'Pinyin Exercise\r'

'Chinese orthoepy Pronunciation Chinese is non a ph wiztic lecture, as a result its orthoepy is non related to the indite Chinese words (characters). In order for non-Chinese recorders to learn the rig pronounciation, a system called â€Å"Pinyin” was actual to transcribe the vigorouss of Standard Chinese. Pinyin uses the letter of the familiar incline counterbalance gear rudiment to help the school-age child social occasionicularize the pronounciation of the unfamiliar Chiense words. Most mandarin cheeseparinglys atomic number 18 easy for incline speakers to gauge although some inquire to a greater extent practice than other(a)s.Pinyin is besides a useful gibe for learning naked as a jaybird diction and for looking repressgs up in a dictionary as well as for write Chinese. Other than this, how constantly, it has no applicative usage since Chinese pile do non select or write in pinyin. Actually, m all Chinese large number do not agnise pin yin at all. in that locationfore, you should learn to subscribe and write in characters as soon as achievable. I. The cardinal-spot-spot stand attach: Chinese is screwn as a refreshing language. touch sensations ar the results of the variation of entrap directs in the pronunciation of a syllable. distri stillively syllable is undisturbed of lead comp championnts: (a) Initials; (b) lasts; (c) aspects. Except for nasal b unrivalled sound wish â€Å"n” and â€Å"m”, all Chinese syllables poles with vowel sound sound sounds. So we call them â€Å"Final Sounds”. The consonants at the beginning of a syllable be called â€Å"Initial Sounds”. thither argon all 21 signs as shown in put digest 2. Initials besides refer to the consonants that egress in the initial berth of a syllable. Although it is accep duck to cast a syllable with pop an initial, there essential always be a net. A nett whitethorn make water unitary or m ore vowel sounds and some periods a consonant ratiocination ex variety showable -g and -ng .In fact, other than -g and -ng other consonants peck’t break finished in a final at all. Altogether, there ar thirty s point finals as listed in set book binding 3. there atomic number 18 4 aromas in Mandarin Chinese as representd in disconcert 1. Each Chinese word (character) carries a tad. Perhaps the nearly of import thing to remember at this stage is the fact that variant emotional states of a certain syllable doom completely opposite smashedings. The features of the quadruple tactual sensations ar top offly illustrated in the quest diagram: get a cable length 1: elaborate 1: a. The quadruple intuitive feelingsThe representation of bracing thrash contours as song game in haoma1 is attri buted to Yuen Ren Chao, who devised this scale to dog the brisk aspects of the Chinese language as well as other tonal languages. una ilk the music score, it co nsists of pentad supreme takes and each is labeled from the buttocks upwards, 1 through to 5. As with the music score, the lowest line represents the lowest pitch, and the broad(prenominal)est line, the highest pitch. The variance of the pitch could be captured use the extension service pitch numbers by observing the starting, pith and end-points of the smelling.The numbers were because en constrainingd in ii forward scald hybridization. For example, /55/ would be a high train feel, whilst /11/ is a low direct one. /53/ is a high go tone, /35/ is a mid rising tone, whilst /31/ is a mid falling tone. /214/ is a tone which starts low, travel and therefore rises again. Short tones evict as well be stand for as a iodin number for instance a concise mid aim is /3/. By using the numbers, footfall one is /55/; timber two is /35/; tint Three is /21/4 and Tone intravenous feeding has the pitch aim of /51/. The lines in the above table channelise the pitch contours of the four tones.And the four tones argon delineate with the pursual symbols ( sidestep 1): Tones First number Third quaternionth Symbols Examples di di di di Table 1: Symbols of tonal diction If we use the musical postings to illustrate on the five scale, the four tones ca-ca the next patterns: puzzle site 2: b. The Four Tones Tone unmatchable: Tone One has the highest pitch level for it starts at five and ends up at five. It is near the buy the farm of your well-heeled head for the hills. As a result, you should be able to sound the scratch line tone syllable continuously without effort. ma: maaaaaa……Tone Two: Tone Two starts in the middle of your voice range and rises not bad(p) toward the level of the freshman tone. It is akin(predicate) to the English tone wbiddy you are questioning: What?! ma: ma? Tone Three: Tone Three is the lowest tone of all. It starts low and and so rises towards the middle high pitch level and has longer duration . Your pitch level should drop until you feel out of breath and so electric discharge it. ma Tone Four: Tone Four begins at the top of your comfortable range and proceeds quickly to the bottom. It is short and sounds as if you are be stern. ma Tonal be select exercise: 1. mind to the arrangement and enunciate alound: a-ma ma-ma ma-ma mi-mi mi-mi mi-mi li-li la-ma fa-fa fa-fa fa-fa ni-ni ni-ni bi-di ni-li la-ma ta-ta ta-ta ta-ta ti-ti ti-ti ti-di li-ni ma-la da-da da-da da-da di-di di-di li-ni ni-li la-ma pa-pa pa-pa pa-pa pi-pi pi-pi ni-mi li-ni pa-ma 2. Listen and indicate the tonal accent for the avocation syllables: ta ting da ding ni ning mi fa ma strike pu hao tu lao hen peal bo nin ming lin II. The initials: As was introduced earlier, there are 21 initials altogether. Initials are convertible to the English consonants. However, they differ in that initials sole(prenominal) refer to the consonants that reckon in the initial piazza of a syllable.The 21 initials are listed below according to the aligning of one’s ex pressing in producing the responsibility sounds in Table 2. Table 2 Table of initials Unaspirated Aspirated Labial dental consonant Guttural Palatal copy dental consonant Sibilant b(o) d(e) g(e) j(i) zh(i) z(i) p(o) t(e) k(e) q(i) ch(i) c(i) Nasals m(o) n(e) Fricatives fo l(e) h(e x(i) sh(i) s(i) Voiced Continuants r(i) occupy note that the initials can not be orderd without adding certain finals. occupy practice with your teacher in class and listen to the strait sounds later class. The initials listed in lyric 1 are called labials because the lips essential(prenominal) be utilize to utter them.The sounds in actors line 2 are dentals because the teeth are employed to pee these sounds. The initials listed in run-in 3 are called ‘gutturals”, which means their pronunciation, is controlled by the muscles in the abide of the lip. Actually, since the initials listed in Rows1-3 are truly comparabl e to the English consonants, you can achieve their sound very easily. The â€Å"Palatals” in Row 4 needs more practice. When pronouncing j and q, you must first raise the wait of the knife to the ponderous capital of the communicatepiece and press the rick instrument of the clapper against the back of the lower teeth, and then bait the vernacular and let the stock squeeze out through the channel thus made.The two sounds only differ in that the q is an aspirated sound. To joint x, you should raise the see of the clapper towards ( near touching) the hard palate and then let the bank line squeeze out. In short, j(i) is equal j in jeep. q(i) is comparable ch in cheap and cheese. x(i) a nauseoust(p) sh in banshee, amidst the s in see and the sh in she. Refer to manikin 2 for a better understanding. approximate 2: Palatals The initials in Row 5 are â€Å"retroflexes”. To pronounce this sound, the tongue is curl uped back (retroflexed) until the tip t ouches the s awecrow part of the roof of the emit.The tongue is only a little far toward the back of the mouth than when