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Similarities between English and Chinese tones
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necroflux -
As I delve further into the
Chinese language I'm starting to notice that tones have much more
impact on speech in English than I previously thought. They have less to do with semantics than
with Chinese, but they have a drastic effect on the interpretation of a sentence nonetheless. Take
for example the following simple dialog:
"You know something? You smell!"
"You think I smell?? You smell!"
One could realistically apply the following Chinese tones to most of the words here:
"You1 know1 something1? You4 smell4!"
"You2 think5 I2 smell1?? You4 smell5!"
Obviously tones like these emphatic statements, but we are much more exposed to tones than most
realize. This actually relates to a recent story I read about how a large percentage of text we
send via IM and E-mail to others is misinterpreted as any kind of tonal clues are stripped from
the language. It's certainly easy to see why that is.
And might I add that these are all "unofficial" tones that only the most experienced foreigners
will ever be able to recognize, let alone use. At least the Chinese have tonal rules for how words
should be spoken, saving the expression of emotional overtones for 啊, 啦, 吧, 嗎, etc. As far
as I'm concerned, I'd much rather learn English as a "baby with nothing better to do" and move on
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HashiriKata -
I think what you're talking about here is "intonation" rather than "tones", perhaps?
necroflux -
Yeah you're right, intonation is a better word for English, but terminology aside I'm still
surprised how much of it exists.
realmayo -
SHOUTING (or just raising the voice on a word)
that's the easiest Chinese intonation I'm aware of -- I guess the easiest way for a Chinese
speaker to emphasize something without introducing an erroneous run of fourth tones. and obviously
something shared with possibly all languages.
by the way is it just me or do Chinese people like to say the word "China" with a long first tone
on the "Chine" first syllable?
Ferno -
yes i thought about this too, there is really a huge amount of subtle (or not so subtle!)
information conveyed through these intonation patterns in English
imo that's how it should be - have sounds to make words and convey information and leave
intonation for indicate other shades of meaning
amego -
Haha anyway for Singlish I really think its tones and not intonation, and its the tones of
mandarin. Here.
Why1 you3 always4 late4 one1? (Why are you always late?) Hint: Direct translation from mandarin.
"为什么你整天迟到的？"， and yes, this is how we speak.
Ferno -
why would Singaporeans incorporate Mandarin tonal paterns into their English... isn't Mandarin
more of an artificial language in Singapore, taught in schools as part of a government push? I
thought other dialects had deeper cultural roots there...
gato -
That's a good one, amego. I'd thought, too, that Singlish sounds like a little like a Chinese
dialect spoken with English words.
Singlish pronunciation, while built on a base of British English, is also heavily influenced by
Chinese and Malay.
There is variation within Singlish, both geographically and ethnically. Chinese, Malays, Indians,
Eurasians, and other ethnic groups in Singapore all have distinct accents.
count_zero -
For a good example of this try saying: 'good for you'.
Now try again:
(It's healthy) good for you.
(Well done) good for you!
In the film 'Envy' The Jay Man hears that the protagonist has lost his job.
'Good for you! Good for you.' He says, meaning 'Well done! That will improve your life'.
count_zero -
a: Would you like apples or oranges?
b: I don't mind; apples or oranges.
The second 'or' is like huozhe instead of haishi and you should be pronouncing it
'apples ORRRR oranges'
The tone is distinct and the emphasis huge.
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