This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. Mojibake is the happenstance of incorrect unreadable characters (garbage characters shown when Computer software fails to render a text correctly according to its associated A Chinese character, also known as a Han character ( is a Logogram used in writing Chinese (hanzi Japanese (

Map of eastern China and Taiwan, showing the historic distribution of Mandarin Chinese in light brown. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. Standard Mandarin is based on the particular dialect of Mandarin spoken in Beijing.

Standard Mandarin, also known as Standard Spoken Chinese, is the official modern Chinese spoken language used in mainland China and Taiwan, and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. Spoken Chinese ( comprises many regional variants the largest of which are Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, and Min. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES There are a multitude of languages spoken in Singapore that reflect its multi-racial society

The phonology of Standard Mandarin is based on the Beijing dialect of the Mandarin language, a large and diverse group of Chinese dialects spoken across northern and southwestern China. Phonology ( Greek φωνή (phōnē voice sound + λόγος (lógos word speech subject of discussion is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning Beijing dialect ( is the Dialect of Mandarin spoken in the urban area of Beijing, China. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National The vocabulary is largely drawn from this group of dialects. The vocabulary of a person is defined either as the set of all Words that are understood by that person or the set of all words likely to be used by that person when constructing The grammar is standardized to the body of modern literary works written in Vernacular Chinese, which in practice follows the same tradition of the Mandarin dialects with some notable exceptions. Grammar is the field of Linguistics that covers the Rules governing the use of any given natural language. Vernacular Chinese is a style or register of the Written Chinese Language essentially modeled after the spoken language and associated with As a result, Standard Mandarin itself is usually just called "Mandarin" in non-academic, everyday usage. However, linguists use "Mandarin" to refer to the entire language. Linguistics is the scientific study of Language, encompassing a number of sub-fields This convention will be adopted by the rest of this article.

Native names

Standard Mandarin is officially known

• in the People's Republic of China as Pǔtōnghuà (traditional Chinese: 普通話; simplified Chinese: 普通话, literally "common speech")
• in Taiwan as Guóyǔ (traditional Chinese: 國語; simplified Chinese: 国语, literally "national language")
• in Malaysia and Singapore as Huáyǔ (traditional Chinese: 華語; simplified Chinese: 华语, literally "Chinese (in a cultural sense) language"). Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and Singapore

In other parts of the world, the three names are used interchangeably to varying degrees.

The name Guoyu received official recognition in 1909, when the Qing Dynasty determined Standard Mandarin as the "national language". Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China The name Putonghua also has a long, albeit unofficial, pedigree. It was used as early as 1906 in writings by Zhu Wenxiong (朱文熊) to differentiate a modern, standard language from classical Chinese and Chinese dialects. Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of Written Chinese based on the Grammar and Vocabulary of ancient Chinese Spoken Chinese ( comprises many regional variants the largest of which are Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, and Min.

For some linguists of the early 20th century, the Putonghua, or "common tongue", was conceptually different from the Guoyu, or "national language". The former was a national prestige dialect or language, while the latter was the legal standard. Based on common understandings of the time, the two were, in fact, different. Guoyu was understood as formal vernacular Chinese, which is close to classical Chinese. Vernacular Chinese is a style or register of the Written Chinese Language essentially modeled after the spoken language and associated with Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of Written Chinese based on the Grammar and Vocabulary of ancient Chinese By contrast, Putonghua was called the "the common speech of the modern man", which is the spoken language adopted as a national lingua franca by conventional usage. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely The use of the term Putonghua by left-leaning intellectuals such as Qu Qiubai and Lu Xun influenced the People's Republic of China government to adopt that term to describe standard Mandarin in 1956. Qu Qiubai ( ( January 29, 1899 &ndash June 18, 1935) was born in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China. Lu Xun ( or Lu Hsün ( Wade-Giles) was the Pen name of Zhou Shuren ( ( September 25, 1881 &ndash October 19 Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Prior to this, the government used both terms interchangeably. ^[1]

Huayu, or "language of the Chinese nation", originally simply meant "Chinese language", and was used in overseas communities to contrast Chinese dialects against foreign languages. Zhonghua minzu ( Traditional Chinese: 中華民族 ( Simplified Chinese: 中华民族 Pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínzú sometimes translated as Over time, the desire to standardise the variety of Chinese spoken in these communities led to the adoption of the name "Huayu" to refer to standard Mandarin. This name also avoids choosing a side between the alternative names of Putonghua and Guoyu, which came to have political significance after their usages diverged along political lines between mainland China and Taiwan. Mainland China, Continental China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term synonymous with the area that is under the jurisdiction Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia.

History

Main article: History of Standard Mandarin

Chinese languages have always had dialects; hence prestige dialects have always existed, and linguae francae have always been needed. Standard Mandarin is the official Chinese spoken language used by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan and Singapore A prestige dialect is the Dialect spoken by the most prestigious people in a Speech community which is large enough to sustain more than one dialect A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely Confucius, for example, used yǎyán (雅言), or "elegant speech", rather than colloquial regional dialects; text during the Han Dynasty also referred to tōngyǔ (通语), or "common language". Confucius ( lit " Master Kung " September 28, 551 BC - 479 BC) was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher The Han Dynasty ( 206 BC–220 AD followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. Rime books, which were written since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, may also have reflected one or more systems of standard pronunciation during those times. This article is about a type of dictionary in ancient China For the type of Western reference work used in poetry see Rhyming dictionary. This article is about the Southern and Northern Dynasties in China. However, all of these standard dialects were probably unknown outside the educated elite; even among the elite, pronunciations may have been very different, as the unifying factor of all Chinese dialects, Classical Chinese, was a written standard, not a spoken one. Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of Written Chinese based on the Grammar and Vocabulary of ancient Chinese

The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) began to use the term guānhuà (官话), or "official speech", to refer to the speech used at the courts. The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China The term "Mandarin" comes directly from the Portuguese. The word mandarim was first used to name the Chinese bureaucratic officials (i. e. , the mandarins), because the Portuguese, under the misapprehension that the Sanskrit word (mantri or mentri) that was used throughout Asia to denote "an official" had some connection with the Portuguese word mandar (to order somebody to do something), and having observed that these officials all "issued orders", chose to call them mandarins. Mantri is a word of Sanskrit origin used in Asian cultures with a Hindu tradition (even those that later adopted Buddhism or Islam) From this, the Portuguese immediately started calling the special language that these officials spoke amongst themselves (i. e. , "Guanhua") "the language of the mandarins", "the mandarin language" or, simply, "Mandarin". The fact that Guanhua was, to a certain extent, an artificial language, based upon a set of conventions (that is, the various Mandarin dialects for grammar and meaning, and the specific dialect of the Imperial Court's locale for its pronunciation), is precisely what makes it such an appropriate term for Modern Standard Chinese (also the various Mandarin dialects for grammar and meaning, and their dialect of Beijing for its pronunciation).