pronouncing the initials r in ‘run’. To pronounce zh, ch, the tip of the tongue begins by touching the roof of the mouth, then quickly moving away. The two sounds differ only in that a strong poof of air accompanies with ch sound. zh is kind of homogeneous dg in fudge, and ch is wish ch in church, but curl the tongue up toward the zh(i) ch(i) roof of the mouth period pronouncing the â€Å"ch” sound. scarce when produce the sound of sh, r, the tip of the tongue does not ever touch the roof of the mouth but entirely rests in a close-by position as illustrated in Figure 3 below. h sounds handle sh in English, but you should curl the tongue up sh(i) toward the roof of the mouth while pronouncing the â€Å"sh” sound. r(i) sounds zhr as in delight. occupy note that r is the only initial that is voiced. zh-ch Figure 3: Retroflexes s hi ri Dental sibilants (buzzing or hissing sounds) are listed in the last row. They are called â€Å"Dental sibilants” because the pronunciation of which involves the tip of the tongue placed behind the top of comportment teeth. The tongue must be farther towards the front than when pronouncing an English s. z, is not similarly far from ds in â€Å" find outs”. , is near the ts in â€Å"carts” though more air should be blown out. shapes on Initials: 1. Listen and repeat: b: babi baibei p: pipei f: fafang h: hehao d: dadao t: titan l: linli r: ruran j: jiaji q: qiqi x: xiaxiang zh zh:zhizhong ch ch:chuchu sh sh:shisheng z: zizu c: s: cengci sisuo paipao fanfa heihai dedao tiaoting lunluo rengran jinji qinqing xixin zhaizhu chengche shushi zuzong cancun susong baobi papo fafu hehu didian tantu lailin renren jingjia qingqi xixia zhangzhou chachao shensheng zaizao caice sansi benbo popi fangfa huibusynessng daidong tingtang lingli rongru jingjie qingqing xinxi zh azhen chachang shanshui zizun cuncao sisui ubi pian bunko fenfu huahui dongdan tongtian lanling runri jiajin qinqing xianxiang zhuzhai chuanchu shangshu zangzu cuicu susuan 2. Listen and pronounce the interest syllables. enliven pay prudence to the unaspirated initials and aspirated initials: b-p: piaobo paiban bianpai banping pingpao paobing pingbi pengbi pibao peibei panbi pianpi d-t: tongdeng ditou z-c: zaici caozuo g-k: gekai gongkai kaiguo konggang keku guku kangu kuaigan guke guoku kaigong kuguan cizu zanci zice canzan caizi zaice zacao cezi cazao zican deti daiti tidu tida dianti diaotou tidan dantian ditu ditang 3.Please pronounce the next(a) retroflexes: zhuchu shizhang shishi zhizhu chushi reshui ruoshi chicheng shichang shusheng shaoshu zhashe rizhao ruizhi chishui changchu chuanchang zhenzhong chushu shiren renzhi chushou zhenzheng shenzhi chishui zhengshi zhiran renzhi zhichi caishui chuangshang chouchu changcheng shice chuzhong rushi zhiru chuanchang shashi shangr en rengran ruchang 4. Please practice the followers palatals with the preserve: pijing qijian qicai qixian jingqi xiaqi xiqi jijin qixiang chuqu chaijian jiuji jiaqi pingxi jianqi pingjing jiaoqi xingjin xiqin qijia qinqie jiqi qixi jiaxiao xianxiang qinjian inxing xiaojing xiangxin xiaji xingqi qingjin jingji jingxi qinxin qingjing qiangquan xiangjin jianqi jiqiao jiajie qingxing 5. Read aloud and managen: bâ€f:bafang pâ€f:pifu dâ€l:daili tâ€l:tuliao fâ€h:fahui râ€l:luru zhâ€z:zhizao zh†châ€c:canchuan ch†shâ€s:shisi sh†zhâ€j:zhijing zh†châ€q:chaqi ch†shâ€x:xishou sh†jizhe qiche shanxi fabiao fupin lidai liti huifa rangli zizhu chuci sishi zhijin chaiqian xiaoshi binfen pifa dalian tilian fanhuan rili zhuzu changci shensi jiazhi qincha shixi fangbian fangping lada lantian hefa ranliao zengzhang checi shanse zhiji changqing xishu bufu pingfan danliang tianliang fanhua liren zhize chicu shisanIII. The finals: : The canonic vowels: There are altogether six basic vowels in Chinese as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4 Basic vowels a is a central vowel. To pronounce it, the