Tone
（1）声调；音调
（2）单音
(1) A term used in phonology to refer to the distinctive pitch level of a syllable. In the study of intonation, a sequence of tones constitutes a contour or tone unit. In Hallidayan analysis, the division of an utterance into tone groups is called tonality. The most prominent tone in a tone unit may be referred to as a nuclear tone. In many languages, the tone carried by a word is an essential feature of the meaning of that word (lexical tone), e.g. in Beijing Mandarin Chinese the word ma when pronounced in a level tone means ‘mother’, and in a falling-rising tone means ‘horse’ - two out of four possible tone contrasts in that language. Such languages, where word meanings or grammatical categories are dependent on pitch level, are known as tone languages. The unit which carries the tone (e.g. syllable, mora) is called the tone-bearing unit. Many languages of South-East Asia and Africa are tone languages, illustrating several types of tonal organization. In such languages, sequences of adjacent tones may influence each other phonetically or phonologically, e.g. a word which in isolation would have a low tone may be given higher tone if a high-tone word follows: such a phenomenon is sometimes called tone (or tonal ) sandhi. The organization of tonal structure within a non-linear phonological model (the nature of tonal features and the location of tonal linkage) is sometimes called tonal geometry.
The study of the phonetics properties of tone, in its most general sense, is sometimes referred to as tonetics. In the emic tradition of study, contrastive tones are classified as tonemes, and the study of such tones is known as tonemics. Features of tone, such as ‘high’, ‘low’ and ‘mid’, are proposed by distinctive feature theories of phonology. Tones which vary in pitch range are often called ‘contour’, ‘kinetic’ or ‘dynamic’ tones; those who do not vary in range are ‘static’ or ‘level’ tones.
(2) In acoustic phonetics, a sound with sufficient regularity of vibration to provide a sensation of pitch. Sounds which lack this regularity are characterized as noise. A pure tone is produced by a waveform whose pattern of vibration repeats itself at a constant rate; such tones are typically produced by electronic sources or tuning forks. When two or more tones of different frequencies combine, the result is a complex tone. Most sounds, including those of speech, involve complex tones, with different periodic patterns.
（1）音系学用“音调”来指一个音节的区别性音高。在研究语调时，一个音调序列构成一个曲拱或语调单位。在韩礼德式分析中，一个话段能切分成若干调群称作调性。一个音调单位中最突显的音调可称作核心调。许多语言中，词负载的音调即声调是区别词的意义的一个基本特征（词汇调），例如汉语北京话的ma发平调是“妈”，降升调是“马”—这种语言四个对立声调中的两个。这类语言，即词义或语法范畴依赖于音高的，称作声调语言。负载声调的单位（例如音节、莫拉）称作载调单位。东南亚和非洲的许多语言都是声调语言，声调的组织有好几种类型。在这类语言中，邻接的声调会在语音和音系上互相影响，例如，一个词单独时为低调，但后面如接一个高调词就可能变为较高的调：这种现象有时称作连续变调。非线性音系学模型中声调结构的组织（声调特征的性质和声调连系的位置）有时称作声调构架。
对声调语音特征的研究，从最宽泛的涵义上讲，可称作声调学。按照位的研究传统，对立的声调可作调位分类，对调位的研究称作调位学。音系学的区别特征理论将声调特征分为“高”、“低”、“中”等。音高范围有变化的声调常称作“曲拱”调，“动势”调或“动态”调；音高不发生变化的声调是“静止”调或“平”调。
（2）声学语音学中，指振动有足够的规律性、给人以一种音高感觉的音。缺乏这种规律性的音称作噪音。单音产生纯音的波形，其振动型式以固定的速率自行重复；这种音一般由电声源或音叉产生。两个或多个不同频率的单音结合而成复音。大多数音，包括言语的音，都是复音，包含不同的周期波。