Dialects/Topolects: Tone Marks? Mandarin, as everyone probably knows, has four tones: 1st, 2nd, 3rd &amp; 4th tone.

Each tone has its own tone mark that represents that tone:


1st tone = ˉ (macron)
2nd tone = ˊ (acute accent)
3rd tone = ˇ (caron/háček)
4th tone = ˋ (grave accent)


But these are all just representations of each tones actual 调值 (tone value), i.e.:


1st tone = 55
2nd tone = 35
3rd tone = 214
4th tone = 51


Each tone mark is a visual representation of each tones value. Good? Good.

Now the question:
Do any dialects have tone marks?

Cantonese, at least the works that I have seen, is written with pinyin and tone numbers, i.e: gwong2 dung1 waa2...

Other topolects are simply written with IPA + tone contour marks.
You could look at Tianjin, as close as 120 km from Beijing. The local Tianjin dialect is still exhibiting rather drastic changes to tones and tone changes.

Drawing from your example, mandarin in Beijing and Tianjin differ in tones according to the following, with TJ accent being much more low-pitched:


1st tone = 55 (BJ), 21 (TJ)
2nd tone = 35
3rd tone = 214 (BJ), 113 (TJ)
4th tone = 51 (BJ), 53 (TJ)


You also have different sandhi rules for tonal changes. Tianjin itself is pronounced Tian3jin1 in TJ. Tone marks, however, would still be identical (just as "pen" is not rendered "pin" in Texas).

This pattern repeats itself wherever you go in China. For example, the standard Wu topolect as spoken in Shanghai has differences already within the city suburbs, such as Jiading, and much more so in neighboring cities like Jiaxing, and further more in relatively remote locations such as Hangzhou and Suzhou.

From this we conclude that the standard mandarin (普通话) is merely an ideal, a common framework for speakers of countless topolects and dialects.