tongue remains in a natural, relaxed position, as a in get under ones skin. o is a locomote semi-high back vowel. It sounds equivalent o as in or, standardized the wa in wall. You should have the lips travel to pronounce it. e is an un go semi-high back vowel. To produce this vowel, first pronounce o, then assortment the shape of the mouth from shineed to unrounded. At the same date open the mouth wider.This vowel is assorted from â€Å"e” in English, which is pronounced with the tongue raise slightly forward. It needs supererogatory practice. i is an unrounded high front vowel. The tongue is raised high(prenominal) than it would be to ea. pronounce its facsimile in English as in tea. u is a rounded high back vowel. The tongue is raised higher than it would be to pronounce its transcript in English. It slightly resembles the o as in English oo To pronounce it: (1) The tongue must be pulled toward the back of the mouth while the lips make a very small possibility in front. 2) Imagining that you h nonagenarians as often water as possible without either swallowing it or spilling any of it out of the lips. (3) Try to whistling the lowest note possible, then vocalize alternatively of in truth whistling. u is a rounded high front vowel. It is a combination of i and u. To produce this vowel, (1) first pronounce i, then modify the shape of the mouth from unrounded to rounded; (2) try to go the highest note, but vocalize instead of very whistling. i in any case represents two additional excess vowels: -i one is an alveolar front vowel, it goes with z, c, s; the other is an alveolar ack vowel, it goes with zh, ch, sh, r. The finals: A final may have one or more vowel sounds and sometimes a consonant finish like -g and ng . In fact, other than -g and -ng other consonants can’t appear i n a final at all. Putting altogether, there are thirty six finals as listed in Table 3. Table 3: The finals: Row -a -i -u -i i a ia e ie -i ai Ending -o/-u ei ao ou iao iu ui -n an en -ng -r ang eng ong er iang ing iong uang ueng ian in uan un u ua uo uai -u u ue uan un ei sounds like eigh in sleigh and eight. ao reads as ow like the au in sauerkraut. u sounds like oh, as in soul. an has the sound of ahn, mingled with the an in can and the on in con. en sounds like un as in run, as en in chicken. ang sounds like ahng, a as in father and ng as in sing. eng has the sound of ung as in hung and lung. ong ong(ueng) is like the ung in German jung or, u as in put plus ng as in sing. er crosses between ar and er. ia sounds like ee-ah (quickly, as one syllable), like the ya in yacht. ie reads as ee-eh (quickly), like the ye in yet. iao starts with ee in see and end with ow in straightway. u iu(iou) sounds like yo as in you or eo as in Leo, close to u in union. ian reads as ee-en (quickly)( an after i sounds between man and men in English) in in(ien) sounds like een as in seen, like the ine in machine. iang sounds like ee-ahng (quickly) . ing ing(ieng) is similar to ing as in ring. iong goes like ee-ong (quickly), almost like German jung. ua sounds like wa as in wash and the wa in wander. uo sounds like the wo as in wore and the wa in waltz. uai sounds like why or like the wi in wide. ui( ui(uei) goes like way, between we and weigh. uan is similar to wahn, as in wander . n un(uen) is similar to when or the wen in Owen. uang sounds like wahng. ueng starts with u as in put then quickly goes to eng. ue goes like the German diaeresis u in uber plus e in ie. uan starts with u and then wan as in wander. un starts with u and then goes on to en quickly. Please note that the vowel quality of some finals varies with different tones. For example, the final iu (you) with the first and the threesome tone bequeath sound different. Therefore, our focus should be on the accuracy o f the tones instead of on the distinctions. exploits on Finals: 1.Please read the undermentioned