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Register tone
· from English
What is a register tone?
A register tone (level tone) is distinguished by relative pitch height, high, mid or low, held fairly flat across the syllable.
Register tone systems contrast pitch levels rather than pitch movements. Cantonese has three clear level tones (55, 33 and 22 in Chao numbers), and many African languages such as Yoruba are mostly register-tone systems. Learners often struggle because level tones only differ relative to the speaker's own range.
Examples
Cantonese 詩 si1 (poem, high level); 試 si3 (try, mid level); 事 si6 (matter, low level)
Kungfucius says: Three flat tones that differ only by height: Cantonese is basically a staircase you have to hear in the dark.