Mandarin Overview
Jing Zhao, M.Sc., RSLP
Registered Speech-Language Pathologist,
British Columbia, Canada
September 25, 2019
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Jing Zhao is co-author for the Mandarin Phonological Assessment
materials and Activities/Mandarin on the
phonodevelopment.sites.olt.ubc.ca website.
Available free for download.
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Outline
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Mandarin Phonology
Mandarin Syntax
Cultural information
Important things to know
Useful words
Questions
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Mandarin Phonology
Mandarin Consonants
Place of articulation
Labial Dento- Retroflex Alveopalatal Palatal Dorsal
alveolar
Manner
Stop
p ph
Nasal
m
Fricative
f
Affricate
Approximant
t th
n
s
ts tsh
l
ʂ
tʂ tʂh
ɻ
ɕ
tɕ tɕh
k kh
(ŋ)
x
6 places, 5 manners, aspirated (h) vs unaspirated stops,
affricates
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Mandarin Vowels: Monophthongs
Tongue body (dorsum)
Front
(Central)
Back
Height
High
i y*
Mid
(e)
Low
a
u*
ə
ɚ
ɤ o*
*Round vowels (lip-rounding)
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Mandarin Vowels: Diphthongs, Triphthongs
• 9 diphthongs: /ai ei ou ao ia, ua, uo, ie, ye/
• 4 triphthongs: /iao, iou, uai, uei/
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Mandarin Tones
• 4 tones, plus a ‘neutral tone’
• Both level and contour tones (i.e., tones with changes in
pitch)
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Tone 1: high (H) level
Tone 2: mid-rising (MH)
Tone 3: mid-low-mid “dipping”
Tone 4: high-low falling (HL)
Neutral tone:
/maH/
/maMH/
/maMLM/
/maHL/
/ma0/
‘mom’
‘toad’
‘horse’
‘scold’
Question
particle
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Mandarin: Structure of Words, Syllables
• Word length: mostly one- and two-syllable words (some
longer multisyllabic compound words)
• Syllable types:
– V, VV, CV, CVV, CVVV
(VV = diphthong; VVV = triphthong)
– Less common: VC, CVC, CVVC
• Only /n/ or /ŋ/ can be in final position
• Stress: words may show stressed-unstressed patterns
– Vowel reduction (to [ə]) and/or tone neutralization can occur in
the unstressed syllable.
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Difficulties Learning English
(Speech)
Drop word final consonants
Non-Mandarin consonants: v, th
Consonant clusters
Multisyllabic words
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Mandarin
Speech
Development
Chart
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Mandarin Speech
Assessment Tool
Speech intelligibility
Zhao, J., Bernhardt, B.M. & Stemberger, J.P,
(2011)
Mandarin Consonant Screener
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Mandarin Syntax
Sentence Structure
• Basic structure: Subject+Verb+Object
• The position of an adverbial phrase in a sentence
is quite free
我在桌上放了一个苹果。 I, on the table, put an apple.
在桌上我放了一个苹果。 On the table, I put an apple
我放了一个苹果在桌上。 I put an apple on the table
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Sentence Structure
• Can drop subject pronoun if keeps on talking
about the same person
他是一个警察。平时喜欢踢球。
He is a police officer. Usually likes to play soccer.
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Grammar
• Doesn’t change verb form but add particles to
make different grammar
present tense: 在/正在
 past tense:了
 Passive voice: 被
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Grammar
• Plural:
1) use numbers to indicate
2) number+classfier+object
三
本
书
3) classifier represents the feature of the object,
such as “根， 粒”
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Grammar
• Pronouns:
1) First person: same for subject and object
我在吃饭。 I am eating food.
别看着我。 Don’t look at me.
2) No distinction between third person singular
pronouns in oral language. Differentiate
them in written language.
他/她 are all pronounced as “ta” in oral language.
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Grammar
• Yes/No questions:
1) Affirmation: use the verb that is used in the
question
 你要苹果吗？Do you want an apple?
 要。 Want.
2) Negation:不+verb
 你要苹果吗？Do you want an apple?
 不要。 Don’t want.
3)Use question words “吗” instead of auxiliary
to make yes/no questions
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Grammar
• Comparative forms:
1) Doesn’t change the word form
2) Use “更” as “er” marker in English
这个苹果大。那个苹果更大。 This apple is big. That apple
is bigger.
3) Use “最” as “est” marker in English
那个是最大的苹果。That is the biggest apple.
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Difficulties Learning English
(Language)
Drop auxiliary
Plural ‘s’, comparative forms, he/she, tense
markers
Prepositions: in/at
Put adverbial phrases in wrong place
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Mandarin Language Assessment Tool
Rossetti
Language sample
Mandarin Language Milestones for SLP use
(summarized by Jing Zhao and Fiona Hui,
Richmond Public Health)
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Cultural Information
Dad usually takes a role of providing financial support to
the family.
Take into consideration of grandparents’ opinions
Interaction style is more directive compared with
western culture. Children are not expected to have much
participation in daily life conversations with adults.
Emphasis on learning academic skills
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Important things to know
“How many words can your child combine?”—This is a
tricky question because your definition of “word” may
not be the same as parents’
“word” --词/字
吃 (eat) : one 词/字
苹果 (apple): one词 but two字 (character)
The sign “more” represents three words in Mandarin
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Useful words
• 你好: hello
• 再见: goodbye
• 谢谢: thank you
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Thank you!
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