Final particle 呀 has 4 tones – aa1, aa3, aa4, aa5. For the question “你有冇中文名呀？”, only aa1 and aa3 can be used.
aa1 (high level tone) is often written as 吖. When we ask sb “你有冇中文名吖？”, it conveys a sense of impatience from the speaker, the same sort of impatience as in “你究竟要唔要吖?” or “你去唔去吖?”
So when we say “你有冇中文名呀？”, we usually have aa3 (middle level tone) in mind. Most grammarians regard all final particle tone 3 as neutral tones that do not convey any specific connotation. In the case of 呀 [aa3], it is merely used to soften or mollify a question / statement, thereby taking out the bluntness of the sentence. For instance, there is no connotation of emphasis between the statement 呢度好多人! and 呢度好多人呀! The only difference is that the latter sounds less blunt than the former.
aa1 (high level tone) is often written as 吖. When we ask sb “你有冇中文名吖？”, it conveys a sense of impatience from the speaker, the same sort of impatience as in “你究竟要唔要吖?” or “你去唔去吖?”
So when we say “你有冇中文名呀？”, we usually have aa3 (middle level tone) in mind. Most grammarians regard all final particle tone 3 as neutral tones that do not convey any specific connotation. In the case of 呀 [aa3], it is merely used to soften or mollify a question / statement, thereby taking out the bluntness of the sentence. For instance, there is no connotation of emphasis between the statement 呢度好多人! and 呢度好多人呀! The only difference is that the latter sounds less blunt than the former.