The tones thus indicated are known as the tones proper, or tones which words have when spoken entirely alone. When words are used in connection with other words the tones of some of them are modified or completely changed. This is done for the sake of emphasis, easy utterance, or general euphony. A list of words illustrating the changes which tones undergo in combination will be found in the Introduction to Miss Fielde’s Dictionary, to which the learner is referred.
The number of syllables used in all the tones is comparatively few. Some are used in three, or four, or half a dozen only, and others, from the nature of their final letter, are used in two only, all of which is so much better for the learner.
A syllable having its own proper tone may also be spoken with or without an aspirate, with or without a nasal, or with one or both combined, thus having a tone, a nasal, and an aspirate. The addition of a nasal, or an aspirate, or both, indicates an entirely different word, represented by an entirely different Chinese character, thus:—
| Ki — | khi — | kiⁿ — | khiⁿ. |
| Ta — | tha — | taⁿ — | thaⁿ. |
| Ke — | khe — | keⁿ — | kheⁿ. |
| Cha — | chha — | chaⁿ — | chhaⁿ. |
| Chi — | chhi — | chiⁿ — | chhiⁿ. |
In connection with the tones, attention must be given to the quantity of sound in the vowels. Not only must the word have the right pitch, but it must also have due quantity. There is a tendency in the foreign learner to lose sight of this. Consequently his tones are clipped or huddled together in utterance. This is a grave defect and increases the difficulty of being easily understood. In illustrating what is now to be said about vowel quantity I shall use the spelling of Goddard’s Vocabulary, which is well fitted for the purpose, omitting the tonal marks as not necessary to the illustration in hand, thus :—
| A Tiam, | spoken incorrectly as if it were | A Tem. |
| Tiang, | spoken„ incorrectly„ as„ if„ it „ were„ | tang. |
| Siang, | spoken„ incorrectly„ as„ if„ it „ were„ | sang. |
| Chiau, | spoken„ incorrectly„ as„ if„ it „ were„ | chau. |
| Chiu, | spoken„ incorrectly„ as„ if„ it „ were„ | chu. |
| Chiak, | spoken„ incorrectly„ as„ if„ it „ were„ | chak. |
