Earlier this month the Sarawak Cultural Village, just outside of Kuching, Malaysia, hosted its 18th annual Rainforest World Music Festival. Each year the festival brings together indigenous musicians from Borneo and renowned groups from around the world with the mission to unite artists and concertgoers alike through the diversity of music. Set at the foot of Mount Santubong in the lush rainforest of the Damai Peninsular, the Cultural Village, designated a "living museum," is comprised of a number of huts, longhouses (traditional communal village house), small theaters, food tents and of course, stages. Adding another distinct element to the location, the venue is circular, with a series of wooden boardwalks connecting the raised buildings so music being played on the main stage can be heard throughout.
I was lucky enough to experience all three days of festivities and take in the workshops, ethno-musical lectures, jam sessions, dance lessons and concerts held each afternoon. In attending workshops on Aka Pygmy music and life, the Maloya chanting of Réunion Island and the Boduberu trance-inducing music of the Maldives, all too quickly it became apparent that there were so many fascinating genres of world music I was completely oblivious to. For this reason, here are six musical categories and groups I suggest you add to your next playlist.
Of all the types of music that I wasn't previously aware of, this is the one that I really, really wish I could have stumbled upon years ago. Calypso is recognized as the national music of Trinidad and Tobago, the land from which it originated. The style is rooted in Afro-Caribbean music and can be traced back to the West African Kaiso style; one that was introduced by the enslaved Ibibio people of southeast Nigeria who were brought to Trinidad. Calypso can be characterized by its use of call and response, percussive rhythmic beats and extemporaneous singing. Original calypsos were typically sung in French Creole by griots, West African storytellers, historians, musicians and those carrying on oral traditions. The Rainforest World Music festival welcomed the calypso group Kobo Town, which was a major hit with the audience and one of my personal favorites.
Boduberu is a popular form of folk music and dance native to the Maldives and dating back to the 11th century. Similar styles of music can be found in east and southwest Africa. Boduberu groups most commonly consist of 15 to 20 members with roughly three to four drummers and one lead singer (the rest act as a chorus). The way boduberu music unfolds is that as the song builds and rhythm picks up, chorus members who feel inspired to dance will leave the line up and move to the front to express themselves however they feel inclined. Typical dance is very high energy–often frenzied, and dancers are known to go into trances. Since the music is commonly sung during festive occasions, spectators are also encouraged to join in. Check out the video below of Harubee, a popular Maldivian band that performed at this year's RWMF.
Maloya is a popular form of call and response music from the Indian Ocean island of Réunion. It is an indigenous music with ancestry rooted in Africa and Madagascar and lyrics often revolve around politics and slavery. Being one of the two major genres from the island, it is traditionally sung in Réunion Creole. Instruments unique to the style include the roulér barrel drum, kayamb seed rattle, pikér bamboo idiophone and sati metal idiophone. RWMF performers from the group Lindigo brought high energy to the festival with their performance and their interactive workshop.
The yangqin is a hammered Chinese dulcimer originally from Persia. There are many theories on how the yangqin made it to China; the Silk Road, trade through the port of Guangzhou, or it possibly could have just been from China all along, but historians can't agree on which is correct. The instrument is formed by a number of bronze or steel alloy strings (normally 144) which are tapped with rubber tipped bamboo mallets. Songs can be played by soloists or ensembles. As someone without an extensive knowledge of musical terminology, I have no way of describing the incredible sounds and extreme range created by this instrument. You simply must listen to it. The group below, the Kenwy Yang-Qin Ensemble from Sarawak, blew me away with the speed at which they played and their ability to look away from their instruments while playing!
Hailing from Veracruz, Mexico, Son Jarocho is a mixture of indigenous, Spanish and African music. I bet most of you know a Son Jarocho song and didn't even know it–La Bamba is in fact part of the musical tradition. The regional style usually features themes of love and nature and a favorite subject is sailors and the ocean. Common instruments include the small guitar-like jarana jarocha, an octagonal tambourine known as the pandero jarocho and the acoustic bass guitar. In attendance at RWMF was Son de Madera, a group straight from Veracruz.
The Oud is a stringed instrument commonly played in many types of Middle Eastern and North African music. In Arabic music specifically, the Oud is an extremely common instrument used to accompany and compliment elaborate folk tales. A cousin of the lute and an ancestor of the guitar, the Oud is a pear-shaped, hollow instrument with 11 strings (10 of which are paired) and no frets. Driss El Maloumi, a Moroccan Oud virtuoso who played at RWMF, brought to the stage a fusion of classical Arabic music, Berber music, jazz and blues.
If you're interested in learning more about the Rainforest World Music Festival or the other artists who performed this year (there were 23 in total) check them out here.
Chelsea Stuart is a recent graduate of Boston's Emerson College. When she's not reeling from wanderlust (she lived on a ship for four months and visited 15 countries with the study abroad program Semester at Sea), she's planning her next trip, reading, writing, thrifting, drinking an absurd amount of coffee and Netflix bingeing like any good Millennial. Follow her on Twitter.


