Definition of tonal

The word "tonal" refers to a linguistic feature that describes a language in which the meaning of syllables and words is determined by changes in the pitch, tone, and contour of the speaker's voice. In such languages, different pitches or tones can completely change the meaning of a syllable. This concept can be traced back to the 19th century, when linguists were studying the tonal languages of Southeast Asia. The term "tonal" was coined by the German linguist Hermann Hirth in 1887 to distinguish these languages from the vast majority of European languages, which do not use tone in this way. Since then, the study of tonal languages has become a major area of linguistics, as linguists work to understand how these complex linguistic systems function and how they have evolved over time. Today, it is estimated that around one-third of the world's languages employ some form of tone to convey meaning.