The high even is usually found more difficult of utterance; the sound is high and somewhat prolonged, resembling a circumflex higher in the middle than at either end.
The peculiarity of the high tone consists in a strong emphasis of the voice at the beginning of a word leaving the end to die away obscurely. Words in this tone are usually pronounced much shorter than in the even; but when followed by another word which is coupled to it and to be pronounced in connection with it, the sound is prolonged, rising, but not increasing in strength, to the close. In such cases it somewhat resembles the high Going.
The high going consists in a prolongation of sound continually rising to the end. The medium going comprises a class of words which Tie Chiu men commonly read in an even tone, somewhat lower than the low even. The low going tone consists in a prolongation of the sound, very low but increasing in strength or emphasis to the close.
The entering tone consists in an abrupt ending, and the high and low differ in the same manner as the high and low even. all words ending in k, p, or t are of this class, and these are the only consonants which form the termination; when the vowels form the termination, they are pronounced as if a consonant was about to be added but is suddenly out off. It is sometimes represented by adding a final h; but as the abruptness results from the nature of the tone, if the tonal mark is used the h is not necessary. The use of h also interrupts the uniformity of the orthogrophy, as words of this tone belong in the same class with others which do not end with h, and from which their sound differs only in tone. This may be seen by pronouncing such syllables as chi, ti, te, in each of the tones.
Though the preceding remarks may help to explain the nature of the tones in this dialect, yet the learner will need the assistance of a teacher with the living voice to enable him attain a perfectly correct use of them; and the earlier he learns to distinguish and pronounce them correctly the greater will be the saving of his future labor and the more accurate his use of the language.
4. We may here notice some varieties in the usage of persons who speak the Tie Chiu dialect.
