260 likes | 585 Views
The Languages of China And The Chinese Language. The Languages of China and The Chinese Language. Today: 1. The Languages of China 2. The Chinese Language Next Week: 3. Chinese Writing. China and USA Superimposed. Tibetan script (two styles); Read from left to right.
E N D
The Languages of China And The Chinese Language
The Languages of China and The Chinese Language Today: 1. The Languages of China 2. The Chinese Language Next Week: 3. Chinese Writing
Uighur writing (top row) and Chinese characters; a wall in Xinjiang Province
China in East Asia China and its Borders
Sun Yat Sen (Sun Zhongshan) First President of the Republic of China (1912)
Comparison of pinyin and Wade-Giles systems of Romanization Wade-Giles (old system) Pinyin (new system) Beijing Mao Zedong Sichuan Zhejiang Hebei Chongqing Sun Zhongshan Shantou • Peking • Mao Tse-Tung • Szechuan • Chekiang • Hopei • Chungking • Sun Yat-Sen • Swatow
The Four Tones of Mandarin • 1st tone: “Home, home on the range” (as at the start of that song)—a high, level sound; • 2nd tone: “Are you going home?” (a neutral question asked with mild interest)—evenly rising; • 3rd tone: “Surely, you’re not going home?” (the curve of ‘downwards-upwards’ is often used when an English question expects the answer, ‘no’); • 4th tone: “I’m going home” (a statement of finality)—flat and falling.
Same syllables but differing in tone 1st tone 2nd tone 3rd tone 4th tone mā ‘mother’ má ‘hemp’ mǎ‘horse’ mà ‘to scold’ dā ‘to put up’ dá ‘to answer’ dǎ ‘to beat’ dà ‘to be big’ tōng ‘to open up’ tóng ‘copper’ tǒng ‘tub’ tòng ‘to ache’ piāo ‘to float’ piáo ‘dipper’ piǎo ‘to bleach’ piào ‘ticket’
Unstressed syllables with little or no tone Gāo ma? ‘Is it high?’ Tā cōngming. ‘She’s smart.’ Xièxie! ‘Thank you!’
Topical structure of sentences in Chinese (topic in bold) Zhèige dìfāng kěyǐ tiào wǔ this-ONE place may dance ‘This place, (one) can dance (here).’ (=One can dance here.) Yīfu xīnde hǎo; péngyǒu jiùde hǎo ‘Clothes, new (ones) are good; friends, old (ones) are good.’
A Student’s Name: Wang Zan Mei王赞梅 王wang2, 4 strokes, family name 赞zan4, 16 strokes, “sing praise to” 梅mei2, 11 strokes, “plum flowers”