Editing Mandarin Chinese (section)

==Phonology==
{{See also|Standard Chinese phonology}}
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2011}}

A [[syllable]] consists maximally of an initial consonant, a medial [[semivowel|glide]], a vowel, a coda, and [[tone (linguistics)|tone]]. In the traditional analysis, the medial, vowel and coda are combined as a ''final''.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=138–139}}
Not all combinations occur. For example, Standard Chinese (based on the Beijing dialect) has about 1,200 distinct syllables.{{sfnp|Ramsey|1987|p=41}}

Phonological features that are generally shared by the Mandarin dialects include:
* the [[palatalization (sound change)|palatalization]] of [[velar consonant]]s and [[voiceless alveolar fricative|alveolar sibilants]] when they occur before [[palatal approximant|palatal glides]];
* one syllable contains maximum four phonemes (maximum three vowels and no consonant cluster) 
* the disappearance of final [[stop consonant]]s and {{IPA|/-m/}} (although in many Lower Yangtze Mandarin and [[Jin Chinese]] dialects, an echo of the final stops is preserved as a [[glottal stop]]);
* the presence of [[retroflex consonant]]s (although these are absent in many [[Southwestern Mandarin|Southwestern]] and [[Northeastern Mandarin]] dialects);
* the historical [[consonant voicing and devoicing|devoicing]] of stops and sibilants (also common to most non-Mandarin varieties).

===Initials===
The maximal inventory of initials of a Mandarin dialect is as follows, with bracketed pinyin spellings given for those present in the standard language:{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=139–141, 192–193}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:1em auto 1em auto"
|-
!
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Apical consonant|Apical]]
! [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! [[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Stop consonant|Stops]]
| {{IPAslink|p}} {{angle bracket|b}}
| {{IPAslink|t}} {{angle bracket|d}}
|
|
| {{IPAslink|k}} {{angle bracket|g}}
|-
| {{IPAslink|pʰ}} {{angle bracket|p}}
| {{IPAslink|tʰ}} {{angle bracket|t}}
|
|
| {{IPAslink|kʰ}} {{angle bracket|k}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Affricate consonant|Affricates]]
|
| {{IPAslink|t͡s}} {{angle bracket|z}}
| {{IPAslink|ʈ͡ʂ}} {{angle bracket|zh}}
| {{IPAslink|t͡ɕ}} {{angle bracket|j}}
|
|-
|
| {{IPAslink|t͡sʰ}} {{angle bracket|c}}
| {{IPAslink|ʈ͡ʂʰ}} {{angle bracket|ch}}
| {{IPAslink|t͡ɕʰ}} {{angle bracket|q}}
|
|-
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricatives]]
| {{IPAslink|f}} {{angle bracket|f}}
| {{IPAslink|s}} {{angle bracket|s}}
| {{IPAslink|ʂ}} {{angle bracket|sh}}
| {{IPAslink|ɕ}} {{angle bracket|x}}
| {{IPAslink|x}} {{angle bracket|h}}
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasals]]
| {{IPAslink|m}} {{angle bracket|m}}
| {{IPAslink|n}} {{angle bracket|n}}
|
|
| {{IPAslink|ŋ}} &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|-
! [[Approximant]]s
| {{IPAslink|w}} {{angle bracket|w}}
| {{IPAslink|l}} {{angle bracket|l}}
| {{IPAslink|ɻ}} ~ {{IPAslink|ʐ}} {{angle bracket|r}}
| {{IPAslink|j}} {{angle bracket|y}}
|
|}