It seems that during the early part of this period, the standard was based on the Nanjing dialect of Mandarin, but later the Beijing dialect became increasingly influential, despite the mix of officials and commoners speaking various dialects in the capital, Beijing. Beijing dialect ( is the Dialect of Mandarin spoken in the urban area of Beijing, China. In the 17th century, the Empire had set up Orthoepy Academies (正音書院 Zhèngyīn Shūyuàn) in an attempt to make pronunciation conform to the Beijing standard. Orthoepy (/'ɔːθəʊiːpɪ/ or /ɔː'θəʊɪpɪ/ means the correct use of words, from the Greek orth- + -epos correct + word speech But these attempts had little success. As late as the 19th century the emperor had difficulty understanding some of his own ministers in court, who did not always try to follow any standard pronunciation. As late as the early 20th century, the position of Nanjing Mandarin was considered higher than that of Beijing by some and the Chinese Postal Map Romanization standards set in 1906 included spellings with elements of Nanjing pronunciation. Chinese Postal Map Romanization ( Traditional Chinese: 郵政式拼音 Simplified Chinese: 邮政式拼音 Pinyin: Yóuzhèngshì Pīnyīn refers to the ^[2] Nevertheless, by 1909, the dying Qing Dynasty had established the Beijing dialect as guóyǔ (国语), or the "national language". Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China

After the Republic of China was established in 1912, there was more success in promoting a common national language. REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES A Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation was convened with delegates from the entire country. The Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation (讀音統一會 Pinyin: Dúyīn Tǒngyī Huì was established in the Republic of China from 1912 to 1913 At first there was an attempt to introduce a standard pronunciation with elements from regional dialects. But this was deemed too difficult to promote, and in 1924 this attempt was abandoned and the Beijing dialect became the major source of standard national pronunciation, due to the status of that dialect as a prestigious dialect since the Qing Dynasty. Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China Elements from other dialects continue to exist in the standard language, but as exceptions rather than the rule.

The People's Republic of China, established in 1949, continued the effort. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES In 1955, the name guóyǔ was replaced by pǔtōnghuà (普通话), or "common speech". (By contrast, the name guóyǔ continued to be used by the Republic of China which has governed only Taiwan and some surrounding islands since 1949. REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. ) Since then, the standards used in mainland China and Taiwan have diverged somewhat, especially in newer vocabulary terms, and a little in pronunciation. Mainland China, Continental China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term synonymous with the area that is under the jurisdiction The vocabulary of a person is defined either as the set of all Words that are understood by that person or the set of all words likely to be used by that person when constructing

After the handovers of Hong Kong [1] and Macau, the term pǔtōnghuà is used in those Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China, and the pinyin system is widely used. Handover, in the political-historical sense often refers to the transfer of power of former colonies (particularly those of former British colonies) to the local Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Macau topics. A special administrative region or SAR may be;People's Republic of China Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, present-day Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use

In both mainland China and Taiwan, the use of Standard Mandarin as the medium of instruction in the educational system and in the media has contributed to the spread of Standard Mandarin. Mainland China, Continental China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term synonymous with the area that is under the jurisdiction As a result, Standard Mandarin is now spoken fluently by most people in Mainland China and in Taiwan. Mainland China, Continental China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term synonymous with the area that is under the jurisdiction However in Hong Kong, due to historical and linguistic reasons, the language of education and both formal and informal speech remains the local Standard Cantonese but standard Mandarin is becoming increasingly influential. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders Standard Cantonese is the standard variant of the Cantonese (Yuet language

The advent of the 20th century has seen many profound changes in Standard Mandarin. Many formal, polite and humble words that were in use in imperial China have almost entirely disappeared in daily conversation in modern-day Standard Mandarin, such as jiàn (贱 "my humble") and guì (贵 "your honorable"). Class consciousness and Confucian principles of order and respect helped promote the development of an elaborate system of Honorific language in Ancient and Imperial

The word 'Putonghua' was defined in October 1955 by the Minister of Education Department in mainland China as thus: '普通话就是现代汉民族共同语，是全国各民族通用的语言。普通话以北京语音为标准音，以北方话为基础方言，以典范的现代白话文著作为语法规范'. ("Putonghua is the common spoken language of the modern Han group, the lingua franca of all ethnic groups in the country. Han Chinese ( are an Ethnic group native to China and by most modern definitions the largest single Ethnic group in the world. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely The standard pronunciation of Putonghua is based on the Beijing dialect, Putonghua is based on the Northern dialects [i. e. the Mandarin dialects], and the grammar policy is modeled after the vernacular used in modern Chinese literary classics. Vernacular Chinese is a style or register of the Written Chinese Language essentially modeled after the spoken language and associated with ")

Phonology

The standardized phonology of Standard Mandarin is reproduced below. Phonology ( Greek φωνή (phōnē voice sound + λόγος (lógos word speech subject of discussion is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning Actual reproduction varies widely among speakers, as everyone (including national leaders) inadvertently introduces elements of his/her own native dialect. By contrast, television and radio announcers are chosen for their pronunciation accuracy and "neutral" accent. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light.

Initials

The following is the initial inventory of Standard Mandarin as represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA):

¹ /ɻ/ is often transcribed as [ʐ] (a voiced retroflex fricative). In Phonetics and Phonology, a syllable onset is the part of a Syllable that precedes the Syllable nucleus. In Phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a Consonant articulated with both Lips The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet In Phonetics, labiodentals are Consonants articulated with the lower Lip and the upper Teeth. Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior Alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets In Phonetics, retroflex consonants are Consonant sounds used in some Languages (They are sometimes referred to as cerebral consonants In Phonetics, alveolo-palatal (or alveopalatal) Consonants are palatalized postalveolar Fricatives articulated with A nasal consonant (also called nasal stop or nasal continuant) is produced with a lowered velum in the mouth allowing air to escape freely through the A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Affricate Consonants begin as stops (most often an alveolar, such as or) but release as a fricative (such as or or occasionally into Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together Approximants are speech sounds ( Phonemes) that could be regarded as intermediate between Vowels and typical Consonants In the articulation of approximants The voiced retroflex fricative is a type of Consonantal sound used in some spoken Languages The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet This represents a variation in pronunciation among different speakers, rather than two different phonemes.

