Lexical Tone

Use of pitch to distinguish word meanings, a core feature of Mandarin, Yoruba, and many other languages.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Mandarin's four tones turn the syllable 'ma' into mother, hemp, horse, or scold.
• About 40 percent of languages surveyed in the World Atlas of Language Structures are tonal.
• Cantonese distinguishes six tones, more than Mandarin's four.