* Most Mandarin-speaking areas distinguish between the retroflex initials {{IPA|/ʈʂ ʈʂʰ ʂ/}} from the apical sibilants {{IPA|/ts tsʰ s/}}, though they often have a different distribution than in the standard language.  In most dialects of the southeast and southwest the retroflex initials have merged with the alveolar sibilants, so that ''zhi'' becomes ''zi'', ''chi'' becomes ''ci'', and ''shi'' becomes ''si''.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=193}}
* The alveolo-palatal sibilants {{IPA|/tɕ tɕʰ ɕ/}} are the result of merger between the historical palatalized velars {{IPA|/kj kʰj xj/}} and palatalized alveolar sibilants {{IPA|/tsj tsʰj sj/}}.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=193}} In about 20% of dialects, the alveolar sibilants did not palatalize, remaining separate from the alveolo-palatal initials. (The unique pronunciation used in [[Peking opera]] falls into this category.) On the other side, in some dialects of eastern [[Shandong]], the velar initials did not undergo palatalization.
* Many southwestern Mandarin dialects mix {{IPA|/f/}} and {{IPA|/xw/}}, substituting one for the other in some or all cases.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=192}} For example, ''fei'' {{IPA|/fei/}} "to fly" and ''hui'' {{IPA|/xwei/}} "grey" may be merged in these areas.
* In some dialects, initial {{IPA|/l/}} and {{IPA|/n/}} are not distinguished. In Southwestern Mandarin, these sounds usually merge to {{IPA|/n/}}; in Lower Yangtze Mandarin, they usually merge to {{IPA|/l/}}.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=192}}
* People in many Mandarin-speaking areas may use different initial sounds where Beijing uses initial ''r-'' {{IPA|/ɻ/}}. Common variants include {{IPA|/j/}}, {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/n/}} and {{IPA|/w/}}.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=193}}
* Some dialects have initial {{IPA|/ŋ/}} corresponding to the zero initial of the standard language.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=193}}  This initial is the result of a merger of the Middle Chinese zero initial with {{IPA|/ŋ/}} and {{IPA|/ʔ/}}.
* Many dialects of Northwestern and Central Plains Mandarin have {{IPA|/pf pfʰ f v/}} where Beijing has {{IPA|/tʂw tʂʰw ʂw ɻw/}}.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=193}} Examples include {{IPA|/pfu/}} "pig" for standard {{tlit|zh|zhū}} {{linktext|lang=zh|豬}} {{IPA|/tʂu/}}, {{IPA|/fei/}} "water" for standard {{tlit|zh|shuǐ}} {{linktext|lang=zh|水}} {{IPA|/ʂwei/}}, {{IPA|/vã/}} "soft" for standard {{tlit|zh|ruǎn}} {{linktext|lang=zh|軟}} {{IPA|/ɻwan/}}.

===Finals===
Most Mandarin dialects have three medial glides, {{IPA|/j/}}, {{IPA|/w/}} and {{IPA|/ɥ/}} (spelled ''i'', ''u'' and ''ü'' in pinyin), though their incidence varies.
The medial {{IPA|/w/}}, is lost after apical initials in several areas.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=193}}
Thus Southwestern Mandarin has {{IPA|/tei/}} "correct" where the standard language has ''dui'' {{IPA|/twei/}}.
Southwestern Mandarin also has {{IPA|/kai kʰai xai/}} in some words where the standard has ''jie qie xie'' {{IPA|/tɕjɛ tɕʰjɛ ɕjɛ/}}. This is a stereotypical feature of southwestern Mandarin, since it is so easily noticeable. E.g. ''hai'' "shoe" for standard ''xie'', ''gai'' "street" for standard ''jie''.

Mandarin dialects typically have relatively few vowels. [[Syllabic fricative]]s, as in standard ''zi'' and ''zhi'', are common in Mandarin dialects, though they also occur elsewhere.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=194}}
The Middle Chinese off-glides {{IPA|/j/}} and {{IPA|/w/}} are generally preserved in Mandarin dialects, yielding several [[diphthong]]s and [[triphthong]]s in contrast to the larger sets of monophthongs common in other dialect groups (and some widely scattered Mandarin dialects).{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=194}}

The Middle Chinese coda {{IPA|/m/}} was still present in [[Old Mandarin]], but has merged with {{IPA|/n/}} in the modern dialects.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=193}} In some areas (especially the southwest) final {{IPA|/ŋ/}} has also merged with {{IPA|/n/}}. This is especially prevalent in the rhyme pairs ''-en/-eng'' {{IPA|/ən əŋ/}} and ''-in/-ing'' {{IPA|/in iŋ/}}. As a result, {{tlit|zh|jīn}} "gold" and {{tlit|zh|jīng}} "capital" merge in those dialects.