syllables aloud: o: pomo bopo fotuo e: u: u: er er: ei ei: ao ao: lehe bufu yuju erjiu feiche paomao keke pubu xuqu erhu xuefei gaozhao ou ’zhou nuoruo tongxue zhuisui tanpan renzhen qinxin hundun tese zhuchu quju erxi beihou baodao dou ’ou guocuo hulue huigui ganhan genben pinyin kunlun moluo hege tushu quyu ji ’er leihen laobao shougou tuoluo kwaiyue cuihui canzan menzhen xinxin shuncong mopo ji ’e fuwu yunu ersai weisuo baochao goushou cuoluo yuenan hesui shanshi shenchen xinyin zungui ou ou: shouhou uo uo: zuocuo ue: ui ui: xuexiao huicui n an: canlan en en: in in: zhenren binlin un un: chunsun 2. Contrasts: ouâ€(u)o ouâ€(u)o:doushuo uâ€u â€u: eiâ€ui eiâ€ui: lushu duilei gou orthodontic braces luxu cuifei shoucuo juzu beiwei tuolou lutu leitui rouguo quchu leizhui aoâ€ou ao†ou: baochou anâ€ang anâ€ang:dangran enâ€eng e n†eng:zhenzheng inâ€ing xinxing inâ€ing: ongâ€-iong ongâ€-iong:longxiong uanâ€un:yuanjuan an†uanâ€un: luanlun uan†ie†ue: ie†uâ€iu uâ€iu iu: jieyue jiuju laorou nanfang zhencheng xinqing yonggong qunxuan chuannuan xuejie qujiu chanshen jiaohao chaoshou flakwan chengren jinling qionglong yuanjun tuandun quexie luxiu shancen qiaogao houtao hangang zhengshen pinqing xiongyong xuanyun shunshuan xieyue jiuqu zhenchan liaokao roudao kangzhan lengshen yingxin jiongpo quanjun chunguan juelie xuliu nanfen daoqiao enâ€an en†an: sanzhen aoâ€iao ao†iao:xiaoyao III. Pinyin Romanization-spelling triumphs: observes: Pinyin Romanization has been the official romanization system in the Peoples Republic of China since 1958. somewhat of the finals (in boldface) listed in Table 3 are spelled differently as shown below in Table 4. Row -a -i -u -u -i a e -i ai Ending -o/-u ei ao ou yao you -n an en -ng -r ang eng ong er yang ying yong wa ng weng i ya ye wu wa wo yu yue wai wei yan yin wan wen yuan yun Table 4: Finals in Pinyin Romanization The spelling determines are summarized as below: Tone marks: We know that the four tones are indicated by the diacritical marks: -, /, /, that appear above the vowels of spelled syllables. There are linguistic rules to follow or so where to put the diacritical marks. First, if there is a single vowel in the syllable, put it oer the vowel. Second, if there is more than one vowel, put it everyplace the vowel in this order: a, o, e, i, or u. When two vowels i and u are together, you put it over the last vowel.Third, if the diacritical mark is over an i, omit the dot. xin †naked as a jaybird (adj. ) re â€hot (s. v. ) ren †mortal (n. ) dui †correct (adj. ) leng †cold (s. v. ) liu †to layover (v) spell rules: u 1. When the uo final combines with the labial initials b, p, m, f, the â€Å"u” drops out. bo †waver (n. ) po †broken or worn out (adj. ) mo †to rub (v. ) fo †Buddha (n. ) u But the â€Å"u” be when any other initial is used. duo †much or many (adj. ) cuo -wrong (adj. ) 2. When the u final combines with the palatal initials j, q, or x, the diaeresis drops out. This is u because only the u final can go with j, q, or x, but not the u final.Therefore, any time a â€Å"u” fathers after j, q, or x, one knows it has to be the u final even though the umlaut is not there. ju (ju) †office or assurance (n. ) qu (qu) †to go (v. ) xu (xu) †to permit (v. ) The only other initials that u combines with are l and n. In these cases, the umlaut stays: nu †female (adj. ) lu †green(adj. ) i i y 3. When the finals beginning with â€Å"i” breathe without an initial, the â€Å"i” changes to â€Å"y”. ie > ye †alike (adv. ) iao > yao †want (v. ) The three finals i, in and ing are expulsions to rule three, in which case a â€Å"y” is in, i added while the â€Å"i” remains: i> yi one (num. in > yin to print (v. ) ing > ying hard (s. v. ) i y When the final iu (iou) goes without an initial, the â€Å"i” changes to a â€Å"y” by rule four o and an â€Å"o” is added: iu > you to have (v. ) u u w 4. When the finals beginning with â€Å"u” carry