Chapter 91
Chinese Language Tones
The tones in the Chinese language can be difficult for people that aren’t used to them. There are four tones plus there is also a neutral tone, sometimes called the 5th tone. What I did is copy some things from online and put them below to help explain this. It does a much better job than what I can do. When you listen to Chinese people talk, it is quite interesting as you hear them talk and their voices go up and down as they speak and you can hear the tones.
Like any child from anywhere in the world, we all learn speaking and writing from when we are young. So whatever a person’s native language is, it is the easiest when you grow up with it.
For anyone wanting to actually hear someone speaking the tones, I suggest going on YouTube and type in “Chinese Language Tones” and play some of the videos that teach you how to learn them and some of the examples they give. It would be a lot easier for anyone to understand the tones if they would watch these videos and see someone explain about them and actually hear how they are pronounced.
I will make a suggestion. “Yoyo Chinese” is a very good one on YouTube. There are many good videos for learning Chinese but I will mention that one. Her name is Yangyang Cheng. She started some years ago putting Chinese Language videos on YouTube. She is very knowledgeable in her teaching. If you want, you can download some of her lessons for free. She has a video where she compares the four tones to how we say English words.
We also use tones in the English Language but we call it intonation when we say something. I will try to give a couple of examples. If someone says something kind of surprising to us, we may say “really”? Our voice goes up and it sounds like a question. This is similar to the second tone in Chinese. Another example would be when someone gets angry and they say “no” or “don’t”. It is similar to the fourth tone in Chinese. Watch the videos and it will help you understand.
If those tones aren’t confusing enough, Chinese names also use the four tones.
Chapter 92
Chinese Is A Tonal Language
Mandarin is said to have four main tones and one neutral tone (or, as some say, five tones). Each tone has a distinctive pitch contour which can be graphed using the Chinese 5-level system.
First Tone
The first tone is high and level. It is important to keep one's voice even (almost monotone) across the whole syllable when pronouncing the first tone. It is represented by a straight horizontal line above a letter in pinyin (or sometimes by a number "1" written after the syllable).
Second Tone
The second rises moderately. In English we sometimes associate this rise in pitch with a question. The second tone is represented by a rising diagonal line above a letter in pinyin (or sometimes by a number "2" written after the syllable).
Third Tone
The third tone falls and then rises again. When pronounced clearly, its tonal "dipping" is very distinctive. It is represented by a curved "dipping" line above a letter in pinyin (or sometimes by a number "3" written after the syllable).
Fourth Tone
The fourth tone starts out high but drops sharply to the bottom of the tonal range. English-speakers often associate this tone with an angry command. It is represented by a dropping diagonal line above a letter in pinyin (or sometimes by a number "4" written after the syllable).
The neutral tone is not mapped on the tone chart because it differs from the other four tones in that it does not have a defined pitch contour. The neutral tone is pronounced quickly and lightly without regard to pitch. Syllables with a neutral tone have no tone mark (but are sometimes marked with a "5" or a "0" after the syllable).
This tone is usually very easy to pick up. Note that aside from grammatical particles, single syllable words cannot have a neutral tone.
Chapter 93
English Corner
These were places where Chinese who wanted to learn and practice English got together. They are all over China. It could be held outside or inside, depending upon the weather. If any of them knew a foreigner that spoke English, they invited them to go to the English Corner so the Chinese would have a foreigner to practice with.
I went three times in the fall of 2002. I was so busy already with classes and talking to teachers and friends that I didn’t care to go to the English Corners. They would last about one and a half hours and there could be up to forty people or more.
Once it started, people came around even if they couldn’t speak or understand English. During my time in China, I was told about them many times but I didn’t care to go. Mary also told me that she would be invited to them but she didn’t want to go either.
For me, it was the same questions over and over, do you like China, do you like Chinese food, where have you been in China, can you speak Chinese, can you use chopsticks and other questions. I had enough to do with other people already.
English Corners are a very good thing for people that want to practice their English especially if there is a foreigner there. It also helps with their listening ability.
Chapter 94
Privacy and Gossip
Privacy is something that is rare in China. That is mostly because of the numbers of people there. There are people everywhere. It is difficult to go to a park for a walk and be alone. It isn’t like here. It can be done if you know when to go to a park, I knew how to do that. I learned over time. If I would go to get groceries in the mornings, it would be quieter than going in the afternoon. I learned when it is a good time to go for walks and not so many people out.
When I would go for a walk in a park, sometimes I would see men sitting in a circle on the ground talking. I told a friend of mine about it and told them that I never saw women doing that. My friend said that if women would do that, men would come over and sit down and listen to them talk.
I was told that people in China really like to gossip. That’s all I can say about it because I don’t know and didn’t have any experience with it.
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