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汉语的节奏和韵律

Flow and Rhythm 

in the Chinese Language

（本文转载自《孔子学院》中英文对照版2022年第1期/总第71期）

听过中国古典诗词诵读的人可能会发现，诗句中存在一定的节奏，伴随着音调的起伏，近乎旋律。若试图找出它的来源，它就会消失，宛若瘙痒游走弥漫于文本的皮肤下。但如果继续倾听，你就会发现它一直在那里，好似古旧钟表的摆锤一般稳当。

Listen to the recital of a classical Chinese poem, you might detect a certain rhyme that flows with the turn of each syllable. If you try to pinpoint its source, however, the pattern may disappear altogether, like a subtle itching on your skin. Listen for a little longer, the same flow returns, in the same way as the steady motion of a pendulum clock.

经过几个世纪的语音变化，中国诗词在现代的诵读方式与其被创作时相比，已发生了很大的变化。汉语作为一种声调语言，其韵律决定了音调在诗句中的分布方式。例如，某些位置应该是“平”音，其他位置则应当是“仄”音。现代汉语虽然在韵律上不如千年前那般严谨，但仍保留了发音的基本规律，这就是我们今天要讨论的话题。

After centuries of phonetic changes, the way a Chinese poem is read today is no longer the same as it was read in the past. China is a tonal language. Its prosody determines which syllabus should be stressed in a poem. Some positions should use a “level” tone, while others must adopt some variations. Although modern Chinese may have lost some rigidity in rhyme compared with one thousand years ago, the basic structure stays the same in pronunciation. This is the topic we are going to address today.

传统的古典诗词诵读遵循明确的韵律，强弱音节规律交替。如果诗句的第一个音节强，下一个音节就弱，以此类推。这样，诗句被分为由强（X）拍和弱（x）拍组成的节奏对。如果一句诗的音节总数为奇数，最后的结束音节通常为强音节，即 X x | X x | X。

Traditionally, classical poem is recited following distinct patterns. A strong and a weak syllable always alternate one after the other. If the first syllable is pronounced strong, the next syllable must be weakened, and the pattern repeats itself. In this way, a poem is divided into rhythmic pairs composed of strong (X) and weak (x) sounds. If a poem has an odd number of syllables in a line, the ending syllable is always pronounced strong, forming this pattern: X x | X x | X. 

我们的耳朵习惯于视重读音节为强声（通过高音量或重读辨别），这可能会混淆我们对韵律的感知。

Our ears tend to recognize stressed syllables as having a strong sound (distinguished by its greater volume or emphasis). This may confuse our perception of rhythms.

然而，韵律的使用并非如此简单。因为汉语不是重音节奏语言语言，而是声调语言，所以强音节并不以音量来区分，而是以音调来区分。这意味着，在普通话的强音节中，音调的发音幅度更大：升调会明显地上升，降调会从更高的音调下落，以此类推。如此一来，产生的直接效果就是，元音拉长以发“满”整个音。当然，通过音量也能区分强、弱音节，但相较于音调，其作用并不明显。相反地，在弱音节中，元音被缩短，音高被削弱，甚至可以被中和，以产生一种音节连续扩展和收缩的律动。

The way how rhyme is applied is not always so clear-cut. Chinese is a tonal language, rather than a stress-timed language. Strong syllables are thus not distinguished by volume, but by tone. This means in Mandarin, strong syllables is often pronounced in a wider range of tones: if the first syllable adopts a rising tone and the next syllable a falling tone, the difference may sound particularly apparent. As a result, we must enunciate a vowel sound as clearly as possible. The volume people use may bring some difference, but its impact is small compared with the tone. In contrast, in weak syllables, the opposite is true: the vowels should be shortened and pronounced at a lower pitch. It might even be neutralized to produce a continuous stream of expanding and contracting syllables.

我们用李白和王维的两首名作来举例，英语译文出自许渊冲。在下面的文本展示中，竖线(|)用于划分停顿，粗体表示强声。

Let us use the two poems, one by Li Bai, the other by Wang Wei, as examples. Their English translations are both provided by Xu Yuanchong. We use vertical bars (|) to highlight pauses and bold type to indicate strong sound.

日      照 | 香      炉 | 生       紫 | 烟  

rì   zhào | xiāng lú | shēng zǐ | yān

遥      看 | 瀑      布 | 挂       前 | 川

yáo kàn | pù     bù | guà qián | chuān

飞      流 | 直      下 | 三       千 | 尺

fēi      liú | zhí   xià | sān qiān | chǐ

疑       是 | 银     河 | 落       九 | 天

yí      shì | yín    hé | luò     jiǔ | tiān

英语翻译：

The sunlit Censer perk exhales a wreath of cloud;

Like an upended stream the cataract sounds loud.

