Search results
People also ask
What does Mandarin mean in English?
What is Standard Chinese?
Is Mandarin a linguistic language?
What is the difference between a standard language and a Mandarin language?
Standard Chinese (simplified Chinese: 现代标准汉语; traditional Chinese: 現代標準漢語; pinyin: Xiàndài biāozhǔn hànyǔ; lit. 'modern standard Han speech') is a modern standard form of Mandarin Chinese that was first codified during the republican era (1912‒1949).
- Signed Chinese
Learn Chinese Pronunciation and Pinyin - Standard Mandarin. iPad/iPhone App. Features. All Pinyin Sounds. Hear any pinyin sound to learn the correct pronunciation. Anatomy. Includes comprehensive drawings and animations of the anatomy involved in producing the Chinese sounds. Pronunciation Guide.
Standard Mandarin Chinese is based on Beijing dialect, with some lexical and syntactic influence from other Mandarin dialects. It is the official spoken language of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan (Republic of China, ROC), as well as one of the four official languages of Singapore , and a high-prestige minority language [11] in ...
- 920 million (2017), L2 speakers: 200 million (no date)
- most of Northern and Southwestern China (see also Standard Chinese)
Standard Chinese is a modern standard form of Mandarin Chinese that was first codified during the republican era (1912‒1949). It is designated as the official language of mainland China and a major language in the United Nations, Singapore, and Taiwan. It is largely based on the Beijing dialect.
- Overview
- Modern Standard Chinese (Mandarin)
The pronunciation of Modern Standard Chinese is based on the Beijing dialect, which is of the Northern, or Mandarin, type. It employs about 1,300 different syllables. There are 22 initial consonants, including stops (made with momentary, complete closure in the vocal tract), affricates (beginning as stops but ending with incomplete closure), aspirated consonants, nasals, fricatives, liquid sounds (l, r), and a glottal stop. The medial semivowels are y (i), ɥ (ü), and w (u). In final position, the following occur: nasal consonants, ṛ (retroflex r), the semivowels y and w, and the combinations ŋr (nasalization plus r) and wr (rounding plus r). There are nine vowel sounds, including three varieties of i (retroflex, apical, and palatal). Several vowels combine into clusters.
There are four tones: (1) high level, (2) high rising crescendo, (3) low falling diminuendo with glottal friction (with an extra rise from low to high when final), and (4) falling diminuendo. Unstressed syllables have a neutral tone, which depends on its surroundings for pitch. Tones in sequences of syllables that belong together lexically and syntactically (“sandhi groups”) may undergo changes known as tonal sandhi, the most important of which causes a third tone before another third tone to be pronounced as a second tone. The tones influence some vowels (notably e and o), which are pronounced more open in third and fourth tones than in first and second tones.
A surprisingly low number of the possible combinations of all the consonantal, vocalic, and tonal sounds are utilized. The vowels i and ü and the semivowels y and ɥ never occur after velar sounds (e.g., k) and occur only after the palatalized affricate and sibilant sounds (e.g., tś), which in turn occur with no other vowels and semivowels.
Many alternative interpretations of the distinctive sounds of Chinese have been proposed; the interaction of consonants, vowels, semivowels, and tones sets Modern Standard Chinese apart from many other Sinitic languages and dialects and gives it a unique character among the major languages of the world. The two most widely used transcription systems (romanizations) are Wade-Giles (first propounded by Sir Thomas Francis Wade in 1859 and later modified by Herbert A. Giles) and the official Chinese transcription system today, known as the pinyin zimu (“phonetic spelling”) or simply Pinyin (adopted in 1958). For a comparison of these romanization equivalents, see the table. In Wade-Giles, aspiration is marked by ’ (p’, t’, and so on). The semivowels are y, yü, and w in initial position; i, ü, and u in medial; and i and u (but o after a) in final position. Final retroflex r is written rh. The tones are indicated by raised figures after the syllables (1, 2, 3, 4).