on without an initial, the â€Å"u” changes to â€Å"w”. uo > wo †I or me uan >wan †bowl w The u final is an exception to rule five. When it occurs without an initial, the ‘w’ is added: u>wu five (number) u When the ui (uei) and un (uen) finals occur without an initial, the â€Å"u” changes to a w e â€Å"w” by rule five and an â€Å"e” is added: ui > wei †patronise (n. un >wen †to ask (v. ) 5. When the finals beginning with u occur without an initial, the umlaut drops out and a y â€Å"y is added in front. u> yu fish (n. ) uan > yuan distant (adj. ) 6. If the noun is a p lace name, then take advantage the first letter. If it is a Chinese name, capitalize the first letter of the appellation and given name. beijing> Beijing (Peking) wang xiaoxiao> Wang Xiaoxiao niuyuu> Niuyue (New York) zhang zhong > Zhang Zhong (a name) Spelling exercises: 1. Please correct the spellings for the following syllables: uan> uan> diu> buo> ian> wun > zo> ie> uen> wuei > iu> jan> qong> chuen> wui> yuan > 2. Spell the bring down syllables and add the diacritical marks. ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ IV. Tone sandhi Tone sandhi refers to the sound change in tones when different sounds come together. Sandhi in Sankrit means â€Å" position together”. Third tone Sandhi: In Mandarin Chinese, the most putting green tone sandhi rule is that the leading syllable in a set of two terzetto-tone syllables is raised to the fleck tone. For example, nihao (?? , t he most common Mandarin greeting, is pronounced nihao. If there are more than two third tones, the same rule applies although other rules may apply. Exercise: Please read the following syllables. hen hao mai jiu shuijiao qi zao caozi yunxu chao mi mijiu jiugui suoyi zao zou liaojie yufa Lao Li yuanzu xiang zou yaogou xizao shuiguo ni hao laohu da gu bie zou xiao jiao fractional(prenominal) third tone: If a third tone is followed by the first, indorse or the one- one-quarterly tone, the third tone entrust only keep the falling pitch and remains there instead of rising. Since it is half realized, it is called a half third tone.Actually, a full third tone is only possible when it is style final or when it is by itself. The following figure (Figure 5) lead indicate the change. Figure 5: Half third tone Exercises Please read the following syllables. Exercises: Niuyue (New York) Beijing (Beijing) laoshi (teacher) caihong (rainbow) wo lai (I impart do it. ) wangqiu (tennis) zoulu (to walk) keshi (but ) qing wen (May I ask? ) Faguo nuhai ni shuo (France) (girl) (You speak) Meiguo (America) haokan (good-looking) falu (law) qing zuo (Please sit. ) qing shuo (Please speak. ) hao shu (good book) daqiu (to play a game) ni kan (You look. luyou (to travel) stern-tone Sandhi: When a fourth tone is followed by other fourth tone, the first one becomes a variant of the stiff fourth tone as illustrated below in Figure 6. Figure 6: Fourth Tone Sandhi As indicated in Figure 6, the modified fourth tone starts as a regular fourth tone does. But its pitch level only drops to denture 3, half as far as a full fourth. Exercise: Please read the following syllables. duihua (dialogue) guixing (honorable style) Yidali (Italy) zaijian (goodbye) dianshi (T. V. ) sushe (dormitory) shuijiao (to sleep) shang ke (to go to class) zhaogu (to take care of) ieshao (to introduce) kanbao (to read newspaper) jiaoshi (classroom) Tone Sandhi for yi and bu: Yi (one; once) and bu (no, not) beq ueath also undergo tone sandhi under certain conditions. antedate a syllable with the first, second or third tone, yi becomes yi. Bu keeps the fourth tone without any change. yiqi (together) bu hao (not good) yi jia (a family) butong (not same) yinian (one year) buting (not listen) When preceding a syllable with a fourth tone, two yi and bu become a second tone. yigong (altogether) buhui (can not) yixia (a little bit) buguo (but) yiyang (same) bukan (not to look)When yi and bu are phrase final or used alone, they keep their original tones: yi and bu. Please note that the tone of yi and bu will change only when they mean yi (one; once) bu (no; not). Exercise: Please read the following syllables syllables. yitian (a day) bu leng (not cold) yiding (definitely) yihuir (a moment) bu zhidao (I don’t know. ) yizu (a group) bu zao (not early) yi. ge (one + measure word) bu re (not hot) bu dui (not correct) buqu (not to go) di yi (the first) bu shi (not to be) bu mai (not to sell) b u xing (not okay) bu tai hao(not that good) buda (not big) u lai (not to come) indifferent(p) tone tone: In actual speech, all light syllables are pronounced with a â€Å" unbiased tone”, which is sometimes considered as a deficiency of tone. In most varieties of Mandarin, the second syllable in two-syllable compounds is weaker in tonal prominence than the first one. A sluggishized tone takes very little time to pronounce and does not hold or stick to its original tone. When actually pronouncing a neutral tone, one should not consider how a neutral tone sounds but focus on the tonal feature of the syllable that goes before it.Generally speaking, the pitch level of a neutral tone differs when following different tones as indicated in Figure 7. Figure7: Pitch level of neutral tones From Figure 6, we know that when following the first tone, the pitch level of a neutralized syllable is just about the middle low pitch, i. e. at get over 2. When it is after a second tone, the pitch level settles approximately middle pitch, i. e. surpass 3. When it goes after a third tone (half third tone actually), the pitch level is around middle high pitch, i. e. Scale 4. Its pitch level is the lowest, when a neutral tone is right after the fourth tone, i. . Scale 1. Whether a syllable is neutralized or not, one can’t tell from the Pinyin. In this book, we will either put a dot before a neutralized syllable or simply indicate it without a tone mark. Exercises: Please read the following syllables. xue. sheng (student) xi. huan (to like) di. fang (place) he. qi (gentle) tian. qi (weather) shu. fu (comfortable) ren. shi (to know sb. ) ta. men (they/them) women (we/ us) peng. you (friend) shen. me (what) jue. de ming. zi ge. ge fu. qin ma. ma ye. ye sun. zi (to feel) (name) (elder brother) (father) (mom) (grandfather) (grandson) yin. ei (because) di. di (younger brother) xie. xie (Thank you. ) jie. jie (elder sister) cong. ming (smart) er. zi (son) mu. qin (mothe r) ba. ba (dad) nai. nai (grandmother) ming. bai (clear) xing. fu (happy) shi. qing (things) ke. yi (may) suoyi (therefore) ai. hao (hobby) gezi (height) dui. fu (to deal with) gongfu (Konfu) shuo. chu. lai (to speak out) er. duo (ear) guaibude (no wonder) kan. qi. lai (it seems that) xi. huan. shang(to begin to like) shuo. bude (can’t be blamed) The mercurial ‘r’ sound: sound: Northerners, especially Beijingese tend to add the fickle ‘r’ to a word. uar (flower) menr(door) baimianr (drug, cocain) nar (where) qiur (ball) dianyingr (movie) dahuor (everybody) xiangweir (fragnant) hua huar (to draw) ge menr (buddy) miantiao (noodles) yucir (fish bone) yi kuair (together) xiao niaor (little bird) xiaohair ( little kid) yi dianr ( a bit) liaotianr (to chat) fan guanr (restaurant) mei zhunr (not sure) mei shir (nothing) xiao huar (joke) changger (to sing) guai wanr ( to make a turn) much Pinyin exercises: 1. Please read the following syllables: tongxue ( class fellow) waiguo (foreign country) xiao. iao (a Chinese name) Shanghai (Shanghai) Jiazhou (California) gaoxing (happy) Zhongguo (China) Meiguo (America) peng. you (friend) liuxuesheng (international student) Yingguo (Britain) Lundun (London) xi. huan (to like) zhi. dao (to know) 2. Please read the following sentences: ??????? Jintian tian. qi hen hao. (The weather is good today. ) Bu leng bu re. (It is neither cold nor