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Part of
Introducing Chinese Linguistics: A handbook for Chinese language teachers and learners
Hang Zhang and Lan Zhang
[Studies in Chinese Language and Discourse 16] 2022
► pp. 55–86

Chapter 3
Phonetics and phonology (II)

Suprasegmental features

Suprasegmental features (or prosody) include variations in pitch (such as tone and intonation), stress (or accent), and rhythm. In contrast to Chinese segmental phonemes, suprasegmentals, specifically Chinese lexical tones, pose a much greater challenge to Chinese language learning and teaching.

Article outline
  • 3.1Introduction
    • 3.1.1What is a tone language?
    • 3.1.2Pitch
  • 3.2Four Chinese phonemic tones: Citation form
    • 3.2.1Phonetic properties and phonological representations of four tones
    • 3.2.2Neutral tone
  • 3.3Tones in context: Tone variations in connected speech
    • 3.3.1The variants of Tone 3 and the Tone 3 sandhi
      • 3.3.1.1The Short-T3 and Long-T3
      • 3.3.1.2The T3 sandhi
        • A.Sandhi processes of T3 Monosyllables in varying contexts
        • B.Application of T3 sandhi in multiple consecutive T3s
    • 3.3.2Required tone sandhi: yī and bù
    • 3.3.3Other tone-change processes
      • A.“qī” and “bā”
      • B.T2 in trisyllabic phrases
      • C.Tone in reduplicated adjectives
  • 3.4Stress and intonation in Mandarin Chinese
    • 3.4.1Word-level stress
    • 3.4.2Sentence-level stress and sentence-final intonation
      • 3.4.2.1Contrastive stress in sentences
      • 3.4.2.2Unstress Chinese syllables
      • 3.4.2.3Sentence final intonation patterns
  • 3.5The acquisition of Mandarin Chinese tones
    • 3.5.1Second language perception of Mandarin tones
    • 3.5.2Four common difficulties in L2 tone production
      • 3.5.2.1Issues related to the pitch range
        • Pedagogical suggestions
      • 3.5.2.2The tone 3
        • Pedagogical suggestions
      • 3.5.2.3The tone pairs
        • Pedagogical suggestions
      • 3.5.2.4The production of T2 in sequences T2-T1 and T2-T4
        • Pedagogical suggestions
    • 3.5.3General pedagogical suggestions on L2 Chinese prosody training
      • A.The significance of laying the foundations of phonetic work
      • B.Auditory input is crucial to the successful acquisition of Chinese prosody
      • C.Routine assessment
  • Exercises
  • Notes
  • Further readings
Published online: 14 December 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/scld.16.c3
References

Further readings

Jongman, A., Wang, Y., Moore, C. B., & Sereno, J. A.
(2006) Perception and Production of Mandarin Chinese Tones. In Handbook of Chinese Psycholinguistics, edited by P. Li, L. H. Tan, E. Bates, and O. Tzeng, 209–17. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Li, Z.
(2018) 《汉语语音习得与教学研究》[Studies in Acquisition and Teaching of Mandarin Phonology]. 北京语言大学出版社. Beijing Language and Culture University Press.Google Scholar