User:Bukkia/sandboxVIII

Tones

All vowels make a distinction among three different tones. Tone is a clearly distinctive feature:

ɬɔ̇j - ɬɔj - ɬɔ̣j
eagle - to say - to cultivate

Using the vowel [a] as an example, the tones, and their graphic transcription, are:

• ȧ: [a⁵⁵], high tone.
• a: [a³³], mid tone.
• ạ: [a¹¹], low tone.

All tones as regarded as linear, not being present other tonal types in the same syllable. The mid is usually regarded as a neutral tone, not being graphically expressed by any diacritic mark. The high and the low tones, conversely, are expressed by a dot over or under the letter.