Secondtone

Secondtone is a term used in linguistic discussions to denote the second category in a language’s tonal inventory. In many four-tone systems, the second tone is characterized by a rising pitch contour, typically moving from mid to high pitch. The exact phonetic realization and functional load of the second tone can vary across languages.

In Mandarin Chinese, the second tone is a rising contour and is one of the four basic tones. It is often described as mid-to-high rising, in contrast to the first tone (high level), the third tone (falling-rising), and the fourth tone (falling). In pinyin notation, the second tone is indicated with a diacritic mark on vowels: for example, má, shí, or máo. These examples illustrate how the same syllable can carry different meanings when assigned different tones.

Notation and description of the second tone can differ between languages with tonal systems. While Mandarin provides a clear, standardized four-tone framework, other languages may assign the label “second tone” to a rising, mid, or otherwise distinct contour within their own tonal inventories. Some languages use numerical or descriptive tone labels, and “second tone” may align with a rising pitch in one language but a different contour in another.

See also: Tone (linguistics), Mandarin Chinese phonology, Pinyin.