The Middle Chinese final stops have undergone a variety of developments in different Mandarin dialects (see [[#Tones|Tones]] below). In [[Lower Yangtze Mandarin|Lower Yangtze dialects]] and some north-western dialects they have merged as a final [[glottal stop]]. In other dialects they have been lost, with varying effects on the vowel.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=193}} As a result, Beijing Mandarin and Northeastern Mandarin underwent more vowel mergers than many other varieties of Mandarin. For example:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:1em auto 1em auto"
!rowspan=2| Character !!rowspan=2| Meaning !!colspan=2| Standard<br/>(Beijing) !!rowspan=2| Beijing, Harbin<br/>Colloquial!!rowspan=2| Jinan<br/>(Ji–Lu)!!rowspan=2| Xi'an<br/>(Central Plains)!!rowspan=2| Chengdu<br/>(Southwestern)!!rowspan=2| Yangzhou<br/>(Lower Yangtze)!!rowspan=2| Middle Chinese<br/>Reconstructed
|-
!Pinyin!!IPA
|-
|{{lang|zh|课}}||'lesson'||rowspan=2|{{zhi|p=kè}}||rowspan=2|{{IPA|kʰɤ}}||{{IPA|kʰɤ}}||{{IPA|kʰə}}||{{IPA|kʰwo}}||{{IPA|kʰo}}||{{IPA|kʰo}}||{{IPA|kʰɑ}}
|-
|{{lang|zh|客}}||'guest'||{{IPA|tɕʰie}}{{efn|The development is purely due to the preservation of an early glide which later became {{IPA|/j/}} and triggered palatalization, and does not indicate the absence of a vowel merger.}}||{{IPA|kʰei}}||{{IPA|kʰei}}||{{IPA|kʰe}}||{{IPA|kʰəʔ}}||{{IPA|kʰɰak}}
|-
|{{lang|zh|果}}||'fruit'||{{zhi|p=guǒ}}||rowspan=2|{{IPA|kwo}}||rowspan=2|{{IPA|kwo}}||rowspan=2|{{IPA|kwə}}||{{IPA|kwo}}||{{IPA|ko}}||{{IPA|ko}}||{{IPA|kwɑ}}
|-
|{{lang|zh|国}}||'country'||{{zhi|p=guó}}||{{IPA|kwei}}||{{IPA|kwe}}||{{IPA|kɔʔ}}||{{IPA|kwək}}
|}

[[R-colored vowel|R-coloring]], a characteristic feature of Mandarin, works quite differently in the southwest. Whereas Beijing dialect generally removes only a final {{IPA|/j/}} or {{IPA|/n/}} when adding the rhotic final ''-r'' {{IPA|/ɻ/}}, in the southwest the ''-r'' replaces nearly the entire rhyme.

===Tones===
{{Chinese tones}}
In general, no two Mandarin-speaking areas have exactly the same set of [[tone (linguistics)|tone]] values, but most Mandarin-speaking areas have very similar tone ''distribution''.  For example, the dialects of [[Jinan]], [[Chengdu]], [[Xi'an]] and so on all have four tones that correspond quite well to the [[Beijing dialect]] tones of {{IPA|[˥]}} (55), {{IPA|[˧˥]}} (35), {{IPA|[˨˩˦]}} (214), and {{IPA|[˥˩]}} (51). The exception to this rule lies in the distribution of syllables formerly ending in a stop consonant, which are treated differently in different dialects of Mandarin.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=194–196}}

[[Middle Chinese]] stops and affricates had a three-way distinction between tenuis, voiceless aspirate and voiced (or breathy voiced) consonants.
In Mandarin dialects the voicing is generally lost, yielding voiceless aspirates in syllables with a Middle Chinese level tone and non-aspirates in other syllables.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=191}}
Of the [[four tones]] of Middle Chinese, the level, rising and departing tones have also developed into four modern tones in a uniform way across Mandarin dialects; the Middle Chinese level tone has split into two registers, conditioned on voicing of the Middle Chinese initial, while rising tone syllables with voiced obstruent initials have shifted to the departing tone.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=194–195}}
The following examples from the standard language illustrate the regular development common to Mandarin dialects (recall that pinyin ''d'' denotes a non-aspirate {{IPA|/t/}}, while ''t'' denotes an aspirate {{IPA|/tʰ/}}):

