Instruction on Chinese Phonetics.doc

Instruction on Chinese Phonetics 1. Chinese syllables Syllable is the basic unit of Chinese phonetics. Chinese syllables are combined of initials, finals and tones. Generally speaking, one Chinese character indicates one syllable. For example: the syllable “mā”, is combined of initial “m”, final “a”, and the first tone, corresponded with the character “妈”, which means “mom, mother”. 2. Initials and finals in Chinese The consonant at the beginning of one syllable is called “initial”, and the rest part of the syllable is called “final”. For example: in syllable “hàn”, “h” is initial, and “an” is final. Some of the Chinese syllable have no initials, but they must have finals and tones, like ài 爱（love）. Initial + Final +Tone → Syllable Initials b p m f d t n l g k h j q x zh ch sh r z c s y w ? Finals a o e i u ü ai ei ui ao ou iü ie üe er an en in un ün ang eng ing ong Tones in Chinese Four Tones in Chinese The first tone The second tone The third tone The fourth tone ? Pronunciation essentials How to pronounce U and e? While pronouncing u, the tongue is held backward with the lips being rounded and moved forward as much as possible. While e is a back, mid-high and unrounded vowel. If it is difficult to pronounce e, you can pronounce o first, and transform into e by extending the duration of o while spreading the angles of your lips. Both i and ü are front and high vowel. But when pronouncing i, the lips should be flat. While pronouncing ? the lips must be rounded up. The pronunciation of i is similar to the 揺e?in 揷heese? When you practice ? you can pronounce i first, and gradually transform into ?by extending the duration ofo first i, then round up the lips and keep the tongue position unchanged. Pronunciation essentials for b and p The articulation of b and p are made by the coordination of upper and lower lips. p is an aspirated sound, pronounced with a strong release of breath, while b is an unaspirate