Corresponding chart in:

• Pinyin
• Zhuyin
• Gwoyeu Romatzyh

For more complete information, showing how initials and finals interact, see this zhuyin-IPA chart. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use The spelling of Gwoyeu Romatzyh (GR can be divided into its treatment of initials finals and tones GR uses contrasting unvoiced/voiced The vowel sounds in that chart have been verified against the official IPA: site. In Phonetics, a vowel is a Sound in spoken Language, such as English ah! or oh!, pronounced with an open Vocal tract A chart or graph is a type of Information graphic, that represents tabular numeric data and/or functions. A table of valid initial and final combinations can also be seen at:

• Pinyin table
• Zhuyin table

What are traditionally termed retroflex are phonetically not true retroflex articulations. This pinyin table is a complete listing of all Hanyu Pinyin syllables used in Standard Mandarin. This bopomofo table is a complete listing of all Zhuyin/Bopomofo syllables used in Standard Mandarin. These consonants are, rather, flat apical postalveolar, and thus differ from both palatoalveolar and (true) retroflex consonants (Ladefoged & Wu 1984; Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996:150-154).

The alveolo-palatal consonants /tɕ tɕʰ ɕ/ are in complementary distribution (see minimal pair) with the alveolar consonants /ts tsʰ s/, retroflex consonants /tʂ tʂʰ ʂ/ and velar consonants /k kʰ x/. In Phonetics, alveolo-palatal (or alveopalatal) Consonants are palatalized postalveolar Fricatives articulated with Complementary distribution in Linguistics is the relationship between two different elements where one element is found in a particular environment and the other element is In Phonology, minimal pairs are pairs of Words or phrases in a particular Language, which differ in only one phonological element such as a Phone Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior Alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets In Phonetics, retroflex consonants are Consonant sounds used in some Languages (They are sometimes referred to as cerebral consonants As a result, linguists prefer to classify /tɕ tɕʰ ɕ/ as allophones of one of the three other sets. In Phonetics, an allophone is one of several similar speech sounds ( Phones that belong to the same Phoneme. The Yale and Wade-Giles systems, for example, mostly treat the palatals as allophones of the retroflex consonants; Tongyong Pinyin mostly treats them as allophones of the alveolars; and Chinese braille treats them as allophones of the velars. Tongyong pinyin ( was the official Romanization of Mandarin Chinese in the Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan) between 2002 and 2008 Chinese braille ( literally "Current Braille" is a Braille system for the Chinese language, especially in People's Republic of China.

/tɕ tɕʰ ɕ/ may be pronounced as [tsj tsʰj sj], which is characteristic of the speech of young women, and also of some men. This is usually considered rather effeminate and may also be considered substandard.

The null initial, written as an apostrophe after a coda of /n/, is most commonly realized as [ɰ], though [n], [ŋ], [ɣ], and [ʔ] are common in other dialects of Mandarin; some of these correspond to null in the Standard Mandarin but contrast with it in their dialect.

Finals

The final, or rime, of a syllable, in Standard Mandarin, is the part after the initial consonant. In the study of Phonology in Linguistics, the rime or rhyme of a Syllable consists of a nucleus and an optional coda In the study of Phonology in Linguistics, the rime or rhyme of a Syllable consists of a nucleus and an optional coda A Mandarin final can be structurally described as (V_m)V(C_f). In other words, it consists of an optional medial, a nucleus, and an optional coda. In Phonology, a syllable coda comprises the Consonant sounds of a Syllable that follow the nucleus, which is usually a Vowel When present, the medial can be one of the three glides corresponding to the three high vowels: /i/, /u/, /y/. Semivowels — also known as glides or non-syllabic vowels —are Vowels that form Diphthongs with full syllabic vowels The coda can be absent; it can be one of two glides: /i/ and /u/; or it can be one of two nasals: /n/, /ŋ/. Semivowels — also known as glides or non-syllabic vowels —are Vowels that form Diphthongs with full syllabic vowels A nasal consonant (also called nasal stop or nasal continuant) is produced with a lowered velum in the mouth allowing air to escape freely through the

Not counting tone distinctions, there are about 35 distinct finals in Mandarin.

There are at least the following phones:

• [a] (only in finals [a], [ia], [ua], [ya], [ai], [uai], [uan])
• [ɑ] (only in finals [ɑʊ], [iɑʊ], [ɑŋ], [iɑŋ], [uɑŋ])
• [e] (only in finals [ei] and [uei])
• [ɛ] (only in finals [iɛ], [iɛn], [yɛn] and in the isolated word [ɛ])
• [œ] (only in final [yœ])
• [o] (only in finals [ou] and [iou])
• [ɔ] (only in final [uɔ] and in the isolated word [ɔ])
• [ə] (only in finals [ən], [uən], [əŋ], [uəŋ])
• [ɤ] (only in final [ɤ])
• [z̩] (only in final [z̩], which occurs only after alveolar sibilants; sometimes pronounced as [ɨ])
• [ʐ̩] (only in final [ʐ̩̩], which occurs only after retroflex sibilants; sometimes pronounced as [ɨ])
• [i] (only in finals [i], [in], [iŋ])
• [ʊ] (only in finals [ʊŋ], [yʊŋ])
• [u] (only in final [u])
• [y] (only in final [y], [yn])

This shows fourteen different vowels. Within Phonetics, a phone is a speech sound or gesture considered a physical event without regard to its place in the Phonology of a Language By very conservative standards, this represents a system of eight phonemes: /a/ ([a]/[ɑ]), /e/ ([e]/[ɛ]/[œ]), /o/ ([o]/[ɔ]), /ə/ ([ə]/[ɤ]), /z̩/ ([z̩]/[ʐ̩]), /i/ ([i]), /u/ ([ʊ]/[u]), and /y/ ([y]).

