What's that plummeting to the ground? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Our confidence? The stock market? No... this time it's the fourth tone, the eldest and most bitter of the four tones in mandarin, Chinese.If you noticed our earlier lessons on the first three tones you probably saw this coming a mile away. For those who haven't, today we're continuing our series on the four tones with a lesson dedicated exclusively to the fourth tone. If you're trying to get your head around this wonderful tonal language, listen to this podcast for a brief introduction to both the fourth tone as well as some common examples. Then head to the vocabulary section to practice your own pronunciation against our recordings. If you're feeling confident you can then check out our real-world examples which combine today's new vocabulary with words we've learned earlier on. With progressive lessons like this, you'll be fluent in no time.
k503
said on February 25, 2009
I was wondering how you sing in Chinese if all the words are already changing pitch according to the tone.
qultmeistr
said on February 25, 2009
In American jazz and popular music, we already have little stylistic slurs and scoops that add to the music. It is the mastery of these elements that causes the emotional impact that one feels. Likewise, singing in Chinese the singer will some times emphasize or de-emphasize the tone of the words depending on style. Youll hear very distinct tones in older music, and less so in contemporary music.
Echo
said on February 25, 2009
@k503,
Good question!
The answer is just singing! Follow the music and try to "sing" the tones correctly. If the tones don't match the music, then don't care too much about the tones.
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
Echo
said on February 25, 2009
@qultmeistr,
谢谢专业人士！这才是高手的回答，我的答案真是相形见绌了T.T
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
k503
said on February 25, 2009
@qultmeistr, @Echo, Thank you! Are there any lessons which have examples of Chinese singing? I imagine that Chinese musical notation is different from European notation. it would be interesting to see the notation for a song while you listened to it.
trevelyan
said on February 25, 2009
@k503 - you might want to take a look at the KTV Wednesday show. One of the more accessible ones up there is probably Pu Shu's Those Flowers. Slower than a lot of the later ones.
The same problem with singing is inherent in whispering too. There's been some research suggesting people unconsciously alter the length (i.e. sounding the third tone characters longer). Otherwise people get the tones in where they can and don't worry too much about it.
neehnahw
said on August 4, 2010
You seem to imply that there is an underlying principle as to why some words are in the fourth tone. Does have it have something to do with the emotion, or the characteristic of the word? I'm curious if you have more information on this. ^_^
Echo
said on August 5, 2010
@neehnahw，
There're actually no such specific rules or principles :(
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
TheiSwan
said on January 7, 2014
In the vocabulary section of this lesson, you list "hot" as a noun. FYI.
