 While residents across China use the same written character system, the way the words are pronounced differs from region to region. Standard Chinese is Mandarin or 普通话 (pǔtōnghuà), and it consists of five pronunciation tones.In 1958, the Chinese government rolled out its Romanized version of Mandarin. Prior to that, there were several different methods to sound out Chinese characters using English letters. Over the years, 拼音 (pīnyīn) has become the standard around the world for those wishing to learn to properly pronounce Mandarin Chinese. Using characters, people simply know that that character is pronounced with a certain tone. In Romanized Pinyin, many words suddenly had the same spelling, and it became necessary to designate tones within the word to differentiate them. Tones are of vital importance in Chinese. Depending on the choice of tone, you could be calling for your mother (mā) or your horse (mǎ). Here's a brief introduction on the five vowel tones in the Mandarin language using the many words that are spelled "ma". First Tone: ˉ This tone is designated by a straight line over the vowel (mā) and is pronounced flat and high. Second Tone: ´ This tone's symbol is an upward slant from right to left over the vowel (má) and begins in the mid-tone, then rises to a high tone, as if asking a question. Third Tone: ˇ This tone has a V-shape over the vowel (mǎ) and starts low then goes even lower before it rises to a high tone. This is also known as falling-rising tone. It's as if your voice is tracing a check mark, starting at the middle, then lower then high. Fourth Tone: ` This tone is represented by a downward slant from right to left over the vowel (mà) and begins in a high tone but falls sharply with a strong guttural tone at the end like you are mad. Fifth Tone: This tone is also known as the neutral tone. Has no symbol over the vowel (ma) and is pronounced flatly without any intonation. Sometimes it's just slightly softer than first tone. # Our teachers # More than 10 years teaching experience Master Degree Certificate for teaching chinese as a foreign language   # About us # Founded in 2007 Chinese test and training center 200+ Chinese teachers 5000+ students  # Contact us# Name:fiona Phone number:021-52287809,13918358891 E-mail:info@mandarinmorning.com www.mandarinmorning.com If you are interested to join Mandarin Morning school or want more details about our services, scan the following QR code. ☟   Mandarin Morning Chinese test center attached to Confucius institute headquarters Authorized Test Center and Training Center for International Chinese Language Teacher Certificater 10 years+ ，200 teachers ，more 10000 students，200+companies  |
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