English Dictionary

floating tone

noun

(phonology) A morpheme or element of a morpheme that contains no consonants or vowels, but only tone. It cannot be pronounced by itself, but affects the tones of neighbouring morphemes.

The floating tone of her voice added a touch of mystery to her performance.

意味（1）

(phonology) A morpheme or element of a morpheme that contains no consonants or vowels, but only tone. It cannot be pronounced by itself, but affects the tones of neighbouring morphemes.

意味（2）

(phonology) A phonemic tone which is not associated to a syllable and is therefore not pronounced, but may affect the articulation of neighboring tones, such as by causing downstep.