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N ho Lesson 1 on Basic Mandarin!


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Welcome to Culture Alley - Mandarin

Welcome to your first Mandarin lesson! We hope you're as excited as we are about your cultural voyage to China! Today, we will introduce you to Mandarin and discover different tones in the language! So lets get started

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Mandarin
There are about 13 sub-languages within the Chinese language

The most spoken is Mandarin (about 850 million), followed by Wu (90

million), Cantonese (Yue) (70 million) Mandarin has the largest number of native speakers in the world

Mandarin is the official language of China and Singapore

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Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese (including Mandarin) characters into Latin script

It is often used to teach Chinese (including Mandarin) and spell names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into computers You = (Chinese characters) To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin You = n (Pinyin)

Lesson objectives

Tones in Mandarin

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Tones in Mandarin
Let's get started by understanding the concept of tones in Mandarin You will usually encounter symbols on certain characters, eg: , , etc Each letter in Mandarin has a distinct tone (pitch of voice) associated with it Pinyin uses four easily - remembered marks to tell you what the tones of words are
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Tones in Mandarin
Eg: 'm' means 'Mother' But 'm' means 'Horse' So if you don't say the word right, you'd end up calling your mother a horse and land into trouble! :)

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Tones in Mandarin

Let's look at the tonal variations of 'ma' m m m m ma Meaning : 'mother', 'hemp', 'horse', 'scold' and a question particle respectively

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As we saw...

Each syllable in Mandarin has a distinct tone (pitch of voice) associated with it Let's now look at the easily - remembered marks which will help us in identifying the tones

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Tones in Mandarin

We shall now take a look at various tones using 'Ma' as an example Lets begin!

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Tones in Mandarin - First tone


The first tone ( ) starts at a high level and remains constant at that level It is the same as saying 'Aaaaa' without a change in voice Say it as if singing a high note This will now be referred to as the 'high level tone (1st)'
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Tonal tip

Mother = M It is pronounced using a high level tone (1st)

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Tonal tip

Let's try and say M It is said with a high level tone - also known as the first tone, M

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So remember!
The first tone is denoted by ( ) It is a constant, high level tone It is said as 'Aaaaa' For example : M

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Tones in Mandarin - Second tone


The second tone () starts at the middle of the tone and goes to the top It is similar to saying 'Wht?' in English This will now be referred to as the 'mid rising tone (2nd)'
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Tonal tip

Hemp (type of fabric) = M It is pronounced using a mid rising tone (2nd)

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Tonal tip

Let's try and say M It is said with a mid rising tone - or second tone, M

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So remember!

The second tone is denoted by () It is said with a mid rising tone It is similar to the a in Wht? For example : M

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Tones in Mandarin - Third tone


The third tone () starts at the middle, drops and picks up again

It is a falling-rising tone Say it by pushing the tone and then letting go, '' This will now be referred to as the 'falling rising tone (3rd )'
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Tonal tip

Horse = M

It is pronounced using a falling rising tone (3rd )

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Tonal tip

Let's try and say M Once again,with a falling rising tone - also known as the third tone, M

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So remember!
The third tone is denoted by () It is said in a falling rising tone It is said by pushing the tone and then letting it go For example : M

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Tones in Mandarin - Fourth tone


The fourth tone () starts at a high level and falls sharp at the bottom It has a rapidly falling pitch, like while saying a command, example (Stop!) This will now be referred to as the 'falling tone (4th )'

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Tonal tip

Scold = M It is pronounced using a falling tone (4th)

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Tonal tip

Let's try and say M It is said with a falling tone - also known as the fourth tone, M

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So remember!
The fourth tone is denoted by () It is a falling tone It shares intonation with commands such as Stop! For example : M

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Revision - Tones in Mandarin


1.High level tone (1st) ( ) : Say the first tone as if you were singing a high note 2.Mid rising tone (2nd) () : Pronounced like a question in English, with your pitch rising at the end of the syllable (Wht?)

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Revision - Tones in Mandarin


3. Falling rising tone (3rd) ( ) : middle to low to high, dipping pitch 4. Falling tone (4th) () : high to low, rapidly falling pitch that is pronounced like a command (Stop!)

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Did you notice?

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Let's see if you remember

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Pick the right option

How do we say 'mother' in Mandarin?

1
M

2
M

3
M

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Solution

How do we say 'mother' in Mandarin?

1
M

2
M

3
M

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So remember!

Mother = M is said with a constant high level tone - also known as the first tone

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Pick the right option

How do we say 'horse' in Mandarin?

1
M

2
M

3
M

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Solution

How do we say 'horse' in Mandarin?

1
M

2
M

3
M

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So remember!

Horse = M is said with a falling rising tone - also known as the third tone

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Pick the right option

What tone does 'M' carry?

1
High level (First)

2
Falling (Fourth)

3
Mid rising (Second)

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Solution

What tone does 'M' carry?

1
High level (First)

2
Falling (Fourth)

3
Mid rising (Second)

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So remember!

The mid rising tone is the second tone In this tone 'M' means 'Hemp'

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Pick the right option

What tone does 'Scold' = M carry?

1
High level

2
Mid rising

3
Falling

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Solution

What tone does 'Scold' = M carry?

1
High level

2
Mid rising

3
Falling

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So remember!

'M' means 'Scold' and carries the falling tone The falling tone is also known as the fourth tone

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Tones in Mandarin

It might seem overwhelming, but don't worry, you will get a hang of the tones as you go along! They are important as different tones convey different meanings

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Let's revise!

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Revision - Tones

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Revision-Vocabulary

English Mother Hemp Horse Scold

Mandarin M M M M

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Culture Leaf

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Culture leaf- History of China


China boasts of more than 5000 years of history beginning with the semi-mythological Shang dynasty around 1500 B.C It was at this time that the Chinese symbolic writing was developed by priests

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Culture leaf

The Chinese civilization originated in and along the Yellow River (China's mother River) in the Neolithic era (12000- 10,000 B.C)

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Culture leaf
Chinese society has progressed through five major stages - Primitive Society, Slave Society, Feudal Society, Semi-feudal and Semi-colonial Society, and Socialist Society It has seen the rise and fall of several ruling dynasties in its 4500 year history

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Culture leaf

Today China is a vibrant economy and a leading superpower which is making strides in all fields from manufacturing to technology to culture, arts, and tourism as well!

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What's next?

In the next lesson we will learn how to say Hello in Mandarin!

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Credits
Content Team CultureAlley, Sunny Dang http://www.chinatraveldiscovery.com/china-history/inde x.htm Images http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/China/West/phot o306017.htm Andr Holdrinet

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See you at the Alley!


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