Editing Standard Chinese (section)

== Phonology ==
{{Main|Standard Chinese phonology}}

The pronunciation of Standard Chinese is defined as that of the [[Beijing dialect]].{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=138}}
The usual unit of analysis is the syllable, consisting of an optional initial [[consonant]], an optional medial [[semivowel|glide]], a main vowel and an optional coda, and further distinguished by a [[tone (linguistics)|tone]].{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=138–139}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Initial consonants with pinyin spellings{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=139}}
|-
! colspan="2" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! Dental [[sibilant]]
! [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]s
| {{IPA link|m}} {{grapheme|m}} || {{IPA link|n}} {{grapheme|n}} || || || ||
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive|Stops]] and<br/>[[affricates]]
! <small>unaspirated</small>
| {{IPA link|p}} {{grapheme|b}} || {{IPA link|t}} {{grapheme|d}} || {{IPA link|t̪͡s̪|t͡s}} {{grapheme|z}} || {{IPA link|ʈ͡ʂ}} {{grapheme|zh}} || {{IPA link|t͡ɕ}} {{grapheme|j}} || {{IPA link|k}} {{grapheme|g}}
|-
! <small>[[aspirated consonant|aspirated]]</small>
| {{IPA link|pʰ}} {{grapheme|p}} || {{IPA link|tʰ}} {{grapheme|t}} || {{IPA link|t͡sʰ}} {{grapheme|c}} || {{IPA link|ʈ͡ʂʰ}} {{grapheme|ch}} || {{IPA link|t͡ɕʰ}} {{grapheme|q}} || {{IPA link|kʰ}} {{grapheme|k}}
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Fricative]]s
| {{IPA link|f}} {{grapheme|f}} || || {{IPA link|s̪|s}} {{grapheme|s}} || {{IPA link|ʂ}} {{grapheme|sh}} || {{IPA link|ɕ}} {{grapheme|x}} || {{IPA link|x}} {{grapheme|h}}
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant]]s
| {{IPA link|w}} {{grapheme|w}} || {{IPA link|l̪|l}} {{grapheme|l}} || || {{IPA link|ɻ}}~{{IPA link|ʐ}} {{grapheme|r}} || {{IPA link|j}} {{grapheme|y}} ||
|}

The palatal initials {{IPA|[tɕ]}}, {{IPA|[tɕʰ]}} and {{IPA|[ɕ]}} pose a classic problem of [[phonemic]] analysis. Since they occur only before high front vowels, they are in [[complementary distribution]] with three other series, the dental sibilants, retroflexes and velars, which never occur in this position.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=140–141}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Syllable finals with pinyin spellings{{sfnp|Lee|Zee|2003|p=110}}
|-
| {{IPA|ɹ̩}} {{angle bracket|''i''}} || {{IPA|ɤ}} {{angle bracket|''e''}} || {{IPA|a}} {{angle bracket|''a''}} || {{IPA|ei}} {{angle bracket|''ei''}} || {{IPA|ai}} {{angle bracket|''ai''}} || {{IPA|ou}} {{angle bracket|''ou''}} || {{IPA|au}} {{angle bracket|''ao''}} || {{IPA|ən}} {{angle bracket|''en''}} || {{IPA|an}} {{angle bracket|''an''}} || {{IPA|əŋ}} {{angle bracket|''eng''}} || {{IPA|aŋ}} {{angle bracket|''ang''}} || {{IPA|ɚ}} {{angle bracket|''er''}}
|-
| {{IPA|i}} {{angle bracket|''i''}} || {{IPA|ie}} {{angle bracket|''ie''}} || {{IPA|ia}} {{angle bracket|''ia''}} ||     ||     || {{IPA|iou}} {{angle bracket|''iu''}} || {{IPA|iau}} {{angle bracket|''iao''}} || {{IPA|in}} {{angle bracket|''in''}} || {{IPA|ien}} {{angle bracket|''ian''}} || {{IPA|iŋ}} {{angle bracket|''ing''}} || {{IPA|iaŋ}} {{angle bracket|''iang''}} ||
|-
| {{IPA|u}} {{angle bracket|''u''}} || {{IPA|uo}} {{angle bracket|''uo''}} || {{IPA|ua}} {{angle bracket|''ua''}} || {{IPA|uei}} {{angle bracket|''ui''}} || {{IPA|uai}} {{angle bracket|''uai''}} ||     ||     || {{IPA|uən}} {{angle bracket|''un''}} || {{IPA|uan}} {{angle bracket|''uan''}} || {{IPA|uŋ}} {{angle bracket|''ong''}} || {{IPA|uaŋ}} {{angle bracket|''uang''}} ||
|-
| {{IPA|y}} {{angle bracket|''ü''}} || {{IPA|ye}} {{angle bracket|''üe''}} ||    ||     ||     ||     ||     || {{IPA|yn}} {{angle bracket|''un''}} || {{IPA|yen}} {{angle bracket|''uan''}} || {{IPA|iuŋ}} {{angle bracket|''iong''}} || ||
|}
The {{IPA|[ɹ̩]}} final, which occurs only after dental sibilant and retroflex initials, is a syllabic [[approximant consonant|approximant]], prolonging the initial.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=142}}{{sfnp|Lee|Zee|2003|p=111}}

