Before we talk about tones, we need to have an introduction to Chinese phonetics: the sounds of the language.
Guiding Questions:
What is pīn yīn ?
What are 3 essential parts of a syllable?
What are common initial sounds?
What are common final sounds?
Which are simple finals and which are compound?
Click HERE for a spoken version of the alphabet.
Readings About Tones:
---enrichment---
HERE: a video from YangYang that recaps some basic ideas about Chinese phonetics.
HERE: is an advanced chart of Chinese phonetics, including all possible sounds in this language.
HERE: advanced information on the rules of the Hanyu Pinyin system.
