Recently, I went to a traditional Chinese dance show called Shen Yun (more on that later!). Between the acts, a member of the company would introduce the next act in Chinese, which was then translated for the American audiences. Listening to that much Chinese reminded me of my interest in tonal languages.

Tonal languages use pitch to create meaning. In English, the ends of sentences go up in pitch to denote a question, but in tonal languages, the pitch at which something is spoken can affect the understanding of individual words.

Here’s a video to watch if you’d like to hear some examples of Cantonese tones. It won’t teach you about tones– it’s just a collection of fun slang from a native speaker.

Cherokee is also a tonal language. Here’s a ten-minute documentary including some history and interviews with Cherokee speakers.

Further Reading:

Tonal languages & music skill