中華函授華語教材 (B1)Chapter 1

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CHAPTER ONE

Pronunciation Foundation I

In this rst chapter, the MPS spelling system and its general conceptis introduced. After the initial introduction, there will be pronunciation

practices for each initial and nal. Please make good use of the audioles available online for this section. After each section, there are

more exercises for you to check your progress. The short rhyme in thischapter can also be used to improve your pronunciation.

In this chapter, you will also learn some sentences for every day useand the basic concepts of written Chinese.

Note: This book is adapted to the needs of western students. Thus, both the Mandarin Phonetic Symbols and Hanyu Pinyin systems areused. In chapter one and two’s Pronunciation Foundation, we willfocus on learning the MPS system, but there will also be Hanyu Pinyinsupplemented to help learners become accustomed to MPS morequickly.

AIMS

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2 Chinese Acquisition 1

MANDARIN PHONETICSYMBOLS

Initials

Mandarin is a monosyllabic language with 21 consonants and 16 vowels. Theseconsonants and vowels combined or standing alone produce a total of just

over four hundred monosyllabic sounds. Most words have one syllable or acombination of two or three.

b p m f

zh ch sh r

d t n l

z c s

g k h

j q x

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3

Finals

a o e ê

ai ei ao ou

an en ang eng

er

i u ü

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TONES

Tones are the pitch of a syllable. They are important elements of the Chinesesyllable. There are four basic tones in Chinese, represented respectively by the

following tone-graphs: the rst tone (no need to place a tone mark), the secondtone ( ˊ ), the third tone ( ˇ ) and the fourth tone ( ˋ ).

The main function of the tones is to distinguish the meanings of the characters.

Example:

In this case, their initials and nals are the same, but with different tones, themeanings are different.

(dumplings); (to sleep)

The Four Tones

high

middle

low

rising from middleto highhigh and level

rst fallingthen rising

First tone Second tone Third tone Fourth tone

falling from high

bā bá bǎ bà

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● When a syllable contains a single phoneme only, the tone-mark is placed on theright of the phonetic symbol.

Example:

● When a syllable contains two or more phonemes, the tone-mark should be placed on the right of the space between the rst and second or second and thirdsymbols.

Example:

Sometimes syllables lose their original tones and are pronounced soft and short.This is the neutral tone. Its pitch in relation to the other four tones is as follows:

● First Tone + Neutral Tone The rst tone is high and level and the neutral tone pitch is lower.

Example:

gēge zhuōzin. elder brother n. table

● Second Tone + Neutral Tone The second tone rises to the rst tone pitch and the neutral tone pitch drops slightly to a

lower one.

Example:

fángzi érzin. house n. son

Tone Position

Neutral Tone

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● Third Tone + Neutral Tone The third tone dips and rises, and the pitch on the neutral tone syllable is higher.

Example:

yǐzi jiějie n. chair n. elder sister

● Fourth Tone + Neutral Tone After a fourth tone, the pitch of the neutral tone syllable is lower.

Example:

kuàizi kùzi n. chopsticks n. pants

Now that you know how to distinguish between different tones and how to markthem, here is a short rhyme for listening comprehension. Please listen to the audio

provided when doing the exercise below. Listen carefully and see how many tonesyou can recognize .

Example:

Tonal Practice

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7

Your Turn:

English Translation: Mom bought a little white cat. The little white cat is fat and round. It likes to catch miceand wear hats, and dashes around making a lot of noise.

Answer Key:

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THE BASIC STRUCTURESOF A CHINESE SYLLABLE

Every Chinese character has only one syllable. A typical Chinese syllable iscomposed of three parts: an initial, a nal and a tone.

Example:

Not all the syllables have an initial, but every syllable must have a nal and atone.

Example:

initials

fnal

tone

fnal

tone

n. father

n. goose

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PRONUNCIATIONDRILLS

Now that you are familiar with the basics of MPS, here are some MPS pronunciation drills. In this chapter, we’ll introduce you to some basic nals and

all of the initials.

a

Resembles the British “a” in “f ather” orthe American “o” in “b other” and “T odd.”

ˊ ˇ ˋ

ā á ǎ à

o

Pronounced like the “o” in “ m ore.”

ˊ ˇ ˋ

ō ó ǒ ò

e

Similar to the “u” in ”lot us.”

ˊ ˇ ˋ

ē é ě è

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i

ê

Pronounced like the “ee” in “ bee.”

ˊ ˇ ˋ

yī yí yǐ yì

Similar to the “e” in “yes.”

ˊ ˇ ˋ

ē é ě è

u

Sounds like the “w” in “way.”

ˊ ˇ ˋ

wū wú wǔ wù

ü

To voice, pronounce the “ee” in “bee” thenhold that mouth position and round yourlips as if to pronounce “ . ”

ˊ ˇ ˋ

yū yú yǔ yù

Note: this fnal cannot be used with an initial on its own; it must be used in combination

with (i) or (ü). For example, , .

