Characteristics of the Chinese Language

2. It is a tone language Mandarin m m m m Cantonese si55 si35 si33 si21 si13 si22
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Characteristics of the Chinese Language

3. It is an isolating language: (a) one word/syllable in general expresses one meaning E.g. /fa55/ /si55/ E.g. fee /fi/relief /rI'lif/bikini /bI'kinI/

Characteristics of the Chinese Language

3. (b) It in general does not change the word form or use any inflection to express different grammatical meanings

E.g. I see him. E.g. He sees me. E.g. C: /M: E.g. C: /M:
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