WEEK-1-Introduction-to-Chinese-Mandarin

Introduction to Chinese Mandarin

  • Overview of the Chinese Mandarin language

Summary of Topics

  • I. Chinese Syllable

  • II. 21 Initials

  • III. 35 Finals (Simple Finals/Mono-Finals and Compound Finals)

  • IV. Chinese Tones

  • V. Chinese Strokes

Learning Objectives

  • By the end of the lessons, students will be able to:

    • Identify and classify the initials and finals of the basic Chinese Mandarin alphabet

    • Enunciate the proper sound of initials and finals

    • Express the Chinese four tones by reading different Chinese words

    • Acquaint and distinguish the basic strokes of Chinese characters

    • Use such basic strokes in Hanzi writing

The Chinese Phonetic Alphabet

  • Various transcription systems used to learn Chinese pronunciation

  • The officially accepted international transcription is the Pinyin alphabet, developed in the late 1950s in China.

I. Chinese Syllable

  • Composition: A Chinese syllable consists of an initial, a final, and a tone.

    • One Chinese character usually corresponds to one syllable.

    • A syllable can have no initial but must have a final and a tone.

Elements of the Syllable

  • Initial (声母 - shèngmǔ)

  • Final (韵母 - yùnmǔ)

  • Tone (声调 - shēngdiào)

Examples of Syllables

  • Example forms of syllables:

    • jiā (家) -> Initial: j / Final: ia

    • guó (国) -> Initial: g / Final: uo

    • nǐ (你) -> Initial: n / Final: i

    • shì (是) -> Initial: sh / Final: i

Initials (声母 - Shèngmǔ)

  • List of Initials (21 total):

    • b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, h, j, q, x, z, c, s, zh, ch, sh, r

Examples of Initial Sounds

  • b in "bed" (Example: bàba "father")

  • p in "pop" (Example: pǎo "run")

  • m in "meat" (Example: mǎ "horse")

  • f in "foot" (Example: fēi "fly")

  • d in "bed" (Example: děng "wait")

  • t in "tap" (Example: tāng "soup")

  • n in "need" (Example: nán "difficult")

  • l in "leaf" (Example: lèi "tired")

  • g in "game" (Example: gǒu "dog")

  • k in "kangaroo" (Example: kàn "look/see/watch")

  • h in "home" (Example: hē "drink")

  • j in "jeep" (Example: jī "chicken")

  • q in "cheap" (Example: qù "go")

  • sh in "sheep" (Example: shī "west")

  • z in "words" (Example: zì "character")

  • c in "cats" (Example: cuò "wrong; fault")

  • s in "snake" (Example: sān "three")

  • zh in "drink" (Example: zhù "live")

  • ch in "match" (Example: chá "tea")

  • r in "rain" (Example: rén "person; people")

II. Finals (Yùnmǔ 韵母)

  • Total Finals: 35 (vowels)

    • Finals consist of single or compound vowels.

    • Chinese is vowel-dominated; syllables can include a single or compound vowel or a vowel preceded by a consonant.

Simple Finals

  • 6 Simple Finals Comparison with English:

    • A: similar to "ah" in "Ah-hah!"

    • O: as in "often"

    • E: similar to "e" in "her"

    • I: similar to "ee" in "see"

    • U: similar to "oo" in "food"

    • Ü: unique sound, similar to "ew" in "few"

Compound Finals

  • 29 Compound Finals grouped by starting sounds:

    • Starting with a and o:

      • ai: similar to "i" in "bike"

      • ao: similar to "ow" in "how"

      • an: similar to "on" in "concert"

      • ang: "on" in "Congo"

      • ou: "oe" in "toe"

      • ong: "on" in "ding-dong"

    • Starting with i:

      • ia, ie, iao, iu, ian, ing, iang, iong

    • Starting with e:

      • ei, en, eng

    • Starting with u:

      • ua, uai, uan, uang, ui, un, ueng, uo

    • Starting with ü:

      • üe, üan, ün

IV. Chinese Tones

  • Important for proper pronunciation, as several characters can sound the same.

  • Four Tones in Mandarin:

    • First Tone: Level pitch (mā 妈 mother)

    • Second Tone: Rising pitch (má 麻 hemp)

    • Third Tone: Falling to rising pitch (mǎ 马 horse)

    • Fourth Tone: Falling pitch (mà 骂 scold)

  • Tone Representation:

    • Numbers or tone marks used:

      • First tone: má/mā

      • Second tone: ma2/ má

      • Third tone: ma3/ mǎ

      • Fourth tone: ma4/ mà

V. Chinese Strokes (笔画 - Bǐhuà)

  • Defined as the smallest structural unit of Chinese characters, consisting of dots and lines.

  • Strokes are categorized into basic and combined strokes.

Basic Chinese Strokes

  • Examples include:

    • diǎn: dot

    • héng: horizontal stroke

    • shù: vertical stroke

    • piě: left-falling

    • nà: right-falling

    • tí: rising

    • zhē: bending stroke

    • gōu: hook

  • Writing instructions include arrow indicators for stroke order.