Its torrent dashes down three thousand feet from high;

As if the Silver River fell from azure sky.

人      闲 | 桂          花 | 落

rén xián | guì      huā | luò

夜      静 | 春           山 | 空

yè    jìng | chūn shān | kōng

月      出 | 惊           山 | 鸟

yuè chū | jīng    shān | niǎo

时       鸣 | 春          涧 | 中

shí míng | chūn   jiàn | zhōng

英语翻译：

Sweet laural blooms fall unenjoyed;

Vague hills dissolve into night void.

The moonrise startles birds to sing;

Their twitters fill the dale with spring.

那么，这样的韵律是否适用于日常对话呢？某种程度上来说，答案是肯定的。语法学家叶步青认为，现代汉语依然保持以双音节为主。也就是说，由强拍和弱拍组成的节奏对（X x）依然是基本节奏单位。然而，你可能已经注意到，普通的会话并不像古典诗歌那般严谨。强拍和弱拍之间的规律性交替被轻声（x）打破了。这种间隔音节的发音非常简短，仿佛是被“粘附”在了每对强弱节奏对（X x）的开头或结尾。

Do such rhythmic features also appear in our daily conversation? To some extent, the answer is yes. According to grammar expert Ye Buqing, most Chinese sentences are still made up of a string of double syllables. In other words, the rhythm pair (X x), composed of one upbeat and one downbeat, still stands as the basic rhythmic unit. However, as you may have noticed, the vernacular Chinese does not retain the rigor of classical poetry. The regular alternation between the upbeat and the downbeat is broken by the soft sound (x). This interval syllable is pronounced very shortly, as if it had been “affixed” to the beginning or end of each pair of strong and weak units (X x).

如：x X x 结构  

For instance, x X x pattern

把东西   bă dōngxi       “use object”

被顾客     bèi gùkè         “clients”

用力气     yòng lìqi         “use strength”

一来到   yī láidào      “the moment one arrives”

就拿出     jiù náchū        “take it out”

又如X x x 结构  

As another example, X x x pattern

美丽的  měilì de            “beautiful”

悄悄地    qiāoqiāo de       “quietly”

打扮得   dăbàn de          “dress up”

完成了   wánchéng le     “having completed”

经历过   jīnglì guo         “having experienced”

必须强调的是，我们此处指的是在句子中观察到的韵律。单个的单词听起来会有所不同，下文将解释其原因。但是，究其根本，是什么决定了一个音节在一句句子中是发强声、弱声还是轻声呢？

It must be pointed out that the prosody features that we just described only applies at the sentence level. Individual words may sound different, for which reason we shall explain soon. What most interests us is that, at the most fundamental level, what determines if a syllable is strong, weak, or soft in a sentence?

答案显而易见：在大多数汉语双音节词中，若第一个音节发强声，第二个音节发弱声，则形成一对强弱节奏对X x。名词、形容词、动词、副词、连词或数词，只要是双音节词，就遵循这一规律。

The answer is obvious: in most two-syllable words in Chinese, if the first syllable is pronounced strong, the second syllable must be weakened, forming a pair of strong and weak rhythm unit “X x”. All two-syllable words, be they of nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions, or numerals, follow this rule.

名词 Noun：

杯子               bēizi                “cup”  

酒杯             jiŭbēi               “winecup”

形容词 Adjective：

美丽             měilì                 “beautiful”

残酷             cánkù               “cruel”

动词 Verb：

喜欢             xĭhuan               “like” 

可以              kěyĭ                   “ok” 

副词 Adverb：

已经              yĭjīng                 “already” 

常常              chángcháng      “often” 

连接词 Conjunction：

如果              rúguŏ                  “if” 

虽然             suīrán                 “although” 

数词 Numeral：

二十              èrshí                   “twenty” 

三百            sānbăi             “three hundred”

在单音节词中，发音强度又各不相同。语法助词通常是弱声或轻声。例如：

In monosyllable words, the intensity varies. The grammatical particles are usually pronounced either weak or soft. For instance:

形容词成分：

     的         de         “de” used as an adjective

副词成分：

     地         de         “de” used as an adverb

补语成分：

     得        de       “de” used as a complement

时态成分：

     了 le     过 guò     在 zài 

     “le” “guò” and “zài” used as tense markers

量词：

    个 gè     杯 bēi      本 běn

     “gè” “bēi” and “běn” used as quantifiers

其他功能性单音节词，如助动词、连词、指示代词和代词等，可以发强声也可以发弱声（或轻声）。这取决于说话人是否想要强调这个词，也取决于这个词和相邻音节的位置关系。在下面的例子中（停顿用0表示），请关注指示代词 “这”（zhè）的强度是如何随着量词“件”（jiàn）的介入（并处于更弱的位置）而从弱变强的。 

Other functional monosyllabic words, such as auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, demonstrative pronouns, andpronouns, can be strong or weak (or light). It all depends on whether the speaker wishes to emphasize the word, aswell as on the positional relationship between these words and their adjacent syllables. The following examples showhow the strength of the demonstrative pronoun“这”(zhè) changes from being weak to strong with the intervention(and in a weaker position) of the quantifier “件” (jiàn).

