In contemporary Omotic, Chadic, and Cushitic languages, tone is primarily a grammatical feature: it encodes various grammatical functions, only differentiating lexical roots in a few cases.
ɪn kəntˈɛmpɚɹˌɛɹi ɑːmˈɑːɾɪk, tʃˈædɪk, ænd kʊʃˈɪɾɪk lˈæŋɡwɪdʒᵻz, tˈoʊn ɪz pɹaɪmˈɛɹᵻli ɐ ɡɹɐmˈæɾɪkəl fˈiːtʃɚ: ɪɾ ɛŋkˈoʊdz vˈɛɹiəs ɡɹɐmˈæɾɪkəl fˈʌŋkʃənz, ˈoʊnli dˌɪfɚɹˈɛnʃɪˌeɪɾɪŋ lˈɛksɪkəl ɹˈuːts ɪn ɐ fjˈuː kˈeɪsᵻz.