Contexts - The Rough Guide to Beijing - page 292

Pinyin
Back in the 1950s, the Communist government hoped to eventually replace Chinese charac-
ters with an alphabet of Roman letters; though near-certain mass riots brought an end to this
plan, the pinyinsystem , a precise and exact means of representing all the sounds of Mandar-
in Chinese, had already been devised. It comprises all the Roman letters of the English al-
phabet, with the four tones represented by diacritical marks, or accents, which appear above
each syllable. The old aim of replacing Chinese characters with pinyin was abandoned long
ago, but in the meantime pinyin has one very important function, that of helping foreigners
pronounce Chinese words. However, there is the added complication that in pinyin the letters
don't all have the sounds you would expect, and you'll need to spend an hour or two learning
the correct sounds.
You'll often see pinyin in Beijing, on street signs and shop displays, but only well-educated
locals know the system very well. The establishments in this guide have been given both in
characters and in pinyin ; the pronunciation guide given here is your first step to making your-
self comprehensible. For more information, see the Rough Guide Mandarin Chinese Phrase-
book .
PRONUNCIATION
There are four possible tones in Mandarin Chinese, and every syllable of every word is char-
acterized by one of them, except for a few syllables, which are considered toneless. In Eng-
lish, to change the tone is to change the mood or the emphasis; in Chinese, to change the tone
is to change the word itself. The tones are:
First or “high” ā ē ī ō ū . A high, flat pitch often used in English when mimicking robotic or
very boring, flat voices.
Second or “rising” á é í ó ú . Used in English when asking a question showing surprise, for
example “eh?” Try raising your eyebrows when attempting to make a sound with this tone -
it never fails.
Third or “falling-rising” ǎ ě ǐ ǒ ǔ . Used in English when echoing someone's words with a
measure of incredulity. For example, “John's dead.” “De-ad?!”
Fourth or “falling” à è ì ò ù . Often used in English when counting in a brusque manner -
“One! Two! Three! Four!” Try stamping your foot lightly when attempting to make a sound
with this tone.
Toneless A few syllables do not have a tone accent. These are pronounced without emphasis,
much like that lovely word “meh”.
Note that when two words with the third tone occur consecutively, the first word is pro-
nounced as though it carries the second tone. Thus ně (meaning “you”) and h ǎ o (“well,
good”), when combined, are pronounced ní ă ǎ o , meaning “how are you?”