text:
John Pickard was born on 11 September, 1963 and started to compose at an early age. He read for his B.Mus. degree at the University of Wales, Bangor, where his composition teacher was William Mathias. Between 1984 and 1985 he studied with Louis Andriessen at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Netherlands on a Dutch Ministry of Culture Scholarship. He was awarded a PhD in composition in 1989 and is currently Professor of Composition and Applied Musicology at the University of Bristol, where has worked since 1993.
John Pickard is best known for a series of powerful orchestral and instrumental works. He has written five symphonies (No. 2 premièred by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in 1989; No. 3, a BBC commission for BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Mark Wigglesworth, premièred in 1997), and other orchestral works of symphonic dimensions: Sea-Change (1989), The Flight of Icarus (1990), Channel Firing (1992-93) and the Trombone Concerto: The Spindle of Necessity (1997-98). The Flight of Icarus (a BBC commission), received its first performance in 1991 by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, was repeated by them at the 1996 BBC Proms and has since been played many times, both in Britain and abroad.
Other major works include the large-scale oratorio Agamemnon's Tomb (2005-08), commissioned by the Huddersfield Choral Society, and premièred by them in 2008, Tenebrae (2008-9) composed for the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, and first performed in 2010, and the hour-long Gaia Symphony (1991-2003) for brass band, first heard in its complete version at the 2005 Cheltenham Music Festival. John Pickard's commitment to the brass band movement was marked in 2001, when he was appointed Composer in Residence to the renowned Cory Band, a position he held until 2004. In 2005 he was commissioned to compose the test piece for the finals of the 2005 National Brass Band Championship, held at the Royal Albert Hall, London in October. This piece, Eden, has since been performed all over the world and is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important works ever written for brass band.
John Pickard's music has been widely praised for its large-scale architectural sense and bold handling of an extended tonal idiom. His four string quartets (1991, 1993, 1994, 1998), have received particular acclaim. Reviewing the première of the Fourth Quartet in June 1998, The Strad called it "one of the best pieces of British chamber music to be heard for years" while the January 2003 edition of Tempo, reviewing the Sorrel Quartet's CD of Quartets 2, 3 & 4 (Dutton Epoch CDLX 71117), said "even if Pickard were never to write another quartet in his life, his place among the greats is secure". His orchestral music has also received critical praise. The U.S. première in 2006 of The Flight of Icarus by the San Francisco Symphony was described by the San Francisco Chronicle as 'a translucent and achingly lovely memorial to the fallen Icarus' and 'a serious contender for the most exciting musical premiere of 2006.'
An increasing number of John Pickard's compositions is available on CD. The major international label BIS Records has issued three discs devoted to his music. Two discs of his chamber music have been issued on the Toccata Classics label, including Quartets 1 & 5.
In addition to his compositional activities, John is General Editor of the Elgar Complete Edition.
John Pickard's music is published by Bardic Edition and available through Schott Music

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


UK electronic duo Simian Mobile Disco recently released their new single and video for 'Your Love Ain't Fair', the latest from their new album 'Unpatterns'. In the build up to the release of 'Unpatterns', the last few months have seen a whirlwind of activity for James Ford and Jas Shaw. They've released a clutch of diverse videos and have taken their DJ set to clubs and festival stages both internationally and across North America.


ParkAlert digital rear parking sensor system is a revolutionary advancement in obstacle detection. Triangulation technology, using the multi-sensor setup, calibrates obstacle detection for improved distance detection, reduced blind spots, and improved obstacle warning reversing.
When objects are detected, two back-up sensors simultaneously locate that obstacle and use unique algorithms to eliminate any dead zone areas (areas behind your vehicle that are not detected by the system). ParkAlert can be set up as a two sensor or four sensor system, and your system auto-programs for your installation.
Rear parking system sensor kits include four low profile, quick connect sensors that snap into the single 8' wire-loom protected harness and connect to the electronic control module via a single OE style looking connector.


