Neither Here Nor There (Continued)
Well, continuing on from the previous post . . .
Now that we’ve finally come to the topic of “there” in learning Chinese, there are, of course, a few fine points to discuss.
First, the pronunciation is “nà” said with a falling fourth tone and pronounced much like one might say, “Nah,” (as in I’d rather not).
Second, the pronunciation of there is “nèi” also said with a falling fourth tone, but pronounced more like the old English, “Nay” (as in no or I’ll abstain).
The third pronunciation (which is not included in the figure) is the standard pronunciation found in northern China, particularly in Beijing. That is because this pronunciation is the addition of the “r” sound that is so common in that region. So, the first pronunciation, “nà” is just slightly changed to include the “r” and comes out sounding like “nàr” but notice that it is still said with the falling fourth tone. As mentioned in the previous post, the addition of the儿 character is what makes this pronunciation so interesting!
Next, we’ll take a look at how here and there are SO closely related to this and that! The similarities are going to overwhelm you! Thinking of concepts in this way really makes you wonder at the ingenuity of the Chinese language!
