# Upstep

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{{Short description|Raising of the pitch of a second, same-tone syllable}}
{{Infobox IPA
| above = Upstep
| ipa symbol   = ꜛ◌
| ipa symbol2  = ꜞ◌
| ipa symbol3  = ꜟ◌
| ipa number   = 518
| decimal1     = 42779
}}
In [linguistics](/source/linguistics), '''upstep''' is a [phonemic](/source/phoneme) or [phonetic](/source/phonetic) upward shift of [tone](/source/tone_(linguistics)) between the syllables or words of a [tonal language](/source/tonal_language). It is best known in the tonal languages of [Sub-Saharan Africa](/source/Sub-Saharan_Africa). Upstep is a much rarer phenomenon than its counterpart, [downstep](/source/downstep).

The symbol for upstep in the [International Phonetic Alphabet](/source/International_Phonetic_Alphabet) is a [superscript](/source/superscript) upward [arrow](/source/arrow_(symbol)) [{{IPA|ꜛ}}] ([<sup>{{IPA|↑}}</sup>]). However, it is common, especially in the early research, to find a superscript (or sometimes subscript) inverted exclamation mark [{{IPA|ꜞ}}] ([<sup>{{IPA|¡}}</sup>]) or [<sub>{{IPA|¡}}</sub>], because of typographical constraints.

[Hausa](/source/Hausa_language) has upstep because of the interaction of tones when they are placed in context:{{Citation needed|date=January 2016}}

:{{IPA|[túránꜛtʃí nè]}}
:''It's English.''

Upstep is superficially similar to [pitch reset](/source/pitch_reset), which is nearly universal in the [prosody](/source/prosody_(linguistics)) of the world's languages. The most common [prosodic contours](/source/prosodic_unit) occur in chunks with gradually declining pitch (here transcribed as a global fall, [↘]). Between such chunks, the pitch resets:

:Been there. Done that.
:{{IPA|[ꜛbɪn ðɛɹ↘ ꜛdɐn ðæt↘ ]}}

== Occurrence ==
Upstep occurs in various Sub-Saharan African languages, for example:{{fix|text=are these phonetic or phonemic?}}

* [Bokoto](/source/Bokoto_language), an [Ubangian](/source/Ubangian) language of the [Central African Republic](/source/Central_African_Republic).{{Citation needed|date=January 2015}}
* [Duma](/source/Duma_language) and [Wandji](/source/Wandji), [Bantu](/source/Bantu_languages) B languages of [Gabon](/source/Gabon).<ref>Puech, Gilbert (1990). Upstep in a Bantu tone language. Pholia 5.175-1186.</ref><ref>[http://www.ddl.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/fulltext/Gabon/pholiapdf/pholia5/Puech_1990_bantu_phol5.pdf Puech 1990]</ref>
* [Engenni](/source/Engenni_language), an [Edoid](/source/Edoid) language of [Nigeria](/source/Nigeria).<ref>Snider, Keith Tonal 'upstep' in Engenni. Journal of West African Languages 27:1.3-15.</ref><ref>Hyman, Larry (1993). Register tones and tonal geometry. In ed. [Harry van der Hulst](/source/Harry_van_der_Hulst) & Keith L. Snider, The Phonology of Tone: The Representation of Tonal Register, 85-89. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.</ref><ref>Thomas, Elaine (1974). Engenni. In Ten Nigerian tone systems. Studies in Nigerian Languages, Vol. 4. (ed.) John Bendor-Samuel. Jos and Kano: Institute of Linguistics and Centre for the Study of Nigerian Languages.</ref><ref>Thomas, Elaine (1978). A grammatical description of the Engenni language. Arlington TX: University of Texas at Arlington and SIL.</ref>
* [Hausa](/source/Hausa_language), a [Chadic](/source/Chadic) language of [Nigeria](/source/Nigeria).{{Citation needed|date=January 2015}}
* [Kirimi](/source/Kirimi_language), a [Bantu](/source/Bantu_languages) F language of Tanzania.<ref>Hyman, Larry (1993). Register tones and tonal geometry. In ed. Harry van der Hulst & Keith L. Snider, The Phonology of Tone: The Representation of Tonal Register, 94-103. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.</ref>
* [Krachi](/source/Krachi_language), a [Guang](/source/Guang_languages) language of [Ghana](/source/Ghana).<ref>Snider, Keith L. (1990). Tonal Upstep in Krachi: Evidence for a Register Tier. In The geometry and features of tone. Dallas: SIL and University of Texas at Arlington.</ref>
* [Mankon](/source/Mankon_language), a [Grassfields](/source/Grassfields_languages) language of Cameroon.<ref>Hyman, Larry (1993). Register tones and tonal geometry. In ed. Harry van der Hulst & Keith L. Snider, The Phonology of Tone: The Representation of Tonal Register, 89-94. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.</ref><ref>Leroy, Jacqueline (1977). Morphologie et classes nominales in mankon. Paris: Société d'Etudes Linguistiques et Anthropologiques de France.</ref><ref>Leroy, Jacqueline (1979). A la recherche de tons perdus: structure tonal du nom en ngemba. Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 1.31-54.</ref><ref>Hyman, Larry & Maurice Tadadjeu (1976). Floating tones in Mbam-Nkam. In ed. Larry Hyman, Studies in Bantu Tonology. University of Southern California: Occasional Papers in Linguistics.</ref>
* [Mbelime](/source/Mbelime_language), a [Gur](/source/Gur_languages) language of [Benin](/source/Benin).<ref>Mellick, Christina (2012). Tone in the Mbelime verb system. Dallas, TX: Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics. Masters thesis, p. 82-84</ref>
* [Mbugwe](/source/Mbugwe_language), a [Bantu](/source/Bantu_languages) F language of [Tanzania](/source/Tanzania).<ref>Wilhelmsen, Vera (2013). Upstep in Mbugwe: a description of upstep in Mbugwe verbs. Paper presented at the 5th International Conference on Bantu Languages, Paris.</ref><ref>[https://www.academia.edu/4179373/Handout_at_Bantu_5_Upstep_in_Mbugwe Wilhelmsen 2013]</ref>
* [Nupe](/source/Nupe_language), a [Benue-Congo](/source/Benue-Congo) language of [Nigeria](/source/Nigeria).<ref>[Jason Kandybowicz](/source/Jason_Kandybowicz) (2008). The Grammar of Repetition: Nupe grammar at the syntax–phonology interface. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.</ref>

Upstep also occurs in at least one [Central American](/source/Central_American) language:

* [Peñoles Mixtec](/source/Pe%C3%B1oles_Mixtec_language), an [Oto-Manguean](/source/Oto-Manguean) language of [Mexico](/source/Mexico).<ref>Yip, Moira (2002). Tone. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp 217-219</ref>

== See also ==
* [Downstep](/source/Downstep), which is more commonly phonemic.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Suprasegmentals}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upstep (Phonetics)}}
Category:Phonetics

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Upstep](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upstep) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upstep?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.