Further reduction can be achieved by noticing that /e/, /o/, and /ə/ are in complementary distribution, and can be treated as a single phoneme /ə/. Exceptions are the isolated words [ɛ] and [ɔ], which function only as exclamations and can be treated as outside of the core system (similar to the normal treatment of "hmm", "unh-unh", "shhh!" and other English exclamations that violate usual syllabic constraints). Note also that the finals [iɛn] can be considered to be phonemically either /iən/ or /ian/; likewise for [yɛn], which can be either /yən/ or /yan/. (Taking into account that [iɛn] and [yɛn] become [iaɻ] and [yaɻ] upon rhoticization, the latter interpretation seems more likely. ) It would also be possible to merge /z̩/ and /i/, provided that the palatal and retroflex series are not themselves merged, since /i/ does not occur after retroflex or velar sounds or after dental fricatives and affricates. If all of these suggestions are followed, and [iɛn] and [yɛn] considered to be /ian/ and /uan/, the resulting system of /a/, /ə/, /i/, /u/, and /y/ is much like the standard pinyin romanization scheme (except that pinyin does not merge /ə/ with /o/ and uses a certain number of shortcut spellings). Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use

An even more reduced system results from considering main vowel /i/, /u/ and /y/ to be the surface results of the respective glides combined with a null meta-phoneme. This system, shown below, analyzes the final part of a syllable as a combination of a glide slot (/i/, /u/, /y/ or null), a main vowel slot (/a/, /ə/ or null), and a coda slot (/i/, /u/, /n/, /ŋ/ or null). (The minimal vowel /z̩/ ([z̩]/[ʐ̩] or [ɨ]) is considered to be the surface manifestation when all three slots are null, rather than an allophone of main vowel /i/. )

When the medial, nucleus, and coda combine into a final, their pronunciations may be affected. The following is the full table of finals of Standard Mandarin in the IPA:

¹ Both pinyin and zhuyin have an additional "o", used after "b p m f", which is distinguished from "uo", used after everything else. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use "o" is generally put into the first column instead of the third. However, in Beijing pronunciation, these are identical.
² Another way to represent the four finals of this line is: [ɯʌ iɛ uɔ yœ], which reflects Beijing pronunciation.
³ /uɤŋ/ is pronounced [ʊŋ] when it follows an initial.

Corresponding chart in:

• Pinyin
• Zhuyin#Another_comparison_table
• Gwoyeu Romatzyh

A table of valid initial and final combinations can also be seen at:

• Pinyin table
• Zhuyin table

R Finals

Main article: Erhua

Standard Mandarin also uses a rhotic consonant, /ɚ/. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use The spelling of Gwoyeu Romatzyh (GR can be divided into its treatment of initials finals and tones GR uses contrasting unvoiced/voiced This pinyin table is a complete listing of all Hanyu Pinyin syllables used in Standard Mandarin. This bopomofo table is a complete listing of all Zhuyin/Bopomofo syllables used in Standard Mandarin. Érhuà ( refers to the R-coloring or addition of the "ér"(儿 sound (transcribed in IPA as /ɚ/ to syllables in spoken Mandarin Chinese. Rhotic consonants, or "R"-like sounds are non-lateral Liquid consonants This class of sounds is difficult to characterise phonetically though most of them share This usage is a unique feature of Standard Mandarin; other dialects lack this sound. In Chinese, this feature is known as Erhua. Érhuà ( refers to the R-coloring or addition of the "ér"(儿 sound (transcribed in IPA as /ɚ/ to syllables in spoken Mandarin Chinese. There are two cases in which it is used:

1. In a small number of words, such as 二 "two", 耳 "ear", etc. All of these words are pronounced as [ɑɚ] with no initial consonant.
2. As a noun suffix (Traditional: -兒, Simplified: -儿). In Grammar, a suffix (also postfix, ending) is an Affix which is placed at the end of a word The suffix combines with the final, and regular but complex changes occur as a result.

The "r" final must be distinguished from the retroflex semi-vowel written as "ri" in the pinyin spelling and represented either by <ʐ> or <ɻ> in IPA. Saying "The star rode a donkey," in English, or "Wo nü-er ru yiyuan" (My daughter entered the hospital), will make it clear that the first "r" in either case is said with a relatively lax tongue, whereas the second "r" sounds both involve a very active curling of the tongue and contact with the top of the mouth.

In other dialects of Mandarin, the rhotic consonant is sometimes replaced by another syllable, such as "li" in words that indicate locations. For example, "zher" and "nar" become "zhe li" and "na li", respectively.

Tones

Relative pitch changes of the four tones

Mandarin, like all Chinese dialects, is a tonal language. A tonal language is a language that uses tone to distinguish words This means that tones, just like consonants and vowels, are used to distinguish words from each other. Tone is the use of pitch in Language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is to distinguish or inflect words Many foreigners have difficulties mastering the tones of each character, but correct tonal pronunciation is essential for intelligibility because of the vast number of characters in the language that only differ by tone (i. e. are minimal pairs with respect to tone). In Phonology, minimal pairs are pairs of Words or phrases in a particular Language, which differ in only one phonological element such as a Phone The following are the 4 tones of Standard Mandarin:

1. First tone, or high-level tone (陰平/阴平 yīnpíng, literal meaning: yin-level):

   a steady high sound, as if it were being sung instead of spoken. In Chinese and Vietnamese, tone names are the names given to the tones these languages use A tone number is a numeral used in a notational system for marking the tones of a language A tone contour is a tone in a tonal language which shifts from one pitch to another over the course of the syllable or word In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin and yang ( is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are bound together intertwined and interdependent in the Sound' is Vibration transmitted through a Solid, Liquid, or Gas; particularly sound means those vibrations composed of Frequencies

2. Second tone, or rising tone (陽平/阳平 yángpíng, literal meaning: yang-level), or linguistically, high-rising:

   is a sound that rises from mid-level tone to high (e. In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin and yang ( is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are bound together intertwined and interdependent in the Linguistics is the scientific study of Language, encompassing a number of sub-fields g. , What?!)

3. Third tone (low or dipping tone, 上聲/上声 shǎngshēng or shàngshēng, literal meaning: "up tone"):

   has a mid-low to low descent; if at the end of a sentence or before a pause, it is then followed by a rising pitch. Between other tones it may simply be low.

