The truth is that English is also very tonal. You can give a sentence two completely different meanings simply by emphasizing a different word in the sentence.
A simple example:
Where did you come from?
Try saying that with a slight emphasis on "where" and none on any of the other words. It simply asks the person where they used to be. Now say it with a heavy emphasis on "where". It turns into an accusation of insanity, as if the answer to "where?" were Pluto or something. Now try saying it with the emphasis on "you", and you hear it become an accusation that the You had been skulking around, listening and spying on Me.
Yes, yes, there is a difference between tone and inflection making the difference, but Americans shouldn't get so patronizing about how "silly" Chinese (or any other tonal language) is. We get pretty close ourselves, and if prospective students of Chinese weren't handed a mental block to start out with, they probably wouldn't think much of it.
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