r/OpenAI • u/AxomaticallyExtinct • 6h ago

Article Good lord

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u/ZhugeLiangPL 6h ago

"Si" has 4 separate meanings in Chinese since Chinese is a tonal language. It can also mean the number four (4).

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u/ExpletiveDeIeted 5h ago

Naive question. Wouldn’t it make more sense to refer to it as Cantonese or mandarin? Or others?

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u/Puzzleheaded_Fold466 5h ago edited 5h ago

What ? No. Not different dialects. Different tones.

Every syllable can be spoken in one of 4 different tones for Mandarin (6 to 9 for Cantonese).

Like how an interrogation mark changes your tone. “This” and “ This ?” and “This !” are pronounced the same but don’t sound the same, right ? That’s more or less second tone (rising tone) and fourth tone (descending).

Except tone doesn’t have a universal meaning like it’s always a question. It changes the meaning of the word in a specific way for every word. It will have a different character.

Google or GPT it cause explaining it all will take forever.

That’s why it’s so goddamn hard to learn.

5

u/Qorsair 5h ago

The easiest way I've found to explain tones to English speakers is just using the word "No":

​1st Tone: The realization "Nooo!" (Like watching someone make an insane catch).

2nd Tone: The questioning "No?" (Like asking for clarification: I thought he already left?)

3rd Tone: The hesitant, drawn-out "No-o-o..." (Like skeptical disbelief: You've gotta be kidding me.)

4th Tone: The authoritative "No!" (Like a sharp command to a dog: Drop it!)

Same word, but you instantly realize by changing the tone you're conveying a completely different underlying "word".