hot. ) ????? ???????? Xin tongxue dou hen gao. xing. (New students are very happy. ) Robert shi Meiguo xue. sheng (Robert is an American student. ) Robert ????? , ta you hen duo tongxue. you Meiguo tongxue, ye you waiguo tongxue (He has many classmates. (There are American students. ) (and there are also foreign students. ) ??????? ?????? ??????? ???????? , ?? ,????? Ta you yi ge Zhongguo pengyou, (He has a Chinese friend,) xing Wang jiao Wang Xiaoxiao. (whose surname is Wang and is called Xiaoxiao. ) Zhang Yizhong ye. shi Robert de xin peng. you. ????? Robert ??? ?? (Zhang Yizhong is also Robert’s new friend. ) Ta bu . shi Meiguo xue. sheng. (He is not an American student. ) ???????? Ta shi Zhongguo liuxuesheng. (He is an international student from China. ) ???????? Wang Xiaoxiao shi Beijingren. (Wang Xiaoxiao is from Beijing. ???????? Zhang Yizhong bu. shi Beijingren, shi Shanghairen. ???????? ,????? (ZhangYizhong is not from Beijing. He is from Shanghai. ) Robert hai you yi. ge Yingguo tongxue jiao Alex. Robert ???????? ,? Alex. (Robert also has a classmate from Britain, whose name is Alex. ) Ta ye shi liuxuesheng. (He is also an international student. ) ??????? Robert gen Alex dou hen xi. huan Zhongguo. (They some(prenominal) like China. ) Robertand Alex ??????? ye dou hen xi. huan Zhongwen. (Also they some(prenominal) like Chinese. ) ???????? Ni. shi Meiguo shenme di. fang ren? (Where are you from in the U. S.? ) ?????????? ren. hi nimen hen gao. xing. (It is my pleasure to know you. ) ???????? 3. Please read the following poems : Jing ye si (Li Bai) Chuang qian ming yue guang, Yi shi di shang shuang. ju tou wang ming yue, di tou si gu xiang. ??? ?? ????? ????? ????? ????? (In the quiet night So bright a gleam on the foot of my bed †Could there have been a frost already? Lifting myself to look, I found that it was moonlight. drop back again, I sentiment suddenly of crustal plate. ) Chun xiao (Meng Haoran) Chun mian bu jue xiao, Chu chu wen ti niao. Ye lai feng yu sheng, hua luo zhi duo shao. ?? ??? ????? ????? ????? ????? A Spring morning awaken light-hearted this morning of spring, Everywhere round me the relation of birds †But now I remember the night, the storm, And I wonder how many blossoms were broken. Yong e (Luo hive away Wang) e e e, Qu xiang xiang tian ge, Baimao fu lu shui, Hong zhang bo qing bo. (Twisting its neck, ?? ??? ??? , ????? , ????? , ?????? the goose is singing to the sky. With its white feather on the green water, the red palms are striking on the clear water. ) Hui x iang ou shu (He Zhizhang) Shao xiao li jia lao da gui, Xiang yin wei gai bin mao cui. er tong xiang jian bu xiang shi, Xiao wen ke cong he chu lai. ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????? (Coming mansion I left home young. I return old; Speaking as then, but with hair grown thin; And the children, meeting me, do not know me. They smile and say: â€Å"Stranger, where do you come from? â€Å") 4. applauder twisters: Si shi si. Shi shi shi. Shi si shi shi si. Si shi shi si shi. Si shi si shi si shi si. ??? ??? ????? ????? ??????? Four is four. tenner is ten. Fourteen is fourteen. 40 is forty. Forty four is forty four. Che shang you ge pen, Pen li you ge ping, ping ping ping, pang pang pang, bu zhi shi pen peng ping hai shi ping peng pen. ???? , ????? , ??? ,??? , ?????? , ?????? There is a basin in the car, and a bottle in the basin. Bin bin bin, bang bang bang, Not knowing which is bang which. Shu. shang you zhi xiao taozi, Shu xia you zhi xiao houzi. Feng chui tao shu hua hua xiang, Shu. shang diao xia xiao taozi. Taozi da zhao xiao houzi, Houzi chi diao xiao taozi. (There is a bring out on the tree, There is a monkey under the tree. The wind blows and the tree talks, With the wind, the peach falls, mightily onto the monkey. And the monkey eats the peach. ) ??????? , ???????? ??????? , ???????? ??????? , ????????\r\n'