4. Fourth tone, falling tone (去聲/去声 qùshēng, literal meaning: "away tone"), or high-falling:

   features a sharp fall from high to low, and is a shorter tone, similar to curt commands. (e. g. , Stop!)

The syllable "ma" pronounced with the four main tones (help·info)

Neutral tone

Also called Fifth tone or zeroth tone (in Chinese: 輕聲/轻声 qīng shēng, literal meaning: "light tone"), neutral tone is sometimes thought of as a lack of tone. It usually comes at the end of a word or phrase, and is pronounced in a light and short manner. The neutral tone has a large number of allotones: Its pitch depends almost entirely on the tone carried by the syllable preceding it. The situation is further complicated by the amount of dialectal variation associated with it; in some regions, notably Taiwan, the neutral tone is relatively uncommon.

Despite many examples of minimal pairs (for example, 要是 and 钥匙, yàoshì if and yàoshi key, respectively), it is sometimes described as something other than a full-fledged tone for technical reasons: Namely because some linguists feel that it results from a "spreading out" of the tone on the preceding syllable. This idea is appealing intuitively because without it, the neutral tone requires relatively complex tone sandhi rules to be made sense of; indeed, it would have to have 4 separate allotones, one for each of the four tones that could precede it. Tone sandhi is the change of tone that occurs in some languages when different tones come together in a word or phrase However, the "spreading" theory incompletely characterizes the neutral tone, especially in sequences where more than one neutrally toned syllable are found adjacent^[3].

The following are from Beijing dialect^[4]. Beijing dialect ( is the Dialect of Mandarin spoken in the urban area of Beijing, China. Other dialects may be slightly different.

Most romanizations represent the tones as diacritics on the vowels (e. In Linguistics, romanization (or latinization, also spelled romanisation or latinisation) is the representation of a Word or A diacritic ( also called a diacritic or diacritical mark, point, or sign, is a small sign added to a letter to alter pronunciation g. , Hanyu Pinyin, MPS II and Tongyong Pinyin). Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Mandarin Phonetic Symbols II (國語注音符號第二式 abbreviated MPS II is a Romanization system formerly used in the Republic of China ( Taiwan Tongyong pinyin ( was the official Romanization of Mandarin Chinese in the Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan) between 2002 and 2008 Zhuyin uses diacritics as well. A diacritic ( also called a diacritic or diacritical mark, point, or sign, is a small sign added to a letter to alter pronunciation Others, like Wade-Giles, use superscript numbers at the end of each syllable. Wade-Giles (ˌweɪdˈʤaɪlz) sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization system (phonetic notation and Transcription) for the Mandarin This article is about the terms 'subscript' and 'superscript' as used in typography The tone marks and numbers are rarely used outside of language textbooks. A textbook is a manual of instruction or a standard book in any branch of study Gwoyeu Romatzyh is a rare example where tones are not represented as special symbols, but using normal letters of the alphabet (although without a one-to-one correspondence). Gwoyeu Romatzyh (literally "National Romanization " abbreviated GR, is a system for writing Mandarin Chinese in the Latin alphabet The musical instrument is spelled Cymbal. A symbol is something --- such as an object, Picture, written word a sound a piece

To listen to the tones, see http://www.wku.edu/~shizhen.gao/Chinese101/pinyin/tones.htm (click on the blue-red yin yang symbol).

Tone sandhi

Pronunciation also varies with context according to the rules of tone sandhi. Tone sandhi is the change of tone that occurs in some languages when different tones come together in a word or phrase Tone sandhi is the change of tone that occurs in some languages when different tones come together in a word or phrase The most prominent phenomenon of this kind is when there are two third tones in immediate sequence, in which case the first of them changes to a rising tone, the second tone. In the literature, this contour is often called two-thirds tone or half-third tone, though generally, in Standard Mandarin, the "two-thirds tone" is the same as the second tone. If there are three third tones in series, the tone sandhi rules become more complex, and depend on word boundaries, stress, and dialectal variations.

tone sandhi rules at a glance

1. When there are two 3rd tones (˨˩˦) in a row, the first syllable becomes 2nd tone (˧˥), and the second syllable becomes half-3rd tone (˨˩).

   ex: 老鼠 (lǎoshǔ) becomes [lao˧˥ʂu˨˩]

2. When there are three 3rd tones in a row, things get more complicated.

   If the first word is two syllables, and the second word is one syllable, the first two syllables become 2nd tones, and the last syllable stays 3rd tone:

   ex: 保管好 (bǎoguǎn hǎo) becomes [pao˧˥kuan˧˥xao˨˩˦]

   If the first word is one syllable, and the second word is two syllables, the first syllable becomes half-3rd tone (˨˩), the second syllable becomes 2nd tone, and the last syllable stays 3rd tone:

   ex: 老保管 (lǎo bǎoguǎn) becomes [lao˨˩pao˧˥kuan˨˩˦]

3. If a 3rd tone syllable is followed by a non-3rd tone syllable, the first syllable becomes a half-3rd tone:

   ex: 美妙 (měimiào) becomes [mei˨˩miao˥˩]

Rules for "一" and "不"

"一" (yī) and "不" (bù) have special rules which do not apply to other Chinese characters:

1. When in front of a 4th tone syllable, "一" becomes 2nd tone.

   ex: 一定 (yīdìng) becomes [i˧˥tiŋ˥˩]

2. When in front of a non-4th tone syllable, "一" becomes 4th tone.

   ex. (1st tone)：一天 (yītiān → [i˥˩tʰiɛn˥˥])

   ex. (2nd tone): 一年 (yīnián → [i˥˩niɛn˧˥])

   ex. (3rd tone): 一起 (yīqǐ → [i˥˩tɕʰi˨˩˦])

3. When "一" falls between two words, it becomes neutral tone.
4. When counting sequentially, and for all other situations "一" retains its root tone value of 1st tone.
5. "不" only becomes 2nd tone when followed by a 4th tone syllable.

   ex: 不是 (bùshì) becomes [pu˧˥ʂ˥˩]

6. When "不" comes between two words, it loses its tone (becomes neutral in tone).

Relationship between Middle Chinese and modern tones

Relationship between Middle Chinese and modern tones:

V- = unvoiced initial consonant
L = sonorant initial consonant
V+ = voiced initial consonant (not sonorant)