The Pinyin system indicates unaspirated stops and affricates by means of traditionally voiced consonants (e.g., b, d) and aspirated consonants by voiceless sounds (e.g., p, t). The semivowels are y, yu, and w initially; i, ü, and u medially; and i and u (o after a) finally. Final retroflex r is written r. The tones are indicated by accent markers, 1 = ¯, 2 = ´, 3 = ˇ, 4 = ˋ (e.g., mā, má, mǎ, mà = Wade-Giles ma1, ma2, ma3, ma4).
Pinyin is used in the following discussion of Modern Standard Chinese grammar.
The pronunciation of Modern Standard Chinese is based on the Beijing dialect, which is of the Northern, or Mandarin, type. It employs about 1,300 different syllables. There are 22 initial consonants, including stops (made with momentary, complete closure in the vocal tract), affricates (beginning as stops but ending with incomplete closure), aspirated consonants, nasals, fricatives, liquid sounds (l, r), and a glottal stop. The medial semivowels are y (i), ɥ (ü), and w (u). In final position, the following occur: nasal consonants, ṛ (retroflex r), the semivowels y and w, and the combinations ŋr (nasalization plus r) and wr (rounding plus r). There are nine vowel sounds, including three varieties of i (retroflex, apical, and palatal). Several vowels combine into clusters.
There are four tones: (1) high level, (2) high rising crescendo, (3) low falling diminuendo with glottal friction (with an extra rise from low to high when final), and (4) falling diminuendo. Unstressed syllables have a neutral tone, which depends on its surroundings for pitch. Tones in sequences of syllables that belong together lexically and syntactically (“sandhi groups”) may undergo changes known as tonal sandhi, the most important of which causes a third tone before another third tone to be pronounced as a second tone. The tones influence some vowels (notably e and o), which are pronounced more open in third and fourth tones than in first and second tones.
A surprisingly low number of the possible combinations of all the consonantal, vocalic, and tonal sounds are utilized. The vowels i and ü and the semivowels y and ɥ never occur after velar sounds (e.g., k) and occur only after the palatalized affricate and sibilant sounds (e.g., tś), which in turn occur with no other vowels and semivowels.
Many alternative interpretations of the distinctive sounds of Chinese have been proposed; the interaction of consonants, vowels, semivowels, and tones sets Modern Standard Chinese apart from many other Sinitic languages and dialects and gives it a unique character among the major languages of the world. The two most widely used transcription systems (romanizations) are Wade-Giles (first propounded by Sir Thomas Francis Wade in 1859 and later modified by Herbert A. Giles) and the official Chinese transcription system today, known as the pinyin zimu (“phonetic spelling”) or simply Pinyin (adopted in 1958). For a comparison of these romanization equivalents, see the table. In Wade-Giles, aspiration is marked by ’ (p’, t’, and so on). The semivowels are y, yü, and w in initial position; i, ü, and u in medial; and i and u (but o after a) in final position. Final retroflex r is written rh. The tones are indicated by raised figures after the syllables (1, 2, 3, 4).
The Pinyin system indicates unaspirated stops and affricates by means of traditionally voiced consonants (e.g., b, d) and aspirated consonants by voiceless sounds (e.g., p, t). The semivowels are y, yu, and w initially; i, ü, and u medially; and i and u (o after a) finally. Final retroflex r is written r. The tones are indicated by accent markers, 1 = ¯, 2 = ´, 3 = ˇ, 4 = ˋ (e.g., mā, má, mǎ, mà = Wade-Giles ma1, ma2, ma3, ma4).
Pinyin is used in the following discussion of Modern Standard Chinese grammar.
Standard Chinese, or Standard Mandarin, is the official modern Chinese spoken language used in mainland China and Taiwan and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. It is based off the Mandarin dialect and should not be confused with other varieties of Chinese . Common phrases [ change | change source]
Standard Chinese is a standard form of Mandarin Chinese with de facto official status in China, Taiwan, and Singapore. Background. The Chinese language has always consisted of a wide variety of dialects; hence prestige dialects and linguae francae have always been needed.
