The document provides an overview of tones in Mandarin Chinese. It discusses:
- Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language with 5 tones that determine a word's meaning: flat, rising, dipping, falling, and neutral.
- Tones are represented in pinyin with tone marks (diacritics) or numbers and are an important aspect of pronunciation. Getting the wrong tone can change the meaning of what is said.
- Examples are given of how to pronounce each tone along with rules for how tones of certain words change in certain contexts to avoid awkward juxtapositions of tones. Mastering tones is essential for both understanding and being understood in Mandarin.
The document provides an overview of tones in Mandarin Chinese. It discusses:
- Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language with 5 tones that determine a word's meaning: flat, rising, dipping, falling, and neutral.
- Tones are represented in pinyin with tone marks (diacritics) or numbers and are an important aspect of pronunciation. Getting the wrong tone can change the meaning of what is said.
- Examples are given of how to pronounce each tone along with rules for how tones of certain words change in certain contexts to avoid awkward juxtapositions of tones. Mastering tones is essential for both understanding and being understood in Mandarin.
The document provides an overview of tones in Mandarin Chinese. It discusses:
- Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language with 5 tones that determine a word's meaning: flat, rising, dipping, falling, and neutral.
- Tones are represented in pinyin with tone marks (diacritics) or numbers and are an important aspect of pronunciation. Getting the wrong tone can change the meaning of what is said.
- Examples are given of how to pronounce each tone along with rules for how tones of certain words change in certain contexts to avoid awkward juxtapositions of tones. Mastering tones is essential for both understanding and being understood in Mandarin.
The document provides an overview of tones in Mandarin Chinese. It discusses:
- Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language with 5 tones that determine a word's meaning: flat, rising, dipping, falling, and neutral.
- Tones are represented in pinyin with tone marks (diacritics) or numbers and are an important aspect of pronunciation. Getting the wrong tone can change the meaning of what is said.
- Examples are given of how to pronounce each tone along with rules for how tones of certain words change in certain contexts to avoid awkward juxtapositions of tones. Mastering tones is essential for both understanding and being understood in Mandarin.
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INTRODUCTION : CHINESE TONES
The Chinese language is based on it’s characters. I think
everybody recalls these objects when discussing Chinese, and it is difficult to imagine this language without the hanzis (ch. characters). Every single character has at least one reading, but sometimes more, which is represented using a writing system called “pinyin”. The pinyin is a fairly new invention, it has been created approximately 60 years ago, mostly for foreign learners, so that one can master the language without knowing the actual characters. In the same time, it turned to be so effective that it is now used in Chinese schools teaching native students. Basically it uses the English alphabet with the tones added on the top of the vowels. We can hear it quite often that Chinese is the most difficult language in the world, because it has tones and many people think it is impossible for humans other than Chinese people to master. This way of thinking is very misleading.
Tones are indeed difficult to use and understand, since it
is not our native language. This is partly true though, since if we say a specific sentence using different intonations, the meaning might change as well. Therefore, we have some kind of knowledge about tones from the beginning, which we can rely on and start learning the tones of mandarin Chinese. Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language, which means that tones are used to define the meaning of a word. There are five different tones for this: flat, rising, dip, falling, and neutral. Tones are not a completely new concept for English speakers. Actually, we use them all the time. Whether we want to show doubt, be ironic, inquisitive or assertive, we use different intonation patterns to mean different things. The difference is that the use of tones in Mandarin Chinese is slightly more extreme than that, and can completely change the meaning of what you are saying.
