What if English was a Tonal Language?

[generalx]

Bro turned into a Minecraft villager in the start

[Sushhsusjsj]

Someone’s gotta write a sci-fi where english evolves into that

[Jaguar_X]

As an Afrikaans speaker this is super interesting!
Your videos are always super informative, always excited to see them in my feed

[Diriector_Doc]

English uses emphasis to differentiate between nouns and verbs.
extract (n) & extract (v)
consult (n) & consult (v)
permit (n) & permit (v)
contest (n) & contest (v)
object (n) & object (v)
Nouns usually emphasize the first syllable whereas verbs, usually the second.

[leadharsh]

Punjabi is one of the unknown tonal languages, whenever a non punjabi speaker from the same country speaks it, its really obvious that they aren't native due to them not pronouncing the tones. The best or worst part is that the tones are not clearly defined or documented and have been passed colloquially in various dialects from centuries.

[ZenithWest]

As a tone-deaf person, I'm so glad English doesn't have tones! I already have enough issues with understanding people as it is.

[jademonass]

that last sentence is SO cool
would you be able to do a mini conlang based on it?

[aoifedeborha]

Well, that would probably become the first rule in English that actually works 😂

[russergee]

Perfect morning lesson on tones, thank you! Very interesting about Afrikaans

[ShirouHiroyuki]

This happens with Filipino words aswell, multiple words are differentiated through context and intonation as well as your tone of voice when saying them

[spicysmooth]

I can have a whole conversation with just the word “girl”

[richyhu]

No lie, that last bit just sounds like the Chinglish I speak with my parents lol. Chinese words with English grammatical

[marlovorster]

As an Afrikaans speaker, the way you said pad was very good and accurate, although the pronunciation of afrikaans the word could use some practice, very interesting

[brandonjacky]

Bro went from "pass Pat the bad bass" to "🐕🛩️"

[Brina.-gbib]

"umfahren" has complete opposite meaning depending on how you pronounce it in German. UmFAHren is drive around something and UMfahren drive over something. Kinda leads to funny misunderstandings for people learning German. 😂

[SongBillong]

Easily my favourite channel on YouTube. Absolutely fascinating!

[Axomy]

Bro was speaking the Hauk Tuah language at the end

[tylerdotapp]

"what if english was tonal" imagine the look on this guys face when he discovers Australian English

[jegfucc]

Your Mandarin tones were good! ā á and à were perfect :)
While it technically is a falling-rising tone, ǎ is essentially a low tone (˨˩˦). Start near the bottom of your vocal register and just dip down until the sound goes into the back of your throat - kinda like ع in Arabic actually!

[eggs_]

MY JAW DROPPED AS A SOUTH AFRICAN! I LOVE SEEING MY MOTHER LANGUAGE BEING MENTIONED