tone language

noun

1. a language, as Swedish, Chinese, Yoruba, or Serbo-Croatian, in which words that are otherwise phonologically identical are distinguished by having different pitches or pitch contour.

tone language

noun

1. a language, such as Chinese or certain African languages, in which differences in tone may make differences in meaning

Word History and Origins

Origin of tone language¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Yet there is abundant evidence of a tone language among them.

From Project Gutenberg