为什么中国人说话这么大声？ [美国媒体]

Why do the Chinese speak so loudly?

为什么中国人说话这么大声？



Roy Goh, I am Malaysian（我是马来西亚人）
Updated Oct 22
Hah, this is an easy one.
The Chinese language and dialects are tonal;Mandarin has 5 tones [1] - if we count the neutral tone.
Cantonese has up to 6 tones. A HongKong friend oncetold me there might be 8 for some words but I cannot confirm this.
​
哈哈，这很简单。中国语言和方言是声调的；如果算上轻声的话，普通话有五种声调。广东话有六种声调。有一个香港朋友之前对我说某些词有八种声调，但是我无法确证。

This means, when you say ONE WORD (a monosyllable)in standard Mandarin, its meaning is carried in the intonation of the word. Soone monosyllable word can mean 4–5 different things just by its intonation.
Now imagine if you had to whisper these words;OMFG:
余与汝，遇于雨。 汝语余，于雨余 。 于汝寓，汝娱余。 汝予乳，予余娱。余预羽，羽娱乳。娱乳余，汝如雨。余御汝，如鱼愉。御汝余，愈誉余。
Jyutping: jyu4jyu5 jyu5, jyu6 jyu1 jyu5. jyu5 jyu5 jyu4, jyu1 jyu5 jyu4. jyu1 jyu5 jyu6, jyu5jyu4 jyu4. jyu5 jyu5 jyu5, jyu5 jyu4 jyu4. jyu4 jyu6 jyu5, jyu5 jyu4 jyu5. jyu4jyu5 jyu4, jyu5 jyu4 jyu5. jyu4 jyu6 jyu5, jyu4 jyu4 jyu4. jyu6 jyu5 jyu4, jyu6jyu6 jyu4.

这意味着当你用标准普通话念出一个字（单音节）时，其意思要通过声调来辨明。所以一个单音节字通过声调就可以有4-5种意思。现在想象一下你必须轻声说出以下词语：
余与汝，遇于雨。 汝语余，于雨余 。 于汝寓，汝娱余。 汝予乳，予余娱。余预羽，羽娱乳。娱乳余，汝如雨。余御汝，如鱼愉。御汝余，愈誉余。



Above photo shows us a typical Chinese village.Each family has its own house and yard. The social distance is normally morethan 10 meters, sometimes could be 50 meters if in the farming field. It’snatural that people speak much louder in such living environment.

以上照片显示了一个典型的中国农村。每个家庭都有自己的房子和院子。所以社交距离通常大于10米，有时候在农田里的话距离可能相隔50米。所以在这样的生活环境中人们讲话更大声是很自然的事情。

Some may be confused why rural people speak louderhas anything to do with the fact that Chinese in general speak louder than thewestern average, because not every Chinese lives in a village.

有些人可能不解，为什么农村人讲话大声和中国人大体上比西方人讲话大声有关系，毕竟不是所有中国人都生活在农村啊。



Living in the rural/suburban areas, you’d have tospeak louder just to make sure others from 10 meters away can hear you clearly.While living in the city with people standing next to each other, it’s simplynot necessary to speak loud.
Younger generations who were born in the city speakmuch quieter than their parents. It’s a trend.

生活在农村和郊区，你必须说话大声才能让十米开外的他人听得清楚。而城市里人们面对面，没必要说话大声。城市里出生的年轻人比父辈说话要小声。这是趋势。