In some Chinese dialects, most regular syllables keep their underlying tones, but in others, the initial syllable determines the tonal pattern of a multisyllabic expression. The Mandarin and Shanghai dialects best represent this contrast. The article criticizes 1993 research on the subject, proposing that Chinese is both mora-counting and…

Investigated a new research design for the collection of reliable tone perception data from found children, compared lexical and nonlexical items for testing tone perception ability, and identified the relative ease of perceiving the three basic tone contrasts in Cantonese--high level/high rising, high level/low falling, and high rising/low…

Illustrates how the separate economic and political development and the ensuing lack of contact between Hong Kong and Guangzhou over the last 50 years have resulted in quantifiable tonal differences in the Cantonese spoken in these two cities. (16 references) (Author/CK)

The difficulty in learning Mandarin Chinese is often attributed to the fact that it is a tonal language. This article reviews the tonal spelling approach of Gwoyeu Romatzyh ("G. R.") and Pinyin, the national romanization system of mainland China. (seven references) (LB)

Argues that music is a universal language and is important to integrate in the Montessori classroom through teacher education, child-directed activities, and learning individual tones, followed by recognition of patterns and musical sentences. Provides a historical timeline and analysis of musical development. Discusses merits of a music…

With the rapid and dramatic influx of Asians of widely varying background to the United States, more comprehensive planning for literacy education will be increasingly important. Most research on literacy in English as a second language, particularly on transfer of learning from one language to another, focuses on groups with European language…