A word that to an English ear has but one sound may mean any one of eight things according as it is spoken in an abrupt, high, low, or any other of the eight 'tones.' Each one of these 'tones' is represented by a written character. "
「中國字沒有名詞或動詞的變化，卻有所謂的『聲』，台灣方言有八聲，由英國人聽起來只有一個音的一個字，台灣人把他唸做高、低、緩、急等不同的八聲，就可能有八種不同的意義。」