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Reflexes of Middle Chinese initials and tones in modern Mandarin
|-
! Middle Chinese tone
| colspan=4 | "level tone"<br/>({{zhi|c=平|p=píng}})
| colspan=4 | "rising tone"<br/>({{zhi|p=shǎng|c=上}})
| colspan=4 | "departing tone"<br/>({{zhi|p=qù|c=去}})
|-
! Example
| {{linktext|丹|lang=zh}} || {{linktext|灘|lang=zh}} || {{linktext|蘭|lang=zh}} || {{linktext|彈|lang=zh}}
| {{linktext|亶|lang=zh}} || {{linktext|坦|lang=zh}} || {{linktext|懶|lang=zh}} || {{linktext|但|lang=zh}}
| {{linktext|旦|lang=zh}} || {{linktext|炭|lang=zh}} || {{linktext|爛|lang=zh}} || {{linktext|彈|lang=zh}}
|-
! Middle Chinese
| tan || tʰan || lan || dan
| tan || tʰan || lan || dan
| tan || tʰan || lan || dan
|-
! Standard Chinese
| {{zhi|p=dān}} || {{zhi|p=tān}} || {{zhi|p=lán}} || {{zhi|p=tán}}
| {{zhi|p=dǎn}} || {{zhi|p=tǎn}} || {{zhi|p=lǎn}} || colspan="2" | {{zhi|p=dàn}} || {{zhi|p=tàn}} || {{zhi|p=làn}} || {{zhi|p=dàn}}
|-
! Modern Mandarin tone
| colspan=2 | 1 ({{zhi|p=yīnpíng}})
| colspan=2 | 2 ({{zhi|p=yángpíng}})
| colspan=3 | 3 ({{zhi|p=shǎng}})
| colspan="5" | 4 ({{zhi|p=qù}})
|}

In traditional Chinese phonology, syllables that ended in a stop in Middle Chinese (i.e. /p/, /t/ or /k/) were considered to belong to a special category known as the "[[entering tone]]".
These final stops have disappeared in most Mandarin dialects, with the syllables distributed over the other four modern tones in different ways in the various Mandarin subgroups.

In the Beijing dialect that underlies the standard language, syllables beginning with original voiceless consonants were redistributed across the four tones in a completely random pattern.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=195}} For example, the three characters {{linktext|lang=zh|積}}{{linktext|lang=zh|脊}}{{linktext|lang=zh|跡}}, all ''tsjek'' in Middle Chinese ([[Baxter's transcription for Middle Chinese|William H. Baxter's transcription]]), are now pronounced {{zhi|p=jī}}, {{zhi|p=jǐ}} and {{zhi|p=jì}} respectively.  Older dictionaries such as ''[[Mathews' Chinese-English Dictionary]]'' mark characters whose pronunciation formerly ended with a stop with a superscript 5; however, this tone number is more commonly used for syllables that always have a neutral tone (see below).

In Lower Yangtze dialects, a minority of Southwestern dialects (e.g. [[Minjiang dialect|Minjiang]]) and Jin Chinese (sometimes considered non-Mandarin), former final stops were not deleted entirely, but were reduced to a [[glottal stop]] {{IPA|/ʔ/}}.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=195}} (This includes the dialect of [[Nanjing]] on which the [[Postal Romanization]] was based; it transcribes the glottal stop as a trailing ''h''.) This development is shared with [[Wu Chinese]] and is thought to represent the pronunciation of [[Old Mandarin]]. In line with traditional Chinese phonology, dialects such as Lower Yangtze and Minjiang are thus said to have five tones instead of four.  However, modern linguistics considers these syllables as having no [[phonemic]] tone at all.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Reflexes of the Middle Chinese entering tone in Mandarin dialects<ref>Li Rong's 1985 article on Mandarin classification, quoted in {{harvp|Yan|2006|p=61}} and {{harvp|Kurpaska|2010|p=89}}.</ref>
|-
! rowspan=2 | subgroup
! colspan=3 | Middle Chinese initial
|-
! voiceless
! voiced [[sonorant]] 
! voiced obstruent
|-
| Beijing
| rowspan=2 | 1,3,4
| rowspan=4 | 4
| rowspan=6 | 2
|-
| Northeastern
|-
| Jiao–Liao
| 3
|-
| Ji–Lu
| 1
|-
| Central Plains
| colspan=2 | 1
|-
| Lan–Yin
| colspan=2 | 4
|-
| Southwestern
| colspan=3 | 2
|-
| Lower Yangtze
| colspan=3 | marked with final glottal stop ({{zhi|p=rù}})
|}

