of the syllable followed by the weakening of the voice in the second: káltas ( graver ), mérkti ( to close the eyes ). The “Glottal stop” is its extreme alternative, but is present only in the dialect Samogitien. The downward intonation is marked using the accent:

serious if it acts of a diphthong whose first element is, or as well as the diphthongs: užgùitos ši̇̀ršės ( harassed wasps ), jùngti hèrbus ( to join the blazons ).
acute in all the other cases: lygýbės žénklas ( equal sign ), senóvės visúomenė ( company of last the ).

Groups of stressing

The standard Lithuanian has a rich system of the terminations and nominal, pronominal and verbal paradigms. Beside the system of the variation and conjugation, there exists also the system of the paradigms (or groups) of stressing (“kirčiuotės” in bed.).

Internal bonds

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