You can see why it’s important to learn how to
use Chinese tones correctly and why you should never underestimate their power! If you want to interpret what other speakers are saying and you want to be understood yourself, using the right tone is not an option. It’s a requirement. Reading and Writing Tones
Pinyin uses either numbers or tone marks to indicate the
tones. Here is the word ‘ma’ with numbers and then tone marks:
First tone: ma1 or mā Second tone: ma2 or má Third tone: ma3 or mǎ Fourth tone: ma4 or mà
Note that there is also a neutral tone in Mandarin. It's not
considered a separate tone, but it is an unaccented syllable. For example, 嗎 / 吗 (ma). Pronunciation Tips
As mentioned earlier, tones are used to determine
which Mandarin Chinese word is being implied. For example, the meaning of mǎ (horse) is very different from mā (mother).
Thus when learning new vocabulary, it is really
important to practice both the pronunciation of the word and its tone. The wrong tones can change the meaning of your sentences. Chinese Tones and How to Use Them
1.First Tone (Flat Tone)
The first Chinese tone you should learn is the flat tone. It’s made when your voice becomes high and level. As its name indicates, it’s a flat tone, so you need to keep your voice even and your pitch up. Syllables said with this tone should be pronounced with a drawn-out voice that
doesn’t drop or rise throughout the whole segment.
As with all Chinese tones, the Flat Tone is represented by a symbol written above
the vowel. In this case, it’s a straight horizontal line, although you might also see a number “1” after the flat syllable in question. Example: 妈 (mā) — mother. 2. Second Tone (Rising Tone)
Do you remember we said Mandarin Chinese tones were not so
different from English ones? Well, the Rising Tone describes a pitch movement similar to the one we make to ask yes/no questions in English. Try saying “Did you remember to pay the bills?”. Do you notice
how your voice rises throughout the question? Similarly, the Rising Tone involves a moderate rising of your pitch to convey meaning. Now that you know how to use it, let’s see how to write it. The Rising Tone is represented by a rising dash above a vowel, or
by a number 2 written after the syllable.
Example: 忙 (máng) — busy. 3. Third Tone (Dip Tone)
The Dip tone is one of the most challenging for Mandarin
Chinese learners. To produce this tone, your pitch has to go down to quite a low point before rising again. are unsure, or to signal that we may have more to add: I don’t want to go out with anyone at the m↘om↗ent (implying that this might change in the future). In pinyin, the third tone is represented by a dip above the vowel: 我 (wǒ) — I/me, and (or occasionally by a number “3” placed after the syllable). Example: 我 (wǒ) — I/me. 4. Fourth Tone (Falling Tone)
The Falling Tone starts high but drops sharply to the lowest area of the tonal range. To pronounce it correctly, you have to say the word forcefully, letting your pitch drop all of a sudden. Of all Chinese tones, the 4th tone also tends to be the shortest in duration. English-speakers can associate this tone with a command said in an angry voice, so don’t be afraid to emphasise this one by making it sound a bit imperative. The Fourth Tone is represented by a dropping dash above a vowel (or sometimes by a number “4” written after the syllable). Example: 是 (shì) — to be. 5. Fifth Tone (Neutral Tone).
Of all Chinese tones, this is the most controversial one, as whether it is a tone at all is actually up for debate. Instead of raising or dropping your intonation, this one is simply neutral. Now that we’ve told you how to use it, let us share some good news: as
there is nothing to change or emphasise, Pinyin doesn’t mark the Neutral
Tone at all. Example: 吗 (ma). This is a question particle that turns affirmative phrases
into yes/no questions and is pronounced with a neutral intonation.
4 Changing Rules of Tones in Pinyin:
Rules No.1 Tone Changing of 一 (yī) ：
When 一 (yī) is used before the 1st tone, 2nd tone and the 3rd tone, yī will change to the fourth tone yì, which is a falling tone.
Examples:
yī xiē yìxiē 一些 adj./n. some
Rules No.1 Tone Changing of 一 (yī)
yī zhí yìzhí 一直 adv. all the time
yī qǐ yìqǐ 一起 adv. altogether
Rules No.2 Tone Changing of 一 (yī) ：
When a 3rd tone is followed by another 3rd tone, the former 3rd tone will change to the 2nd tone, a rising tone.