Although the system of tones is common across Mandarin dialects, their realization as [[tone contour]]s varies widely:{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=195–196}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Phonetic realization of Mandarin tones in principal dialects
|-
| colspan="2" | Tone name
| 1 ({{zhi|p=yīnpíng}})
| 2 ({{zhi|p=yángpíng}})
| 3 ({{zhi|p=shǎng}})
| 4 ({{zhi|p=qù}})
| marked with<br />glottal stop ({{zhi|p=rù}})
|-
| Beijing
| [[Beijing]]
| {{IPA|˥}} (55)
| {{IPA|˧˥}} (35)
| {{IPA|˨˩˦}} (214)
| {{IPA|˥˩}} (51)
|-
| Northeastern
| [[Harbin]]
| {{IPA|˦}} (44)
| {{IPA|˨˦}} (24)
| {{IPA|˨˩˧}} (213)
| {{IPA|˥˨}} (52)
|-
| Jiao–Liao
| [[Yantai]]
| {{IPA|˧˩}} (31)
| ({{IPA|˥}} (55))
| {{IPA|˨˩˦}} (214)
| {{IPA|˥}} (55)
|-
| rowspan="2" | Ji–Lu
| [[Tianjin]]
| {{IPA|˨˩}} (21)
| {{IPA|˧˥}} (35)
| {{IPA|˩˩˧}} (113)
| {{IPA|˥˧}} (53)
|-
| [[Shijiazhuang]]
| {{IPA|˨˧}} (23)
| {{IPA|˥˧}} (53)
| {{IPA|˥}} (55)
| {{IPA|˧˩}} (31)
|-
| rowspan="4" | Central Plains
| [[Zhengzhou]]
| {{IPA|˨˦}} (24)
| {{IPA|˦˨}} (42)
| {{IPA|˥˧}} (53)
| {{IPA|˧˩˨}} (312)
|-
| [[Luoyang]]
| {{IPA|˧˦}} (34)
| {{IPA|˦˨}} (42)
| {{IPA|˥˦}} (54)
| {{IPA|˧˩}} (31)
|-
| [[Xi'an]]
| {{IPA|˨˩}} (21)
| {{IPA|˨˦}} (24)
| {{IPA|˥˧}} (53)
| {{IPA|˦}} (44)
|-
| [[Tianshui]]
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|˩˧}} (13)
| {{IPA|˥˧}} (53)
| {{IPA|˦}} (44)
|-
| rowspan="2" | Lan–Yin
| [[Lanzhou]]
| {{IPA|˧˩}} (31)
| {{IPA|˥˧}} (53)
| {{IPA|˧}} (33)
| {{IPA|˨˦}} (24)
|-
| [[Yinchuan]]
| {{IPA|˦}} (44)
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|˥˧}} (53)
| {{IPA|˩˧}} (13)
|-
| rowspan="5" | Southwestern
| [[Chengdu]]
| {{IPA|˦}} (44)
| {{IPA|˨˩}} (21)
| {{IPA|˥˧}} (53)
| {{IPA|˨˩˧}} (213)
|-
| [[Xichang]]
| {{IPA|˧}} (33)
| {{IPA|˥˨}} (52)
| {{IPA|˦˥}} (45)
| {{IPA|˨˩˧}} (213)
| {{IPA|˧˩ʔ}} (31)
|-
| [[Kunming]]
| {{IPA|˦}} (44)
| {{IPA|˧˩}} (31)
| {{IPA|˥˧}} (53)
| {{IPA|˨˩˨}} (212)
|-
| [[Wuhan]]
| {{IPA|˥}} (55)
| {{IPA|˨˩˧}} (213)
| {{IPA|˦˨}} (42)
| {{IPA|˧˥}} (35)
|-
| [[Liuzhou]]
| {{IPA|˦}} (44)
| {{IPA|˧˩}} (31)
| {{IPA|˥˧}} (53)
| {{IPA|˨˦}} (24)
|-
| rowspan="2" | Lower Yangtze
| [[Yangzhou]]
| {{IPA|˧˩}} (31)
| {{IPA|˧˥}} (35)
| {{IPA|˦˨}} (42)
| {{IPA|˥}} (55)
| {{IPA|˥ʔ}} (5)
|-
| [[Nantong]]
| {{IPA|˨˩}} (21)
| {{IPA|˧˥}} (35)
| {{IPA|˥}} (55)
| {{IPA|˦˨}} (42), {{IPA|˨˩˧}} (213)*
| {{IPA|˦ʔ}} (4), {{IPA|˥ʔ}} (5)*
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Dialects in and around the Nantong area typically have many more than 4 tones, due to influence from the neighbouring [[Wu Chinese|Wu dialects]].

Mandarin dialects frequently employ neutral tones in the second syllables of words, creating syllables whose tone contour is so short and light that it is difficult or impossible to discriminate. These atonal syllables also occur in non-Mandarin dialects, but in many southern dialects the tones of all syllables are made clear.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=195}}