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Pronunciation principle: Made using one or both lips.

b

p

Similar to an English “ p” but with moreaspiration.

Example:

pá

v.

to climb

m

f

Similar to an English “ b.”

Example:

bàba n. father

Similar to an English “m.”

Example:

māma n. mother

Similar to an English “f,” like “f” in “fat.”

Example:

fǎ n. hair

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Most initia ls must be combined with a nal to be heard . For example: + = . No w, let’s introduc e words with di ffer ent ton es. Please r ead th e f ollowing out loud a long withthe audio provided. Not e that you on ly need to f ocus on pronunciation and ton es and notthe meanin g of the words at this sta ge.

bàba māma mǎyǐ fǎ

bóbo pópo mò fó

bí pí mǐ mìmì

bù pùbù mù fù-mǔ

Exercise 1 Spelling Exercise

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This s ection is f or you to practic e tona l discri mination . Please listen car ef ully f or th e tona l differ ences in each pair o f words .

For this s ection , listen car ef ully to di ffer entiat e the initia ls and ton es. Listen to th e audioand choos e the corr ect MPS f or each word .

1. ________ q w e 2. ________ q w e

3. ________ q w e 4. ________ q w e

5. ________ q w e 6. ________ q w e

7. ________ q w e 8. ________ q w e

9. ________ q w e 10. ________ q w e

bí bǐ pā pá pō pó pù pǔ mó mò fù fǔ

Exercise 3 Try It Yourself

Exercise 2 Tonal Discrimination

Reference Answers

1.w 2.e 3.q 4.e 5.e 6.w 7.e 8.e 9.w 10.e

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Pronunciation Principle: Made by putting the tip of the tongue to the top of the

mouth just behind the upper front teeth.

d

Similar to an English “d.”

Example:

dà sv. to be big

t

Similar to an English “ t” but with moreaspiration.

Example:

tā pron. he, she, him, her

n

Similar to an English “n.”

Example:

ná v. to take

l

Pronounced like the “l” in “light.”

Example:

lā

v.

to pull

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No w, let’s introduc e words with di ffer ent ton es. Please r ead th e f ollowing out loud a long with th e audio provided. Not e that you on ly need to f ocus on pronunciation and ton es andnot th e meanin g of the words at this sta ge.

dà tā ná là

dù tù nǔlì lǐwù

dìdi tī nǐ lí

nǚ de lǜ nǎlǐ fǎlǜ


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1. ________ q w e 2. ________ q w e

3. ________ q w e 4. ________ q w e

5. ________ q w e

6. ________ q w e

7. ________ q w e

8. ________ q w e

9. ________ q w e

10. ________ q w e


Reference Answers

1.e 2.q 3.q 4.q 5.w 6.w 7.q 8.e 9.w 10.e

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Pronunciation Principle: Made with the back of the tongue against or near the soft

part of the top of the mouth.

g

Similar to the “g” in “go.”

Example:

gē n. song

k

Similar to the “k” in “king” but with moreaspiration.

Example:

kělè n. Coke

h

Similar to the “h” in “ happy” but with aslight raspy sound.

Example:

hé n. river

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Pronunciation Principle: Made by putting the tongue against or near the hard

palate.

j

Similar to the “j” in “jeep” but the tip of thetongue is down.

Example:

jī

n. chicken

q

Similar to the “ch” in “ cheap” but the tipof the tongue is down.

Example:

qī n. seven

x

Similar to the “sh” in “ sheep” but the tip ofthe tongue is down.

Example:

xī n. west

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kǎ gēge kěyǐ hē

kū hǔ jú nǚxù

jīqì qímǎ hūxī gūgu


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Reference Answers

1.q 2.w 3.w 4.w 5.q 6.e 7.e 8.e 9.w 10.q


1. ________ q w e 2. ________ q w e

3. ________ q w e 4. ________ q w e

5. ________ q w e 6. ________ q w e

7. ________ q w e 8. ________ q w e

9. ________ q w e 10. ________ q w e

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Pronunciation Principle: Made by putting the end of the tongue against the upper

front teeth and forcing air through a constricted passage.

z

Similar to the nal “ds” in “woo ds.”

Example:

zì n. character

c

Similar to the “ts” in “ca ts.”

Example:

cí

n. word

s

Similar to the English “s” in “ son.”

Example:

sì n. four

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Pronunciation Principle: Made with the tip of the tongue curled upwards and

backwards.

zh

Similar to the “g” in “germ.”

Example:

zhǐ n. paper

ch

Similar to the “ch” in “ chat.”

Example:

chī v. to eat

sh

Similar to the English “sh” in “ sham.”

Example:

shī n. lion

r

Pronounced like the “r” sound in“pleasu r e,” “treasu r e,” and “leisu r e.”

