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1 vote

Is English really a non-tonal language?

Let's dissect what British Council Teaching English site says, first: English is not a tonal language. This is a true statement. Why it's true? Because in English: pitch changes in words do not ...
Tran Khanh's user avatar
-2 votes

Is English really a non-tonal language?

There are cases in English of complete tonal expression. For instance, I can say "I don't know", mouth closed, using only tones. But, like "Sorry?", they are the exception instead ...
Sam Washburn's user avatar
3 votes

Is English really a non-tonal language?

"Sorry!" in that example is the entire sentence and English, like many other non-tonal language, does have sentence-level tones. Another example is questions have a rising pitch. There are a ...
Sandra's user avatar
  • 135
51 votes

Is English really a non-tonal language?

You seem to be confusing intonation with tonality. English definitely has intonation (pretty much all natural languages do), but it is not a tonal language. Tonal languages use tonality for either ...
Austin Hemmelgarn's user avatar
6 votes

Is English really a non-tonal language?

English is a semi-tonal or, more commonly, a pitch-accent language. The reasons you state are exactly why this category exists. Our tones don't literally change words like in Chinese, but can ...
Michael W.'s user avatar
60 votes
Accepted

Is English really a non-tonal language?

Sorry is still the word sorry no matter your intonation, though it may have different meanings in context. In a tonal language, say Mandarin Chinese, it would be an entirely different written form ...
DW256's user avatar
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