Lithuanian
Aukshtaitish, Aukštaitian (lit. Aukštaičių tarmė)
lit (lith1251)
Indo-European (indo1319) > Balto-Slavic (balt1263)
Eurasia
( Republic of Lithuania )
L1 speakers: 3000000
L2 speakers: 500000
A list of the publications on the language, and particularly on its tonal system, used in this report.
The version of the project questionnaire this analytical report answers, e.g. 10d.
Last modified: 2025-11-18 15:08 by vvydrin
2. Segmental phonology
2.1 Phonemic inventory
Consonants whose type restricts the tonal distribution of the syllable they belong to.
2.2 Prosodic units
The smallest prosodic unit relevant for the surface realization of tone. The syllable, unless the contrary is proven.
Not applicable: the language has no prosodic foot (§2.2).
3. Tonal inventory
3.1.1 Number of tonal levels
List only those levels that either constitute targets in tonemes and their allotones, or represent a default tonal level.
“downstep” not applicable: the language has no downstep (§3.4).
3.1.2 Contours hosted by one syllable
The tonal contours a single syllable can host, each written as a sequence of tonal levels. Whether a contour is a toneme is a separate question, answered in 3.2; listing one here does not make it one, and a language may host a contour that is not a toneme.
3.2 Inventory of tonemes
High
/ H /
toneme

Criteria:

  • The Activity Criterion

View details
3.4 Downstep and upstep
Downstep is any downtrend — a lowering of the phonetic backdrop against which pitch targets are scaled — caused by a local trigger. A downtrend triggered by a preceding lower tone counts, regardless of whether it was traditionally called downdrift or automatic downstep. A global utterance-level declination belongs to §6.3.
Not applicable: the language has no downstep (§3.4).
Not applicable: the language has no downstep (§3.4).
Not applicable: the language has no downstep (§3.4).
Upstep is the mirror image of downstep: an upward shift of the phonetic backdrop caused by a local trigger.
4. Tonotactics
“foot” not applicable: the language has no prosodic foot (§2.2).
4.2 Combinations of tonemes. Tonal melodies
A tonal melody is a stable combination of tonemes mapped onto a segment of variable size, most often a word.
4.3 Extratonal syllables/moras
4.4 Tonal phrases
A tonal phrase is a maximal domain for tonal processes made of two or more prosodic words, and is defined in syntactic terms.
5. Stress and tone
5.1 Culminativity
5.2 Stress
Yes only where stress always falls on a given syllable counted from a word boundary, not merely by default.
5.3 Positional prominence
For languages that have no stress. Stress is a syllabic prominence that is obligatory; this is prominence that is not — a prosodic word may have no prominent syllable.
Not applicable: the question is for languages without stress, and this one has stress (§5.2).
5.4 Obligatoriness of tone
Obligatoriness means that any prosodic word either bears at least one toneme or is included into a tonal span of a neighbouring word. A word with no lexical tone of its own does not rule it out.
6. Tonal rules
Basic Accentuation Principle (BAP)
other
0μ Hμ 0μ --> 0μ Hμ 0μ

If the prosodic word underlyingly has one High tonemes, it is overtly exposed.

High tone insertion
other
0μ 0μ 0μ --> Hμ 0μ 0μ

If the prosodic word underlyingly has no High tonemes, a High-toneme is inserted in the first mora.

High-toneme deletion
other
Hμ Hμ 0μ --> Hμ 0μ 0μ

If the prosodic word underlyingly has two or more High tonemes, the second, third etc. are deleted.

Non-High vowel lengthening
other
0μ (0μ 0μ..) --> 0μ Hμ (0μ 0μ..)

With the words of class 3 nouns the first non-high vowel is lengthened if it is followed by weak morphemes; the second mora acquires the H tone. This rule does not apply to prefixes.

H-toneme on the second mora
other
<0μ> 0μ 0μ 0μ --> 0μ Hμ 0μ 0μ

With the words of class 3 nouns, if the first syllable contains a mixed diphtongoid, the second mora receives the H-tone if it is followed by weak morphemes. This rule does not apply to prefixes.

Tone advancement
polarization
Stem (0μ...) Hμ + suffix Hμ --> (0μ..) 0μ Hμ

If H tone occupies the final position of the noun stem, and the suffix also bears H tone, then in the superficial representation the second mora (mora of the suffix) will have the High tone

6.2 Segmental processes affecting mapping of tonal spans
A vowel elision that causes resyllabification, for instance, changing the number of syllables a span is mapped onto. The rules themselves belong in the analytical report.
6.3 Tone and intonation
Tone and intonation use the same medium, so the two can compete: peaks and boundary tones may block tonemes from being realized or displace the boundaries of their spans, or be affected by tonemes in turn.
Not applicable: the language has no downstep (§3.4).
7. Grammatical and lexical tones
7.1. Grammatical tones
Not applicable: the language has no grammatical tone: both questions at the top of §7.1 are answered no.
Not applicable: the language has no grammatical tone: both questions at the top of §7.1 are answered no.
Not applicable: the language has no grammatical tone: both questions at the top of §7.1 are answered no.
Item-based grammatical tone can be described in additive morphology — the meaning maps onto an underlying form. Process-based grammatical tone cannot be derived from an underlying representation and is described as an operation (Sande 2022).
Not applicable: the language has no grammatical tone: both questions at the top of §7.1 are answered no.
Replacive deletes the lexical tone of the word or part of it; additive docks without deleting. Dominant deletes the lexical tones of the word; recessive docks onto its originally toneless segments.
Not applicable: the language has no grammatical tone: both questions at the top of §7.1 are answered no.
Mirror-reflecting replaces each toneme by its opposite; subtractive deletes a lexical tone meaningfully, leaving the morpheme toneless; scalar shift raises or lowers by one or two degrees.
Not applicable: the language has no grammatical tone: both questions at the top of §7.1 are answered no.
Not applicable: the language has no grammatical tone: both questions at the top of §7.1 are answered no.
7.2 Tonal paradigms
A concise account is enough, a detailed description is in the analytical report.
7.3. Lexical tones
7.4 Tonal specification of bound morphemes
8. Tonal classes of words
8.1 Differentiation of word classes by tone
8.2 Tonal classes of words
Classes whose members differ in their tonal behaviour, not necessarily following the parts of speech.
9. Diachrony of tone
A flag for finding these languages, not for comparing them: the account itself belongs in the analytical report.
10. Traditional representation of tone
10.2 Tonal notation in the writing
Analytical report (fulltext)