Ian Maddieson: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from Ian Maddieson, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

In much of the world, pitch alone can completely change a word's meaning
In tone languages such as Mandarin, the same syllable 'ma' can mean mother, hemp, horse or a scolding, depending only on the pitch contour used to say it. Large-scale linguistic su…
— Ian Maddieson, Tone, in The World Atlas of Language Structures Online
Hindi hears four different consonants where English only hears one
Where English treats 'p' and 'b' as just two sounds, Hindi and related languages contrast four versions of the same consonant: voiceless unaspirated, voiceless aspirated, voiced un…
— Peter Ladefoged, Ian Maddieson, The Sounds of the World's Languages

Five ideas worth knowing, every week