If Chinese Mandarin is a tonal language, then how can people understand modern Chinese songs?

Question

If Chinese Mandarin is a tonal language, then how can people understand modern Chinese songs?

In: Other

Answer 1

The important thing to understand about tonal languages is that it’s not about absolute pitch but about relative pitch. Is the pitch rising, falling, staying level, going up and down, etc.

So, if a singer wants to sing a syllable with falling tone, they may start off singing it slightly sharp, then (quickly) drop down to the correct note, thus indicating falling tone.