It is known that if the two morphemes of a compound word cannot be ordered by grammar, the order of the two is usually determined by tones — Yin Ping (1), Yang Ping (2), Shang (3), Qu (4), and Ru, which is the plosive-ending tone that has already disappeared. Middle Chinese ( or Ancient Chinese as used by linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Middle Chinese ( or Ancient Chinese as used by linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Phonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of Phonetics. In Phonetics and Phonology, a syllable onset is the part of a Syllable that precedes the Syllable nucleus. In Articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a Speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the upper Vocal tract, the upper vocal In Phonetics and Phonology, a sonorant is a Speech sound that is produced without turbulent airflow in the Vocal tract. Phonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of Phonetics. In Phonetics and Phonology, a sonorant is a Speech sound that is produced without turbulent airflow in the Vocal tract. Middle Chinese ( or Ancient Chinese as used by linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Tone is the use of pitch in Language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is to distinguish or inflect words Middle Chinese ( or Ancient Chinese as used by linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Tone is the use of pitch in Language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is to distinguish or inflect words Tone is the use of pitch in Language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is to distinguish or inflect words In Morpheme-based morphology, a morpheme is the smallest linguistic unit that has semantic meaning. Below are some compound words that show this rule. Tones are shown in parentheses, and R indicates Ru.

左右 (34)
南北 (2R)
輕重 (14)
貧富 (24)
凹凸 (1R)
喜怒 (34)
哀樂 (1R)
生死 (13)
死活 (3R)
陰陽 (12)
明暗 (24)
毀譽 (34)
褒貶 (13)
離合 (2R)

Standard Mandarin and Beijing dialect

By the official definition of the People's Republic of China, Standard Mandarin uses:

• The phonology or sound system of Beijing. Phonology ( Greek φωνή (phōnē voice sound + λόγος (lógos word speech subject of discussion is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning A distinction should be made between the sound system of a dialect or language and the actual pronunciation of words in it. The pronunciations of words chosen for Standard Mandarin -- a standardized speech -- do not necessarily reproduce all of those of the Beijing dialect. The pronunciation of words is a standardization choice and occasional standardization differences (not accents) do exist, between putonghua and guoyu, for example.

In fluent speech, Chinese speakers can easily tell the difference between a speaker of the Beijing dialect and a speaker of Standard Mandarin. Beijingers speak Standard Mandarin with elements of their own dialect in the same way as other speakers.

• The vocabulary of Mandarin dialects in general. The vocabulary of a person is defined either as the set of all Words that are understood by that person or the set of all words likely to be used by that person when constructing This means that all slang and other elements deemed "regionalisms" are excluded. Slang is the use of highly informal Words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's Dialect or Language. On the one hand, the vocabulary of all Chinese dialects, especially in more technical fields like science, law, and government, are very similar. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. (This is similar to the profusion of Latin and Greek words in European languages. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly ) This means that much of the vocabulary of standardized Mandarin is shared with all varieties of Chinese. On the other hand, much of the colloquial vocabulary and slang found in Beijing dialect is not found in Standard Mandarin, and may not be understood by people outside Beijing. A colloquialism is an expression not used in formal speech, writing or Paralinguistics. Slang is the use of highly informal Words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's Dialect or Language.
• The grammar and usage of exemplary modern Chinese literature, such as the work of Lu Xun, collectively known as "Vernacular Chinese" (baihua). Grammar is the field of Linguistics that covers the Rules governing the use of any given natural language. A style guide or style manual is a set of standards for design and writing of documents either for general use or for a specific publication or organization Chinese literature extends back thousands of years from the earliest recorded dynastic court Archives to the mature fictional Novel that arose during the Ming Dynasty Lu Xun ( or Lu Hsün ( Wade-Giles) was the Pen name of Zhou Shuren ( ( September 25, 1881 &ndash October 19 Vernacular Chinese is a style or register of the Written Chinese Language essentially modeled after the spoken language and associated with Vernacular Chinese, the standard written form of modern Chinese, is in turn based loosely upon a mixture of northern (predominant), southern, and classical grammar and usage. Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of Written Chinese based on the Grammar and Vocabulary of ancient Chinese This gives formal standard Mandarin structure a slightly different feel from that of street Beijing dialect.

In theory the Republic of China in Taiwan defines standard Mandarin differently, though in reality the differences are minor and are concentrated mostly in the tones of a small minority of words. A tonal language is a language that uses tone to distinguish words

Speakers of Standard Mandarin generally have little difficulty understanding the Beijing accent, which the former is based on. Natives of Beijing commonly add a final "er" (/ɻ/) (兒音/儿音; pinyin: éryīn) — commonly used as a diminutive — to vocabulary items, as well as use more neutral tones in their speech. A diminutive is a formation of a Word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning smallness of the object or quality named encapsulation intimacy or endearment An example of Standard Mandarin versus the Beijing dialect would be: standard men (door) compared with Beijing menr. These give the Beijing dialect a somewhat distinctive lilt compared to Standard Mandarin spoken elsewhere. The dialect is also known for its rich colloquialisms and idiomatic expressions. A colloquialism is an expression not used in formal speech, writing or Paralinguistics. An idiom is a Phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal Definition, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known only

Although Chinese speakers make a clear distinction between Standard Mandarin and the Beijing dialect, there are aspects of Beijing dialect that have made it into the official standard. Standard Mandarin has a T-V distinction between the polite and informal versions of you that comes from Beijing dialect, but its use is quite diminished in daily speech. In Sociolinguistics, a T-V distinction describes the situation wherein a Language has second-person Pronouns that distinguish varying levels of In addition, there is a distinction between "zánmen" (we including the listener) and "wǒmen" (we not including the listener). In practice, neither distinction is commonly used by most Chinese.

The following samples are some Beijing dialects which are not yet accepted into Standard Mandarin:

倍儿: bèir means 'very much'; 拌蒜: bàn suàn means 'stagger'; 不吝: bù lìn means 'do not worry about'; 撮: cuō means 'eat'; 出溜: chū liū means 'slip'; 大老爷儿们儿: dà lăo yer menr means 'man, male';

The following samples are some Beijing dialects which have been already accepted as Standard Mandarin in recent years. 二把刀: èr bă dāo means 'not very skillful'; 哥们儿: gē ménr means 'good male friends', "buddies"; 抠门儿: kōu ménr means 'parsimony'.

