Mandarin Chinese Pronunciation
Chinese pronunciation is difficult for those whose first language is English, as the two languages share very little in terms of phonetics, but it can be mastered quickly once the basic principles of the Chinese phonetics system are understood. There are only four tones and just over four hundred single syllables that are used to produce the actual twelve hundred sound patterns of syllable groups forming words that are used in Mandarin. Emphasis should be given to getting the pronunciation of the sound as correctly as possible. Tonal patterns should then follow.
Examples of sounds similar to English pronunciation (Try pronouncing only the underlined section)
Initials (consonants in a syllable):
b as in bus
p as in punish
m as in mother
f as in fun
q as in cheat
x as in she
c as in sheets
Finals ( vowels used alone or in final syllables):
a as in far
o as in door
e as in early
ie as in yes
ou as in toe
an as in under
ang as in long
It is not uncommon to hear standard Mandarin Chinese spoken with regional accents. Pronunciation is one of the most obvious indicators of someone’s origins in China. For example, a major feature of Northern pronunciation is the tendency to end words with the “r” sound which is produced by curling the tongue back towards the throat. This ability is the most obvious way to distinguish between Northern and Southern speakers.
Next week, we will look at the cultural differences between Canada and China. Stay tuned!
For more information about our Vancouver mandarin lessons, visit: http://www.keylanguagetraining.com.