I am looking to do some order (harmonic) analysis on an electric motor that has an encoder.
To do this analysis, we need to log data from the torque sensor on each encoder pulse.
Previosly we have done this using a National Instruments data acquisition card and Labivew. I was wondering if it was possible to set up the external trigger on a picoscope to acquire data in this way.
All of the information I have about triggering on the picoscope seems to relate to triggering a screen or a batch of data rather than triggering every data point.
Please take a look at our guide for advanced triggering http://www.picotech.com/education/oscil ... ering.html, the functionality is available in the Picoscope software and through the programming interface.
If you need further clarification then please contact our technical team at support@picotech.com and they will be able to assist you.


text:
Чуровка — река, протекающая по территории Нелазского сельского поселения Череповецкого района Вологодской области России, левый приток Суды.

Течёт на юго-восток, впадает в Суду в 2 км от её устья в деревне Плешаново. Длина реки составляет 11 км. Крупных притоков нет.

Данные водного реестра
По данным государственного водного реестра России относится к Верхневолжскому бассейновому округу, водохозяйственный участок реки — Суда от истока и до устья, речной подбассейн реки — Реки бассейна Рыбинского водохранилища. Речной бассейн реки — (Верхняя) Волга до Куйбышевского водохранилища (без бассейна Оки).

Код объекта в государственном водном реестре — 08010200212110000008125.

Примечания

Притоки Суды (приток Волги)
Реки Череповецкого района

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Jessica is a new character for the Genesis 3 Female made using photo references. Her morphs are fully customised. She has a highly customised shader to give the most relaistic results possible to fit with the skin in most light situations.


text:
© Decatur Morgan Tourism
Visit North Alabama Blog
North Alabama Blog
North Alabama is full of adventure! If you love food, we've got it. If you love festivals, we've got them. If you love the outdoors, we've got plenty of places to explore. Whatever you love, we're sure to have something for you. Check out our blog posts, and you'll see what we mean.
Carley's Adventures: Noccalula Falls Park
Sunday, June 18, 2017 by Melea Hames
The first episode of Carley's Adventures is at Noccalula Falls Park in Gadsden. The park is named after Creek Indian princess Noccalula. There are so many fun things to do at Noccalula Falls!
Of course, the main attraction is the 90 foot waterfall that falls and flows into Black Creek. Beside the waterfall is the iconic statue of Princess Noccalula. This waterfall is also on the North Alabama Waterfall Trail.
If you feel adventurous, you can hike down a trail and behind the waterfall. You can even splash around a little in the creek. Please wear appropriate shoes for hiking this trail.
There is a replica Chattanooga Choo Choo train that carries visitors all around the park, stopping at various locations. The train is complete with a conductor who tells you about the features of the park.
The petting zoo has all kinds of amazing animals you can pet and feed. Beware of the llama; he's greedy. There's even a 400 lb. lion named Shelia!
Kids will love climbing on the rocks and adults can see if they can make it through "Fat Man's Squeeze"!
For the history buffs, there's a pioneer village that has buildings from the 1700s and 1800s.
Play a round of miniature golf at the 18-hole course just outside the main park.
Cool off with a Frios frozen pop in lots of delicious flavors.
Noccalula Falls Park is a must-see in North Alabama! Make sure you watch the first episode of Carley's Adventures on YouTube: Carley's Adventure: Noccalula Falls.
Author: Melea Hames
A 1995 Auburn University graduate, Melea has been a social media manager in the tourism industry for more than 11 years at Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. Prior to working for AMLA, Melea received her Masters at UNA in Secondary Education and taught middle school English and coached middle school cheerleaders for three years. She also taught English at Calhoun Community College for 8 1/2 half years. Before that she worked in public relations for an advertising agency in Atlanta, a minor league baseball team in Columbus, Georgia, and for Auburn University in the development office. Just last year, Melea created her very own social media marketing agency with a friend called M and M Social. She loves to write, travel, walk in the park (she walked over 600 miles in 2020), go to Auburn games, and read books about WWII.
Cody Hood (2)
Gary & Katelyn Henderson - Secondary Adventure (2)
Kelly Thomas (1)
Melea Hames (93)
Robert Posey (1)
Scott Baker (1)
Tennessee Valley Authority (1)
Vanessa Bowser (2)
Zenovia Stephens (2)