Example:

rì

n. sun

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cā zhájī lǜchá shā

lǜsè zhèlǐ jīchē shé

rè zū chē cù sùshè

cíqì zìjǐ yìsi sìshí


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Reference Answers

1.q 2.e 3.e 4.e 5.q 6.q 7.e 8.w 9.q 10.e


1. ________ q w e 2. ________ q w e

3. ________ q w e 4. ________ q w e

5. ________ q w e 6. ________ q w e

7. ________ q w e

8. ________ q w e

9. ________ q w e

10. ________ q w e

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These thr ee nals ( / / ) may be used in co mbination with oth er nals.

Example: , , , ,

ya

To voice, pronounce “ ” rst then“ ,” similar to the “ya” in “yacht.”

yā yá yǎ yà

ye

To voice, pronounce “ ” rst then“ ,” similar to the “ye” in “yellow.”

yē yé yě yè

wa

To voice, pronounce “ ” rst then“ ,” similar to the “wa” in “watt.”

wā wá wǎ wà

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wo

To voice, pronounce “ ” rst then“ .” The sounds similar to thevowels in “p our.”

wō wó wǒ wò

Pronunciation TipsThese compound nals can be combined with initials to make new sounds. Whenspelling these sounds, spell out the nals rst then add the initial. For example, the

spelling of is broken down into the following steps:

1. + ˊ = ˊ

2. + ˊ = ˊ

yue

To voice, pronounce “ ” rst then“ .” Change the shape of your mouthfrom a rounded position to a narrowone. The “ ” sounds similar to the

“eah” in the English exclamation“yeah.”

yuē yué yuě yuè

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jiā qiā xiāzi yāzi

xīguā huàhuà yáshuā wáwa

xuě máquè juéde yuè

bié tiē jiějie xièxie


guójiā shuōhuà wǒluòtuó

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Reference Answers

1.e 2.e 3.q 4.e 5.q 6.e 7.w 8.q 9.w 10.e


1. ________ q w e 2. ________ q w e

3. ________ q w e 4. ________ q w e

5. ________ q w e

6. ________ q w e

7. ________ q w e

8. ________ q w e

9. ________ q w e

10. ________ q w e

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ORAL PRACTICE

Here are two short sentences which can be used to practice your pronunciation.Please practice saying the short sentences below with the audio available online.

English Translation: Dead lions and paper lions are not edible.

Sǐ shīzi, zhǐ shīzi, bù kě chī.

q

English Translation: Summer is hot. Little brother eats watermelon; little sister drinks green tea.

Xiàtiān rè, dìdi chī xīguā, mèimei hē lǜchá.

w

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IDIOMS ANDEXPRESSIONS

A: Nǐ hǎo. A: Hello.

B: Nǐ hǎo. B: Hello.

A: Nǐn hǎo. A: Hello.

B: Nǐ hǎo. B: Hello.

21

A: Xièxie. A: Thank you.

A: Xièxie. A: Thank you.

B: Bú kèqì. B: You are welcome.

B: Bú kèqì. B: You are welcome. 43

Below are some practical sentences in daily life. After reading through them, playthe video to see how the sentences are used in context.

Note that is an honori c.

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A: Duìbùqǐ. A: I am sorry.

A: Zàijiàn. A: Good bye.

B: Méiguānxi.

B: It's okay.

B: Zàijiàn.

B: Good bye.

65

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THE CHINESEWRITING SYSTEM

The Eight Basic Strokes

Written Chinese is basically composed of eight basic strokes. Familiarize yourselfwith these strokes before practicing stroke order.

ExampleCharacters

Direction ofStroke

→

↓

↙

↘

↘

↗

Name in English

the horizontal

the vertical

the left-fallingcurvature

the right-fallingcurvature

the dot

the rising

the hook

the horizontal turn

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Stroke

ˊ

┐

Name inChinese

héng

shù

piě

nà

diǎn

tí

gōu

zhé

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The Rules of Stroke Order

The rules of stroke order in writing Chinese characters and character componentsare as follows:

First horizontal, then vertical.

e.g.

shí shén

First left, then right.

e.g.

From top to bottom.

e.g.

sān

First left-falling, then right-falling.

e.g.

rén

Outside frst, then inside.

e.g.

tóng

Finish the inside strokes, then close.

e.g.

mù

First the middle, then the two sides.

e.g.

xiǎo

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Try It YourselfHer e ar e the a bove eight basic stro kes. Please trac e the stro kes bel ow on your ChineseStroke Order Workbook .

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ˊ

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Stroke Order Practice: MPS

No w that you ar e f amiliar with th e basic stro kes, you can us e them to practic e writin g MPS. Print out th e corr es pondin g pages f rom the Chinese Stroke Order Workbook on line, watch th e writin g ani mation and start writin g!

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中華函授華語教材 (B1)Chapter 1