Standard Mandarin and other dialects and languages

Although Standard Mandarin is now firmly established as the lingua franca in Mainland China, the national standard can be somewhat different from the other dialects in the vast Mandarin dialect chain, to the point of being to some extent unintelligible. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of However, pronunciation differences within the Mandarin dialects are usually regular, usually differing only in the tones. For example, the character for "sky" 天 is pronounced with the high level tone in the Beijing dialect and in Standard Mandarin (pinyin: tian), but is the falling tone in the Tianjin dialect of Mandarin. Tianjin dialect ( is a Mandarin dialect spoken in the urban area of Tianjin, China. In languages other than Mandarin it can range from ti (with a light tone in the Shanghainese dialect of Wu) to teen in the high level or high falling tone in Standard Cantonese. Shanghainese (上海閒話 in Shanghainese sometimes referred to as the Shanghai dialect, is a dialect of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Shanghai Standard Cantonese is the standard variant of the Cantonese (Yuet language

Although both Mainland China and Taiwan use Standard Mandarin in the official context and are keen to promote its use as a national lingua franca, there is no official intent to have Standard Mandarin replace the regional languages. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely As a practical matter, speaking only Standard Mandarin in areas such as in southern China or Taiwan can be a social handicap, as some elderly or rural Chinese-language speakers do not speak Standard Mandarin fluently (although most do understand it). Rural areas can be large and isolated (also referred to as "the country" and/or "the countryside over the course of time In addition, it is very common for it to be spoken with the speaker's regional accent, depending on factors as age, level of education, and the need and frequency to speak correctly for official or formal purposes. This situation appears to be changing, though, in large urban centers, as social changes, migrations, and urbanization take place. Urbanizationn (also spelled urbanisation) is the physical growth of Urban areas into rural or natural land as a result of population in-migration to an existing

In the predominantly Han areas in Mainland China, while the use of Standard Mandarin is encouraged as the common working language, the PRC has been sensitive to the status of minority languages and has not discouraged their use. Han Chinese ( are an Ethnic group native to China and by most modern definitions the largest single Ethnic group in the world. Mainland China, Continental China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term synonymous with the area that is under the jurisdiction Standard Mandarin is very commonly used for logistical reasons, as in many parts of southern China the linguistic diversity is so large that neighboring city dwellers may have difficulties communicating with each other without a lingua franca.

In Taiwan, the relationship between Standard Mandarin and local languages, particularly Taiwanese, has been more heated. Following the Kuomintang (KMT) rule from 1949 until the lifting of martial law in the 1980s, the KMT government discouraged or even forbid the use of Taiwanese and other local vernaculars. Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect when the military takes control of the normal administration of justice This produced a backlash in the 1990s, amongst more extreme supporters of Taiwan independence. Taiwan independence ( Pe̍h-oē-jī: Tâi-oân To̍k-li̍p ūn-tōng abbreviated to 台獨 Táidú Tâi-to̍k is a Under the administration of Chen Shui-Bian, the Taiwanese languages were taught as an individual class, with dedicated textbooks and course materials. Chen Shui-bian ( born October 12, 1950) is a Taiwanese politician and former President of the Republic of China. The former President, Chen Shui-Bian, often broke out into Taiwanese during speeches, while former President Lee Teng-hui, also speaks Taiwanese openly when interviewed in the media. Lee Teng-hui ( POJ: Lí Teng-hui born 15 January 1923 is a Politician of Taiwan.

In Singapore, the government has heavily promoted a "Speak Mandarin Campaign" since the late 1970s. The Speak Mandarin Campaign ( SMC;)is an initiative by the Government of Singapore to encourage Singapore 's Singaporean Chinese population to The use of other Chinese languages in broadcast media is prohibited and their use in any context is officially discouraged. For the band see Broadcast (band Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or Video signals which transmit This has led to some resentment amongst the older generations, as Singapore's migrant Chinese community is made up almost entirely of south Chinese descent. Lee Kuan Yew, the initiator of the campaign, admitted that to most Chinese Singaporeans, Mandarin was a "stepmother tongue" rather than a true mother language. Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH ( born September 16 1923 also spelled Lee Kwan-Yew) is a Singaporean of Chinese immigrant background Nevertheless, he saw the need for a unified language among the Chinese community not biased in favor of any existing group. ^[5]

See also:

• Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation
• Mandarin Promotion Council
• Speak Mandarin Campaign

Accents

Most Chinese (Beijingers included) speak Standard Mandarin with elements of their own dialects (i. The Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation (讀音統一會 Pinyin: Dúyīn Tǒngyī Huì was established in the Republic of China from 1912 to 1913 The National Languages Committee, formerly Mandarin Promotion Council ( was established by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China (Taiwan with the purpose The Speak Mandarin Campaign ( SMC;)is an initiative by the Government of Singapore to encourage Singapore 's Singaporean Chinese population to e. their "accents") mixed in.

For example, natives of Beijing, add a final "er" (/ɻ/) — commonly used as a diminutive — sound to vocabulary items that other speakers would leave unadorned (兒音/儿音; pinyin: éryīn). A diminutive is a formation of a Word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning smallness of the object or quality named encapsulation intimacy or endearment

On the other hand, speakers from northeastern and southern China as well as Taiwan often mix up zh and z, ch and c, q and c, sh and s, x and s, h and f, and l and n because their own home dialects often do not make these distinctions. As a result, it can be difficult for people who do not have the standard pronunciation to use pinyin, because they do not distinguish these sounds. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use

See List of Chinese dialects for a list of articles on individual dialects of Chinese languages and how their features differ from Standard Mandarin. The following is a list of Chinese dialects and languages. Classification Linguists classify these languages as the

Role of standard Mandarin

From an official point of view, Standard Mandarin serves the purpose of a lingua franca — a way for speakers of the several mutually unintelligible Han Chinese languages, as well as the Han and Chinese minorities, to communicate with each other. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely Han Chinese ( are an Ethnic group native to China and by most modern definitions the largest single Ethnic group in the world. The following is a list of ethnic groups in China where "China" is taken to mean areas controlled by either of the two states using "China" in their formal The very name Putonghua, or "common speech", reinforces this idea. In practice, however, due to Standard Mandarin being a "public" lingua franca, other languages or dialects, both Han and non-Han, have shown signs of losing ground to Standard Mandarin, to the chagrin of certain local culture proponents.

