>It is just so conceptually different to have the pitch/tone of a word determine its meaning. The word 'ma' in Thai can mean mother, dog, horse, or come depending on the tone. Thai has only 5 tones. Lao has 7 or 9. I think Mandarin has 5 and Cantonese 9. I've never been able to hear the distinction of more than 7 and then only in controlled drills. You can get it from context, usually, but when speaking it is unlikely you'll get it right except by accident <g> unless you've spoken it from childhood. > >We are so used to changing the pitch of a word to inflect meaning to the sentence that it is a hard habit to break.
How do they understand the written word (a book or newspaper), by context?
>It also explains why vocal music in Chinese is really awful to Western ears. <g>
"Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice." -- Dave Barry