但这 |事 0 | 和我 | 没什么 | 关系

dàn zhè | shì 0 | hé wŏ | méi shénme | guānxi

但这件 | 事 0 | 和我 | 没什么 | 关系

dàn zhè jiàn | shì 0 | hé wŏ | méi shénme | guānxi

英语翻译：This matter has nothing to do with me.

通常来说（但也有例外），介词和副词也发轻声，如介词的在（zài）和用（yòng）（表示工具和手段）及副词的都（dōu）、也（yě）和就（jiù）。

Generally speaking (there might be some exceptions), prepositions and adverbs are spoken softly. Typical examples include prepositions such as zài and yòng (meaning tools and means), and adverbs, such as dōu, yě and jiù.

两个以上音节的词语也有其自己的节奏。三个音节的词遵循强弱强（X x | X）的规律：

Words with more than two syllables also have their own rhythmic features. Words with three syllables tend to follow this pattern (X x | X):

运动场      yùndòng chăng    “sports field”

火车站     huŏchē zhàn          “railway station”

四个音节的词语，例如成语，节奏规律为X x | X x：

Chinese four-character idioms usually show the following rhythmic pattern: X x | X x

十全十美    shíquán shíměi        “perfect”

轻而易举    qīng’ér yìjŭ               “easy”

强单音节词在停顿后可以省略弱声。例如，

Strong monosyllable words can omit the weak sound following a short pause. For example,

天 0 | 已经 | 亮了。

tiān 0 | yĭjīng | liàng le

英语翻译：The sky has turned bright.

不久 | 风 0 | 停了。

bùjiŭ | fēng 0 | tíng le

英语翻译：Soon the wind stops.

她 0 | 不喜欢 | 喝 0 | 啤酒。

tā 0 | bùxĭhuān | hē 0 | píjiŭ

英语翻译：She does not like beer.

他下了 | 班 0 | 马上 | 就走了。

tā xiàle | bān 0 | măshàng | jiù zŏu le

英语翻译：After he got off work, he left soon.

停顿通常用于界定语义组合。如上例所示，停顿可以出现在单音节主语和动词之间，也可以出现在动词和多音节宾语之间，或者出现在主题部分与评述部分之间。在日常会话中，停顿的时间往往很短暂，几乎难以察觉。其他时候，它只是作为一种可能性存在，而且并不一定出现在单音节之后。不管哪种情况，停顿前的音节一般都会拉长，听起来更强，这就是所谓的“顿前拖延”。这一现象会影响到单个单词的发音，因此，在遇到新词表时，你会发现强拍似乎都在最后一个音节上，除非这个音节没有声调。

Pauses can define semantic combinations. As is shown in the above example, pauses can appear between a single-syllable subject and a verb, between a verb and a multi-syllable object, or between the topic part and the comment part. In daily conversation, pauses are often so short that they are almost imperceptible to our ear. Other times, a pause only exists nominally, and it does not necessarily appear after a single syllable. In either case, the syllable before the pause is generally prolonged and sounds stronger. This is what we call “speaking before the pause.” This phenomenon will affect the pronunciation of individual words. Therefore, when you come across a new vocabulary, you will always find the strong beat on the last syllable, unless the syllable in question has no tone.

当然，上述的这些规则非常灵活，会根据说话人所要强调的重点发生变化。但总体来说，双音节律是普通话口语的基础节奏，其基本单位由一个强拍和一个弱拍组成，如| X x |，在此前后可附着最多一个轻声音节，如| x X x |或| X x x |。此外，短暂停顿的引入则有助于打破这种单调的模式，使汉语呈现出更多变的节奏和韵律。

It must be noted that these rules are always used in a flexible way and will be adjusted depending on which part of sentence the speaker wishes to stress. However, in general, the two-syllable rhythm is still the basic structure in spoken Mandarin, in which a strong beat is followed by a weak beat to form a | X x | pattern. Each unit can be preceded or followed by one light tone, forming a | x X x | or a | X x x | pattern. At the same time, short pauses help break this monotonous pattern, giving Chinese varied flows and rhythms.

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作者：Amilton Reis

翻译：李睿 Li Rui

图文排版 | 刘美洋（实习）

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