Episode 07: You ask me why...
How to think about tones in Mandarin
For anyone who isn’t already familiar with a tonal language, tones can be intimidating. What are they? How do they work? Can you really learn to master the tones in Mandarin, if you didn’t grow up speaking it?
Of course you can! In fact, the sounds of the tones themselves are already familiar to you. We use the same melodic patterns in English and many other languages; we just aren’t used to thinking of them as tones. Learning to use tones, then, mainly requires a mind shift to a new concept, in which we reinterpret the intonation of spoken Mandarin as an aspect of its pronunciation.
If this is all a little abstract, an example should make it clearer.
In English, the words “bat” and “pat” mean different things. The reason they aren’t the same word is because the pronunciation of the first consonant is different. Likewise, “bat” and “bit” mean different things because, though the consonants are all the same, they have a different vowel. We can say this is because in English the consonants b and p and the vowels a and i are meaningful elements of pronunciation.
So far, this probably all seems incredibly obvious. But here’s where the tones come in.
In English, if I say“bat!” as an exclamation, or “bat?” as a question (with a rising intonation), I’m still saying the same word. In English, these different intonations are not meaningful elements of pronunciation. Sure, they still do affect the meaning, but they don’t fundamentally change the word being said.
In Mandarin, however, they do.
For example, let’s take the Mandarin word “ma.” What does it mean?
Well, without a tone, it isn’t a complete word yet. So “ma" by itself doesn’t mean anything in particular. To know what word it is, we need to also know the tone.
For instance, if I say “ma!” as a sharp exclamation, it means “to scold.” And if I say “ma?” as a question, then it means “hemp.” (In the common romanization systems pinyin, we write these as mà and má, respectively.)
From this example, we can see that we need to learn to treat intonation as an equally important part of pronunciation in Mandarin — just as important as the difference between consonants like p and b.
The good news is that there are only four tones in Mandarin (plus a neutral tone), and the intonation of each one is simple and familiar. We just need to open our ears, open our minds, and truly imitate the sounds we hear.
Getting a head start
Tones are an essential part of Mandarin. Without tones, it is very difficult to understand what is being said. Mixing up tones can make the difference between saying "Excuse me, can I ask you?" and "Kiss, can I smell you?"
It is important to start learning the tones right away, so that they are simply a part of how you think about words in Mandarin. Because they are so fundamental, the longer you wait to learn them, the harder it will be to “add them in later.”
That said, don’t worry: No one expects perfect pronunciation from day one! The key is to start paying attention to them now, so that by the time you are speaking Mandarin fluently, the tones won’t be holding you back.
The importance of complete imitation
Tones are one more reason why complete imitation is so important. We want to avoid filtering Mandarin through the logic of English, which says “I can say a phrase with whatever intonation I feel like at the moment.” In Mandarin, this doesn’t work.
When you listen to spoken Mandarin, try to copy not just the pronunciation, but also the intonation, and even the affect or emotion of the person you’re imitating. Try to feel the meaning being conveyed with your whole body. You are not just learning new words, but a new way of expressing yourself — a new way of making meaning.
“Yeah…” “Really?” “Well…” “Sh*t!”
In this lesson, I introduce a simple mnemonic for the four tones, comparing each one to a common, single-word expression in American English. This is to drive home the idea that the sounds of tones themselves are already familiar to us.
(If you speak a dialect of English that doesn’t pronounce these words in the way I use them here, forgive me! Hopefully, the ideas still come across.)
If you have any questions about tones, or if you would be interested in more in-depth lessons on tones, then just get in touch!
Lesson notes
A note about pronunciation: The vocabulary list below includes the Chinese characters and the pinyin romanization system. The advantage of pinyin for English speakers is that it uses the familiar symbols of the Latin alphabet. The disadvantage is that English speakers are easily deceived into thinking these familiar symbols represent the same sounds they do in English. They don't. That said, pinyin can be a useful system to learn, but you must rely on your ears first, eyes second.
Don't expect to be able to pronounce anything just by reading the pinyin; the romanization is just a reference to jog your memory. It will only start to make sense once you have become familiar with the sounds themselves. You can achieve this through a daily practice of listening and imitating what you hear.
Dialogue vocabulary
但 :: dàn :: but
但是 :: dànshì :: but
昨天 :: zuótiān :: yesterday
不一樣 :: bù yīyàng :: different
貓咪 :: māomī :: cat
為什麼 :: wèishéme :: why
每天 :: měitiān :: every day
問 :: wèn :: to ask
可以 :: kěyǐ :: can / to be able to
去 :: qù :: to go
出 :: chū :: out
待 :: dài :: to stay
家裡 :: jiālǐ :: at home
這個 :: zhège :: this one
想 :: xiǎng :: to want / would like to
A note about learning Chinese characters
Teaching Chinese characters is outside the scope of this podcast, but if you are learning Chinese characters through another course or method, you can use the transcript below to follow along.
Learning characters can be a fulfilling project, and can help you to remember and differentiate similar-sounding words. And, of course, it opens up more avenues for practicing your Mandarin, such as reading (books, children's books, comic books) and corresponding with Chinese speakers via email and other messaging apps. I highly encourage you to give it a try!
However, if the thought of memorizing all those characters now gives you a headache, rest assured: you can start speaking Mandarin without being able to read or write. Millions of preliterate children speak Mandarin fluently, and so can you. If and when you are ready to start learning the characters, speaking some Mandarin already will make it that much easier.
The bottom line is this: Don't let anything stop you or discourage you. The best method is the method you actually use, and any method you choose is better than no method at all. Find a way to move forward. You can always make adjustments later. And most important of all, enjoy!
Daily Practice Session
Dialogue text (Chinese characters)
L: 你今天也在咖啡店？
M: 對啊
L: 但是，今天的咖啡店跟昨天的不一樣
M: 對，你看： 今天的咖啡店有貓咪！
L: 為什麼？
M: 沒有為什麼啊
L: 為什麼你每天都去咖啡店？
M: 你問我為什麼...
L: 為什麼你可以每天出去，但我每天要待在家裡？！
M: 這個嘛...
L: 為什麼？！你跟我說！
M: ...你不喜歡待在家裡？
L :沒有人喜歡待在家裡啊
M: ... 你想再看一下貓咪嗎？
L: 好吧
Dialogue text (Pinyin)
L: Nǐ jīntiān yě zài kāfēi diàn?
M: Duì a
L: Dànshì, jīntiān de kāfēi diàn gēn zuótiān de bù yīyàng
M: Duì, nǐ kàn. Jīntiān de kāfēi diàn yǒu māomī!
L: Wèishéme?
M: Méiyǒu wèishénme a
L: Wèishéme nǐ měitiān dōu qù kāfēi diàn?
M: Nǐ wèn wǒ wèishéme...
L: Wèishéme nǐ kěyǐ měitiān chūqù, dàn wǒ měitiān yào dāi zài jiālǐ?!
M: Zhège ma...
L: Wèishéme?! Nǐ gēn wǒ shuō!
M: ... Nǐ bù xǐhuān dāi zài jiālǐ?
L: Méiyǒu rén xǐhuān dāi zài jiālǐ a
M: ... Nǐ xiǎng zài kàn yīxià māomī ma?
L: Hǎo ba
Thank you for listening!
