non-emphatic
adjective
languagespecialized(alsononemphatic)uk/ˌnɒn.emˈfæt.ɪk/us/ˌnɑːn.emˈfæt̬.ɪk/A non-emphatic word orsoundis one that is notstressed(= given moreforceorimportancethanothers):
Thedistinctionbetweenemphaticand nonemphaticindefinitepronounsismarkedonly by thestress.
One candescribeintonationintermsofpairsofopposedfeatures: "non-emphatic" and "emphatic", and "suspensive" and "final".
used for referring to aparticulartypeofconsonantinlanguagessuch asArabic,Aramaic, andHebrew:
Arabicdistinguishesbetweenemphaticand non-emphaticconsonants.
- Aswitchfrom a non-emphaticstyleto anemphaticone is used toindicateaclimaxin story-telling.
- There is novariationamongArabicspeakersfor the non-emphaticconsonantswhich are alwayspronouncedwithoutemphasis.
Linguistic terms & linguistic style
- affricate
- allophone
- allophony
- anaphor
- anaphora
- chatty
- colloquial
- distributive
- double entendre
- downtoner
- emphatic
- entailment
- etymological
- flowery
- oxymoron
- philological
- polysemy
- portmanteau word
- prescriptivism
- prescriptivist