User:Bukkia/sandboxVIII

Tones

All vowels make a distinction among six different tones, with the exception of the phonemes [æ] and [œ], which distinguish only four different tones. Tone is a clearly distinctive feature:

jò - jô
I - we

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

• a: [a³³], mid tone.
• à: [a⁵³], falling tone.
• á: [a¹³], rising lower tone.
• á̱: [a²³], rising higher tone.
• â: [a³⁵³], rising-falling lower or apical lower tone.
• â: [a⁴⁵³], rising-falling higher or apical higher tone.

The mid tone is usually regarded as a neutral tone, not being graphically expressed by any diacritic mark. The rising and the falling tones are regarded as linear tones. The rising-falling and the falling-rising tones are rearded as spike tones. This distinction is relevant for stress positioning.

Tone variations are abundant among dialects, both diachronically and synchronically. Generally speaking, however, five tonal types are always distinguished.