Master the pronunciation for the glide [j] with a, ao, an, ang: ia, iao, ian, and iang
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| This is the ia sound, and this is the iao sound, this is the ian sound, and this is the iang sound. |
| By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to tell them apart, PLUS you'll be practicing them and on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm YangYun, and this is Chinese Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| The first is ia. This is the sound in jiā 家 "home," qiā 掐 "pinch," xià下 "down." |
| Iao is the sound in piào 票 "ticket," tiào 跳 "jump," biǎo 表 "watch." |
| Ian is the sound in biàn 变 "change," miàn 面 "noodle," jiàn 见 "meet." |
| Iang is the sound in liàng 亮 "bright," qiáng 强 "strong," xiǎng 想 "want." |
| When there is no consonant at the beginning of a syllable, ia, iao, ian, and iang are written as ya, yao, yan, and yang. |
| The ia sound is similar to the ya sound in "Yahoo;" however, there is a slight difference between them. In the Chinese ia, your tongue is positioned more toward the front of your mouth. |
| ia |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ia (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ia |
| ia |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ia (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ia |
| We have learned the Chinese ao sound in Lesson 3. To make the iao sound, simply add a [j] sound in front. |
| Add [j] in front |
| iao |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iao (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iao |
| iao |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iao (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iao |
| The ian sound is similar to the male name "Ian." Just make sure you pronounce the Chinese ian as one unit; it's a glide [j] + [ɛn]. Notice that an changes to [ɛn] in this context. |
| ian |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ian (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ian |
| ian |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ian (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ian |
| The Chinese iang sounds like the English "young." It's a glide [j] + ang [ɑŋ]. |
| iang |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iang (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iang |
| iang |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iang (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| iang |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| jiā/jiān |
| (space for repetition) |
| jiā/jiān |
| jiān/jiāng |
| (space for repetition) |
| jiān/jiāng |
| qiān/qiāo |
| (space for repetition) |
| qiān/qiāo |
| qiāng/qiāo |
| (space for repetition) |
| qiāng/qiāo |
| jià/jiào |
| (space for repetition) |
| jià/jiào |
| Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after me, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember the sound that sounds like the ya in "yahoo?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| ia |
| (1) |
| ia |
| Do you remember the sound that combines [j] with ao? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| iao |
| (1) |
| iao |
| Do you remember the sound that sounds like the English name "Ian?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| ian |
| (1) |
| ian |
| Do you remember the sound similar to the word "young?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| iang |
| (1) |
| iang |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds in these two words. Which word has the ia sound, and which has the iao sound? |
| 家/教 |
| ("home"/"teach") |
| (1) |
| 家/教 |
| ("home"/"teach") |
| (1) |
| 家 jiā has the ia sound, and 教 jiāo has the iao sound. |
| Let's try another. Which word has the iao sound, and which has the ian sound? |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 线/笑 |
| ("line"/"laugh") |
| (1) |
| 线/笑 |
| ("line"/"laugh") |
| (1) |
| 笑 xiào has the iao sound, and 线 xiàn has the ian sound. |
| Let's try one more. Which word has the ian sound, and which has the iang sound? |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 尖/江 |
| ("sharp"/"river") |
| (1) |
| 尖/江 |
| ("sharp"/"river") |
| (1) |
| 尖 jiān has the ian sound, and 江 jiāng has the iang sound. |
| Now, listen to the following sentences. |
| Choose the words that fit in the blanks. |
| (1 sec pause) |
| 他_了。 Tā _ le. |
| A 线 xiàn |
| B 笑 xiào |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: B 笑 xiào |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 他笑了。 Tā xiào le. |
| "He laughed." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 我_中文。 Wǒ _ zhōng wén. |
| A 教 jiāo |
| B 家 jiā |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: A 教 jiāo |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 我教中文。Wǒ jiāo zhōng wén. |
| "I teach Chinese." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 他很_壮。 Tā hěn _ zhuàng. |
| A 强 qiáng |
| B 钱 qián |
| (3 sec pause) |
| The answer is: A 强 qiáng |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 他很强壮。 Tā hěn qiáng zhuàng. |
| "He is strong." |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
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