Learning"Hanyu Pinyin" has become a question of "how?" instead of "Why?" ever since the international Organization for
Standardization(ISO) officially adopted this spelling system as the standard form for Romanization for modern Chinese in 1982.
Hanyu Pinyin, or Just Pinyin, uses 25 English letters (without "v") to represent about 400 standard Mandarin sounds (not including tones). It combines 21 consonants and 35 vowels to make all of these sounds. Therefore, when you have learned all 56 phonetic symbols and the way to pronounce the compounds, you can pretty much say all the Chinese words.
This book is meant to give you the whole picture of the pinyin system in a short period of time. There are a total of 13 small lessons;
each introduces 4.3 symbols on average. A great majority of these symbols are presented with a similar sounding American English word to give you an easy start. In each lesson, you will only find symbols which have been previously introduced. Through a compounding system, you will learn new pinyin symbols while practicing the old ones. This book intends to provide the learner, whether it is you or your student, with a practical course to master the entire pinyin system thoroughly and effortlessly. Moreover, in the second half of this book a Practice/Play module is offered so students can practice at their own pace. After you have mastered these pinyin pronunciations, you will have learned all the 400 possible Mandarin sounds with their tones.
What's special about this book?
A two-in-one book, A bi-lingual book, Cross-reference of Zhuyin and Pinyin, Learning Chinese based on English experience, 4.3 symbols per lesson, Learning new symbols on top of the old ones, Tips for teachers and self-learners, Simplified categorization, Practicing while playing, Suitable for all ages. Traditional Chinese character, English and Pinyin + 2CDs.
漢語拼音拿了25個英文字母做符號，設計成21個子音，與35個母音， 由它們不同的組合， 來發漢語中近400 個不同的單音 （不計聲調）。 所以， 只要你學會這56個符號的發音， 以及它們組合的拼音法， 你就可以發出所有漢語的單音。
在這本書裡, 你將很快掌握漢語拼音的全貌. 在小小的13課中 每課平均只學4.3個符號, 每個符號直接用英文字的美國讀音,引導發音. 並且絕不出現你尚未學過的符號, 讓你用已學過的材料, 從複習中, 按部就班的學習新內容. 不管是老師教學生, 或是父母教孩子, 甚至自學者, 都可以在短短的時間內, 輕鬆地, 完整地學完全部漢語拼音. 更好的是, 你可以配合學習進度, 在後面拼玩篇中, 依次練習400 個漢語發音. 加上聲調練習, 你就已經真正地在學習所有中國的語音, 字音了. 學會這套拼音後， 讓你的中文學起來事半功倍， 早日達成你學習中文的目的。