Chinese sound system HuiJu Chuang University of HawaiiManoa

Chinese sound system Hui-Ju Chuang University of Hawaii-Manoa Hui-Ju Chuang

l Overview l Pronunciations of initials and finals l Chinese tones l Spelling rules l Numbers Hui-Ju Chuang

Syllabic structure l One σ character one syllable σ initial final Ø a f a e. g. 啊, 阿 e. g. 發, 伐 Hui-Ju Chuang σ initial j final iang e. g. 江, 將

Finals l There are six simple finals a o e i u ü l There are thirty complex finals ai an ia ua üe er ei en iao uo üan ao ou ang eng ong ie iu (iou) ian in iang iong uai ui (uei) uan un (uen) uang ueng ün Hui-Ju Chuang

Initials l There b d g j z zh twenty-one initials p t k q c ch m n h x s sh Labial Alveolars f l Velars Palatals Dental Sibilants r Retroflexes Hui-Ju Chuang

Initials l There b d g j z zh twenty-one initials p t k q c ch m n h x s sh f l Labial Alveolars Velars Palatals Dental Sibilants Retroflexes r Hui-Ju Chuang

Combination of initials and finals l Not every initial can combine with every final l There are only 413 combinations are used to represent thousands of Chinese characters Hui-Ju Chuang

Pronunciations of initials and finals l Finals a o Hui-Ju Chuang e

l Finals i u Hui-Ju Chuang ü

l Combination ai of finals ei ao ou an en ang eng ong Hui-Ju Chuang

l Initials bo po mo fo de te ne le Hui-Ju Chuang

l Initials ge ke he ji xi qi Hui-Ju Chuang

l Initials zi ci si Hui-Ju Chuang

l Initials zhi chi shi ri Hui-Ju Chuang

Practice l Initials and finals practice Pinyin song Hui-Ju Chuang

Practice l gai kai l mu fu l zha cha l Ji qi l ba pa l Zi ci l nei lei Hui-Ju Chuang

Chinese Tones l Four tones l Neutral tone A neutral tone is pronounced briefly and softly, and the pitch value is determined by the stressed syllable e. g Māma ‘mother’-- when occurs after the first tone, the tone value is 2 Hui-Ju Chuang

Tone marks l Four tones First tone (¯) Second tone (´) Third tone (ˇ) Fourth tone (ˋ) l Neutral tone No tone marks on the neutral tone Hui-Ju Chuang

Continue… l Tone basically marks on the main vowel of a syllable. l Main vowel sequence: a o e i u ü Exception: when i and u are combined into a syllable, the tone marks on the second vowel e. g iù , uì Hui-Ju Chuang

Practice l tong 痛 l Xian 先 l ban 板 l Jiu 就 l nao 腦 l chong 從 l lei 累 tòng xiān bǎn jiù nǎo chóng lèi Hui-Ju Chuang

Spelling rules 1. i and u will be written as y and w when they are in isolation 2. ü is written as yu without any initial 3. ü is written as u after j, q and x but remains the same after n and l 4. ueng is written as ong when preceded by an initial whereas change to weng in isolation Hui-Ju Chuang

Continue… 5. 6. 7. iou, uei and uen are written as iu, ui, and un when preceded by an initial er is written as r when it is in final position Apostrophe is used when two syllables with connecting vowels, e. g nǚ‘ér(daughter) , xī’an (a city in China) Hui-Ju Chuang

Numbers 一 二 三 四 五 yī èr sān Hui-Ju Chuang sì wǔ

六 七 八 九 十 liù qī bā Hui-Ju Chuang jiǔ shí