The prosodic system

Jamaican Creole

Prosody is used to distinguish between two groups of words, both of which take prominence on the first syllable. In type I, the highest pitch occurs on the first syllable. In type II, the highest pitch is on the second syllable, with the first bearing falling pitch over its duration. The ability to bear type II prosody is lexically specified. Below is presented a pair of lexically contrastive items

Even where no minimal pairs exist, bisyllabic items with prominence on the first syllable have to be lexically specified for the ability to take type II prosody. Below is a sample.