A tone language is a type of language in which the pitch or tone used when pronouncing a word can change its meaning. For example, in languages like Mandarin Chinese and Thai, the same sequence of sounds can represent different words depending on whether the speaker uses a high, low, rising, or falling tone. This feature makes tone languages distinct from non-tone languages, where pitch does not affect word meaning. Tone languages can have multiple tones, often ranging from two to more than ten. Each tone can convey different grammatical or semantic information, making them complex and rich in expression. Understanding and using the correct tone is essential for effective communication in these languages.