變調

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變調(tone sandhi) refers to tone manipulation rules governing the pronunciation of 聲調。變調在梵文裡意思為 "合併在一起"。 Tone-changing processes are active in all tonal languages, but they seem to be more common in some than in others.

在中文裡, the most common tone sandhi rule is that the leading syllable in a set of two third-tone syllables is raised to the second tone. For example, nǐhǎo (漢語拼音，中文意即：你好), the most common Mandarin greeting, is pronounced níhǎo. Tone sandhi in 客家話 is more complex; in 閩南語, more complex still, with the most complex systems found in 吳語 and 晉語. As an example of how tone sandi may affect meaning, the 臺灣話 morphemes kiaⁿ (afraid) and lâng (person) may combine to form the word kiaⁿ-lâng, whose meaning varies according to the tone change. When pronounced "kiaⁿ7-lâng5", it means "to be afraid of people". When pronounced "kiaⁿ1-lâng1", it means "frightful".

查洛基語 has a robust tonal system in which tones may be combined in various ways, following subtle and complex tonal rules that vary from community to community. While the tonal system is undergoing a gradual simplification in many areas (no doubt due to Cherokee often falling victim to second-language status), the tonal system remains extremely important in meaning and is still held strongly by many, especially older speakers.