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What do African languages have in common?

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Tonality is a common feature of indigenous African languages. There are usually two or three tones (based on pitch levels rather than the rising and falling in inflections of Chinese tones) used to indicate semantic or grammatical distinction.

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Get more facts and information about African languages . Or, view the full encyclopedia entry from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.

Similar questions: How do African language tones differ from Chinese ones? What are the tones in African languages based on? How many tones are there in African languages? [ Hide these questions ]

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