Prosody examples

1. Length. a) Czech vowels

Short vowels						Long vowels
I		mIl	mile	`nicely'		i		mil	míle	`mile'
		lt	let	`flight'				lt	lét	`summer' (gen. pl.)
a		rat	rad	`row' (gen. pl.)		a		rat	rád	`order'
u		domu	domu	`house' (gen. sg.)		u		domu	domu°	`home' (adv.)

b) Hindi consonants

Short consonants					Long consonants
t		pt	`address' (n.)		t		pt	`leaf'
th		kth	`narrative'		th		kth	`red powdered bark'
d		d	`mace' (weapon)		d		d	`mattress'
t		bt	`save'		t		bt	`child'
		p	`to make someone agree'				p	`a fold' (in cloth)
k		pk	`cook' (v.)		k		pk	`firm'

2. Pitch and length in Croatian ("pitch accent")

	Long falling					Short falling
	têk	tek	`appetite'			têk	tek	`only'
	Long rising					Short falling
	ìíle	vile	`fairies'			île	vile	`hayfork'
	dùúa	duga	`rainbow'			dûa	duga	`stave'
	Long-long					Short-short
	kûtca	ku¢a	`houses' (gen.)			kûtca	ku¢a	`a house'

3. Lexical tone in Cantonese

High level		síí	`silk'
Mid level		sii	`to try'
Low-mid level		sìì	`matter'
Low fall		siì	`time'
High rise		sií	`history'
Low rise		sìi	`city'