One of the many aspects of the Chinese language in comparison to the English language is the required use of certain tones or intonations, each assigned to a specific word. Of course, these special rules are not uncommon, as most languages spoken in Southeast Asia generally range from having two to eight tones. There are four tones in Mandarin, each indicated by a mark above one of the letters in the pinyin of a Chinese word:
First tone: a singular high pitch
Second tone: a rising pitch starting from a lower pitch
Third tone: a falling pitch from a neutral pitch, reaching a lower pitch, and rising to end at a higher pitch
Fourth tone: a sharply falling pitch from a higher to lower pitch
Image by ChineseFor.Us
Watch this video to practice your tones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CsYTfC_wqE
Although Mandarin may lack in its number of syllables compared to other languages, it makes up for in its various uses of tone. One syllable spoken in different tones can have completely different meanings. Additionally, there is a neutral tone that is not considered to be one of the four tones in Mandarin. Some words which utilize this unaccented syllable are 吗 (ma) and 么 (me). Mastering the tones of Mandarin is a key step in achieving fluency in the language. For individuals learning Mandarin for the first time, learning to speak with foreign eloquence remains a significant challenge.
| Pinyin | Chinese Character | Meaning |
| mā | 媽 (trad) / 妈 (simp) | mother |
| má | 麻 | hemp |
| mǎ | 馬 / 马 | horse |
| mà | 罵 / 骂 | scold |
One example of such change in meaning from merely using different tones can be seen in the video “對不起我的中文不好” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XTBwvi0h2E. It starts with a skit at a dumpling shop, in which a foreigner declares that he wants (to) 睡觉 (Shuìjiào); the fourth tones indicates that he means to sleep. The server asks if he is tired. The foreigner then clears the misunderstanding by saying that he wants to eat Shuìjiào, still using the incorrect tones. However, now the server understands using context clues. What the foreigner really wanted was 水饺 (Shuǐjiǎo) with third tones, or dumplings!
From dumplings to sleep, Chinese tongue twisters have sought to highlight the various meanings of one syllable, playing with the use of tones.
四是四，十是十，十四是十四，四十是四十
sì shì sì, shí shì shí, shísì shì shísì, sìshí shì sìshí
Translation: Four is four, ten is ten, fourteen is fourteen, forty is forty.
吃葡萄吐葡萄皮儿，
不吃葡萄不吐葡萄皮儿。
吃葡萄不吐葡萄皮儿，
不吃葡萄倒吐葡萄皮儿。
chī pútáo tǔ pútáo pí ér,
bù chī pútáo bù tǔ pútáo pí ér.
chī pútáo bù tǔ pútáo pí ér,
bù chī pútáo dào tǔ pútáo pí ér.
Translation:
Eat grapes throw out their skins
don’t eat grapes don’t throw out their skins.
Eat grapes don’t throw out their skins,
don’t eat grapes throw out their skins.
My personal favorite:
妈妈骑马。马慢， 妈妈骂马
Māmā qí mǎ. Mǎ màn, māmā mà mǎ
Translation: Mother is riding a horse. The horse is slow; Mother scolds the horse.
Some Chinese tongue twisters make absolutely no sense when translated, but regardless, they poke fun at the tonal language. Perhaps mastering these tongue twisters can bring you one step closer to fluency!
Sources:
http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/~jkirby/docs/brunelle2016tone-preprint.pdf
https://ltl-school.com/chinese-tongue-twisters/#chapter-1
http://shanghaithere.davers.org/2011/08/12/ma-man-mama-ma-ma/