produce major differences in meanings. For example, the difference between voiceless (f) and voiced (v) consonants are important but there are many exceptions where it does not affect the meaning. ŋøŋa 1. to chew betelnut 2. a stick used in weaving ʉl 1. a lobster 2. to pull, drag taitai 1. to excel, precede 2. to shave Differences In Sounds mäk: tatooing as compared with ma: kind of garnish ′pannʉ: coconut leaf Pannøʉ: Palau i′te: my name i′tøʉ?: who? teiføʉ: thirsty taivøʉ: new ŋøs: tired ŋo̯s: glans penis Accents Of Words And Sentences Tobian utilizes both stress and pitch accents or tones. Compared to the other dialects, it uses less musical tone. It is not a tonal language because the tone does not change the meaning of the word. Although it is not tonal, the speech has a wide variety of tone variations that appear to be emotional rather than linguistic and either show emphasis or other semantic components. Stress accents are used but not as much as English or Russian. In the past, the stress marks would normally be placed on the last syllable of the words. In the present, the stress marks can be placed either on the last syllable or the second to last syllable. Accent on the Penultimate (Second to last) Accent on the Final Syllable Accent on the Antepenultimate (Third to last) Sentence Stress Vowel Harmony Vowel Length Furtive Vowels (Slightly heard or silent vowels) Consonants References External links Tobian language at Friends of Tobi Island Open access recordings of Hatohobei word lists, paradigms and narratives are available through Kaipuleohone Chuukic languages Languages of Palau Hatohobei Endangered Austronesian languages