NT
NT most commonly refers to the New Testament, the second principal division of the Christian Bible, comprising 27 books composed primarily in Koine Greek during the first century AD.[1][2] It is also an abbreviation used in various other contexts, as detailed in the following sections.Language
Digraphs and Letters
In several Bantu languages spoken in Africa, such as Zulu, Xhosa, and Swahili, the digraph "nt" represents a prenasalized voiceless dental or alveolar stop, typically transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ⁿt/, where a nasal consonant precedes the oral stop without a perceptible vowel in between.[3] This phonological feature is common across Bantu languages, aiding in the distinction of morphemes, as in Zulu words like intombi ("girl"), where the prenasalization contributes to the language's tonal and consonantal complexity.[3] In Swahili, similar "nt" sequences occur in prenasalized forms, though the language's phonology often treats them as single units in syllable structure. In the Jèrriais language, a variety of Norman spoken on the island of Jersey, the orthography includes digraphs and special conventions derived from French and local dialects, though "Nt" is not standardly listed as a distinct letter; instead, "nt" functions as a common digraph for the sequence /nt/, reflecting the language's Romance roots and influences from English and continental Norman.[4] The ISO 639-3 code "nto" designates the Ntomba language, a Bantu language of the Niger-Congo family spoken primarily in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with estimates of around 100,000 to 400,000 speakers based on ethnographic surveys.[5][6] Ntomba is classified within the Bangi-Ntomba group (C.30) and remains stable as an indigenous language, though it lacks widespread institutional support.[5]Contractions and Grammar
In English grammar, the contraction "n't" serves as the enclitic form of "not," primarily attaching to auxiliary verbs to express negation in a compact manner. This results in forms such as "don't" (do not), "isn't" (is not), "can't" (cannot), and "won't" (will not), which are standard in both spoken and informal written English. The contraction functions as a suffix-like element, typically following the auxiliary in questions and statements alike, as in "She isn't coming" or "Aren't you ready?"[7][8] The historical development of "n't" traces back to Late Middle English, around the fifteenth century, when "not" began contracting with modal auxiliaries through assimilation of its initial /n/ sound to following consonants. For instance, early forms like "wol not" evolved into "woln't" by the Early Modern English period, with widespread adoption occurring in the eighteenth century as contractions became more normalized in print and speech.[9] In standard dialects, such as General American and Received Pronunciation, "n't" is systematically applied to auxiliaries like be, do, have, and modals, appearing frequently in informal contexts—for example, "I haven't seen it" in casual conversation—while formal writing often expands it to "not" for clarity.[10] Variations in "n't" usage arise in informal speech and regional dialects, where speakers may omit the contraction entirely (e.g., "I do not know" instead of "I don't know") or blend it into broader negative patterns. In African American Vernacular English (AAVE), contractions exhibit greater flexibility, including the multifunctional "ain't" for multiple negations like "is not," "are not," or "have not," and a higher incidence of zero forms without "n't" (e.g., "He Ø coming" for "He is not coming"), alongside negative concord such as "I ain't got none." Common errors in standard usage include hypercorrections like "irregardless" or inconsistent application in questions (e.g., "Do you not?" vs. "Don't you?"), often stemming from prescriptive rules that discourage contractions in formal registers.[11][12]Music
Music Theory Terms
In music theory, a neighbor tone (NT) is a type of non-harmonic tone that embellishes a single chord tone by moving stepwise to an adjacent scale degree and then returning to the original chord tone, introducing a brief ornamental dissonance that resolves consonantally.[13] This motion typically occurs unaccented and can be either an upper neighbor (approaching from below, e.g., E to F back to E over an E chord tone) or a lower neighbor (approaching from above, e.g., E to D back to E).[13] Neighbor tones function to add melodic interest and rhythmic vitality without altering the underlying harmony.[14] Examples of neighbor tones appear prominently in classical music for expressive embellishment. In Johann Sebastian Bach's chorales, such as BWV 411, unaccented upper and lower neighbor tones are used to enhance the melodic lines against sustained chord tones, creating subtle dissonances that resolve immediately.[13] A representative illustration is over a C major chord, where the melody might proceed from C (chord tone) to D (upper neighbor) and back to C, notated as:This pattern, common in Baroque counterpoint, underscores the NT's role in ornamenting stable harmonic pillars.[13] Neighbor tones are distinguished from other non-harmonic tones by their specific motion and function. Unlike passing tones, which link two distinct chord tones through stepwise motion in the same direction (e.g., C to D to E connecting C and E), neighbor tones orbit a single chord tone with steps in opposite directions.[13] They also differ from appoggiaturas, which are typically accented, approached by leap (e.g., C to F), and resolved by step to a chord tone, often producing a more pronounced dissonance requiring stronger resolution.[13] In tonal harmony, neighbor tones adhere to resolution rules emphasizing stepwise return to the chord tone, ensuring the dissonance is weakly prepared (by step) and resolved (by step in the opposite direction) to maintain harmonic coherence.[13]C: | C - D - C | Chord: | C maj |C: | C - D - C | Chord: | C maj |