On Taiwan, Guoyu (national language) continues to be the official term for standard Mandarin. The term Guoyu is rarely used in Mainland China, because declaring a Beijing-dialect-based standard to be the national language would be deemed unfair to other Chinese dialects and ethnic minorities. Mainland China, Continental China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term synonymous with the area that is under the jurisdiction The term Putonghua (common speech), on the contrary, implies nothing more than the notion of a lingua franca. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely However, the term Guoyu does persist among many older Mainland Chinese, and it is common in U. S. Chinese communities, even among Mainlanders. Some in Taiwan, especially proponents of Taiwan independence, also object to the term Guoyu to refer to standardized Mandarin, on the grounds that the "nation" referred to in the name of the language is China and that Taiwan is or should be independent. Taiwan independence ( Pe̍h-oē-jī: Tâi-oân To̍k-li̍p ūn-tōng abbreviated to 台獨 Táidú Tâi-to̍k is a They prefer to refer to Mandarin with the terms "Beijing dialect" or Zhongwen (writing of China). As with most things political in Taiwan, some support the name for precisely the same reasons that others oppose them. The Politics of the Republic of China (ROC takes place in a framework of a Semi-presidential representative democratic Republic,

In December 2004, the first survey of language use in the People's Republic of China revealed that only 53% of its population, about 700 million people, could communicate in Standard Mandarin. A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES (China Daily) A survey by South China Morning Post released in September 2006 gave the same result. The South China Morning Post, together with its Sunday edition the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Newspaper of Hong This 53% is defined as a passing grade above 3-B (i. e. error rate lower than 40%) of the Evaluation Exam. Another survey in 2003 by the China National Language And Character Working Committee (国家语言文字工作委员会) shows, if mastery of Standard Mandarin is defined as Grade 1-A (an error rate lower than 3%), the percentages as follows are: Beijing 90%, Shanghai 3%, Tianjin 25%, Guangzhou 0. Shanghai ( 上[[wikt 海|海]] is the largest city in China in terms of population and one of the largest urban areas in the world with over 20 million ( Postal map spelling: Tientsin) is the second largest city in northern coastal China. Guangzhou ( Jyutping: Gwong²zau¹; Yale: Gwóngjàu) is the Capital and a Sub-provincial city 5%, Dalian 10%, Xi'an 12%, Chengdu 1%, Nanjing 2%. Dalian (;; Japanese: Dairen Russian: Далянь Dalian or Дальний Dalny is the governing Sub-provincial city in the eastern Liaoning UserEl_C --> Xi'an ( Postal map spelling: Sian is the Capital of the Shaanxi province in the ( located in southwest People's Republic of China, is the capital of Sichuan province and a Sub-provincial city. ( Chinese: 南京 Romanizations Nánjīng ( Pinyin) Nan-ching ( Wade-Giles Consequently, foreign learners of Mandarin usually opt to learn at Beijing, although learning grammar and writing is not confined to that area.

With the fast development of China, more Chinese people leaving rural areas for cities for job or study opportunities, and the Mandarin Level Evaluation Exam (普通话水平测试) has quickly become popular. Most university graduates take this exam before looking for a job. Many companies require a basic Mandarin Level Evaluation Certificate from their applicants, barring applicants who were born or bred in Beijing, since their Proficiency level is believed to be inherently 1-A (一级甲等)(Error rate: lower than 3%). As for the rest, the score of 1-A is rare. People who get 1-B (Error rate: lower than 8%) are considered qualified to work as television correspondents or in broadcasting stations. 2-A (Error rate: lower than 13%) can work as Chinese Literature Course teachers in public schools. Other levels include: 2-B (Error rate: lower than 20%), 3-A (Error rate: lower than 30%) and 3-B (Error rate: lower than 40%). In China, a proficiency of level 3-B usually cannot be achieved unless special training is received. Even if most Chinese do not speak Standard Mandarin with standard pronunciation, spoken Standard Mandarin is understood by virtually everyone.

The China National Language And Character Working Committee was founded in 1985. One of its important responsibilities is to promote Standard Mandarin and Mandarin Level proficiency for Chinese native speakers. (Its website link can be found in the external links section. )

Common Phrases

See also

• Mandarin (linguistics)
• Naples Eastern University
• Beijing dialect
• Chinese grammar
• Mandarin slang
• Chinese speech synthesis

Notes

References

• Branner, David Prager (ed. ) (2006). The Chinese Rime Tables: Linguistic Philosophy and Historical-Comparative Phonology, Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science, Series IV: Current Issues in Linguistic Theory; 271. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. ISBN 90-272-4785-4.  
• Chao, Y. R. , A Grammar of Spoken Chinese, University of California Press, (Berkeley), 1968.
• Hsia, T. , China’s Language Reforms, Far Eastern Publications, Yale University, (New Haven), 1956.
• Ladefoged, Peter; & Maddieson, Ian. (1996). The sounds of the world's languages. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0-631-19814-8 (hbk); ISBN 0-631-19815-6 (pbk).
• Ladefoged, Peter; & Wu, Zhongji. (1984). Places of articulation: An investigation of Pekingese fricatives and affricates. Journal of Phonetics, 12, 267-278.
• Lehmann, W. P. (ed. ), Language & Linguistics in the People’s Republic of China, University of Texas Press, (Austin), 1975.
• Lin, Y. , Lin Yutang's Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1972.
• Milsky, C. , "New Developments in Language Reform", The China Quarterly, No. 53, (January-March 1973), pp. 98-133.
• Norman, J. , Chinese, Cambridge University Press, (Cambridge), 1988.
• Ramsey, R. S. (1987). The Languages of China. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01468-X
• San Duanmu (2000) The Phonology of Standard Chinese ISBN 0-19-824120-8
• Seybolt, P. J. & Chiang, G. K. (eds. ), Language Reform in China: Documents and Commentary, M. E. Sharpe, (White Plains), 1979.
• Simon, W. , A Beginners' Chinese-English Dictionary Of The National Language (Gwoyeu): Fourth Revised Edition, Lund Humphries, (London), 1975.

External links

• General Introduction of Chinese Language
• Stroke order for Chinese character Official website of the Ministry of Education