[[File:Pinyin Tone Chart.svg|right|thumb|upright=0.6|Relative pitch contours of the four full tones]]
The [[rhotacized vowel]] {{IPA|[ɚ]}} forms a complete syllable.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=143–144}}
A reduced form of this syllable occurs as a sub-syllabic suffix, spelled ''-r'' in pinyin and often with a [[diminutive]] connotation. The suffix modifies the coda of the base syllable in a rhotacizing process called ''[[erhua]]''.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=144–145}}

Each full syllable is pronounced with a phonemically distinctive pitch contour. There are four tonal categories, marked in pinyin with diacritics, as in the words {{transliteration|zh|mā}} ({{zhi|s=妈|t=媽|first=t}}; 'mother'), {{transliteration|zh|má}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|麻}}; 'hemp'), {{transliteration|zh|mǎ}} ({{zhi|s=马|t=馬|first=t}}; 'horse') and {{transliteration|zh|mà}} ({{zhi|s=骂|t=罵|first=t}}; 'curse').{{sfnp|Duanmu|2007|p=225}} The tonal categories also have secondary characteristics. For example, the third tone is long and [[murmured voice|murmured]], whereas the fourth tone is relatively short.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=147}}{{sfnp|Duanmu|2007|p=236}} Statistically, vowels and tones are of similar importance in the language.{{efn|"A word pronounced in a wrong tone or inaccurate tone sounds as puzzling as if one said 'bud' in English, meaning 'not good' or 'the thing one sleeps in.{{' "}}{{sfnp|Chao|1948|p=24}}}}<ref>{{citation | surname1 = Surendran | given1 = Dinoj | surname2 = Levow | given2 = Gina-Anne | chapter-url = http://people.cs.uchicago.edu/~dinoj/research/fltonemandarin.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416214008/http://people.cs.uchicago.edu/~dinoj/research/fltonemandarin.pdf |archivedate=2007-04-16 | chapter = The functional load of tone in Mandarin is as high as that of vowels | pages = 99–102 | title = Proceedings of the International Conference on Speech Prosody 2004 | editor1-given = Bernard | editor1-surname = Bel | editor2-given = Isabelle | editor2-surname = Marlien | publisher = SProSIG | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-2-9518233-1-0 }}</ref>

There are also weak syllables, including grammatical particles such as the interrogative ''ma'' ({{lang-zh|s=吗|t=嗎|first=t|labels=no}}) and certain syllables in polysyllabic words. These syllables are short, with their pitch determined by the preceding syllable.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=148}} Such syllables are commonly described as being in the neutral tone.

=== Regional accents ===
It is common for Standard Chinese to be spoken with the speaker's regional accent, depending on factors such as age, level of education, and the need and frequency to speak in official or formal situations.

Due to evolution and standardization, Mandarin, although based on the Beijing dialect, is no longer synonymous with it. Part of this was due to the standardization to reflect a greater vocabulary scheme and a more archaic and "proper-sounding" pronunciation and vocabulary.

Distinctive features of the Beijing dialect are more extensive use of ''erhua'' in vocabulary items that are left unadorned in descriptions of the standard such as the ''[[Xiandai Hanyu Cidian]]'', as well as more neutral tones.{{sfnp|Chen|1999|pp=39–40}} An example of standard versus Beijing dialect would be the standard {{transliteration|zh|mén}} (door) and Beijing {{transliteration|zh|ménr}}.

While the Standard Chinese spoken in Taiwan is nearly identical to that of mainland China, the colloquial form has been heavily influenced by other local languages, especially Taiwanese Hokkien. Notable differences include: the merger of [[retroflex]] sounds (zh, ch, sh, r) with the [[alveolar consonant|alveolar]] series (z, c, s), frequent mergers of the "neutral tone" with a word's original tone, and absence of ''[[erhua]]''.{{sfnp|Chen|1999|p=47}} [[Code-switching]] between Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien is common, as the majority of the population continues to also speak the latter as a native language.<ref>{{Citation |last=Chiu |first=Miao-chin |title=Code-switching and Identity Constructions in Taiwan TV Commercials |date=April 2012 |work=Monumenta Taiwanica |volume=5 |url=http://rportal.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/bitstream/20.500.12235/12992/1/ntnulib_ja_B0601_0005_027.pdf |access-date=24 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807182654/http://rportal.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/bitstream/20.500.12235/12992/1/ntnulib_ja_B0601_0005_027.pdf |archive-date=7 August 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The stereotypical "southern Chinese" accent does not distinguish between [[retroflex consonant|retroflex]] and [[alveolar consonant]]s, pronouncing pinyin ''zh'' [tʂ], ''ch'' [tʂʰ], and ''sh'' [ʂ] in the same way as ''z'' [ts], ''c'' [tsʰ], and ''s'' [s] respectively.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=140}} Southern-accented Standard Chinese may also interchange ''l'' and ''n'', final ''n'' and ''ng'', and vowels ''i'' and ''ü'' [y]. Attitudes towards southern accents, particularly the Cantonese accent, range from disdain to admiration.<ref>{{Citation |last=Blum |first=Susan D. |title=China Off Center: Mapping the Margins of the Middle Kingdom |pages=160–161 |year=2002 |editor-last=Blum |editor-first=Susan Debra |editor-last2=Jensen |editor-first2=Lionel M |chapter=Ethnic and Linguistic Diversity in Kunming |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-2577-5}}</ref>