Jeff Ifrah, a lawyer for Full Tilt stated today that "The future is a question of whether we can still find an interested investor." Ifrah also announced that the company is in talks with a yet unnamed French investor and another possible buyer.
Full Tilt it could be argued has been the hardest hit since the DOJ released indictments on three online poker companies in April. Since then they have come under fire for not paying out withdrawals of players, had their license pulled in France and by Alderney and just last week being acused of being a "global Ponzi scheme" by Preet Bharara, Manhattan's chief prosecutor.
Alderney's Gambling Control Commission is a big clog in the wheel of a possible sale. Alderney revoked Full Tilts license back in July and even though the Commission met every day lst week, e ruling to reinstate the license has yet to be decided.


Android TV was actually launched back in the year 2014 and can do a lot for you if the suitable Apps are installed. In this article, we are going to share our list of 3 best Apps for Android TV Box.
Google Drive Application is one the best platforms which actually enable users to store their important files or content. Customers can get unlimited access to all their cloud data by simply downloading the app in their TV.
Netflix is a well known movie as well as TV programs streaming platform. Moreover, it is one of the most affordable video streaming services and this is why it is most popular amongst the users as one of the best Apps for Android TV Box.
Twitch is one of the best live-streaming video platforms which enable gamers to post their live video game streams. The app also gives you the freedom to learn new gaming techniques and users can also play various games by watching gameplay.
That was all about best Android TV Box Apps in 2019, stay connected for more interesting news, reviews and updates coming your way.


"When I was born my mom lost a lot of blood, so without people's donation she would've died; she lost pulse for five minutes and (donated blood) saved my mom so I'm just giving back," said Engineer major Sergio Rodriguez on why he was personally giving blood.
The Blood Source Organization hosted a blood drive in the staff parking lot adjacent to the roundabout on Tuesday and Wednesday and invited students and faculty across campus to go out and donate anytime between 12-4p.m.
Engineer major, Sergio Rodriguez, reason for donating stemmed from almost losing his mother when she was giving birth to him.
Rodriguez has donated blood for since his freshman year at Del Campo High School, donating to American River College's blood drive for over three years.
"I have donated blood four times at ARC," said Rodriguez.
The average time to go through the process of donation – applying, waiting in line, and donating – takes about 45 minutes according to a volunteer working the event, however the Blood Source Organization website says it takes five to 10 minutes to actually donate.
The amount of blood that is donated to Blood Source by students is approximately a pint which, according to the Blood Source webpage, can save three lives.
In order to have given blood on campus, students were required to sign a pre-registration giving their personal contact information.
A handout, known as the donor education sheet, is then given to the donor by a volunteer to use as a guide to understand the donation process.
A handout on the pre-donation information that included topics such as iron deficiency and ways to maintain iron balance was also passed out.
Iron is an important component inside the protein molecule, hemoglobin, which allows red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to the body's tissues and return carbon dioxide from the tissues to the lungs. If the body does not have enough iron the body cannot make a sufficient amount of healthy, red blood cells.
Potential donors ran the risk of being turned away for their personal safety if their iron levels were too low.
History major, Nicole Nichols, was worried that iron in her blood was not sufficient enough to donate.
"I was worried that my iron was 12 points below," said Nichols.
Another participant that donated blood was math major, Josh Thayer.
Thayer had donated blood before at his high school, Mira Loma, this was his first experience with donating on campus.
Thayer commented on the reasons he is willing to donate blood.
"(Blood is) a valuable resource," Thayer said.
Be the first to comment on "Donating blood means saving lives"


Death is inevitable and the process of decay is a powerful reminder of our mortality. Using visual triggers such as representations of rotting flesh, my work provokes questions of existence. Rather than accepting death, coping mechanisms are created in order to avoid it. One of these mechanisms is manifest in the desire for longevity and the current cultural narrative of the cyborg as an indulgence of the fantasy of physical immortality. There is a rising enthusiasm about the technological singularity, an epoch in the near future that brings hope with ideas like digital souls, a cure for aging and cybernetic bodies. I explored the concept of the decaying cybernetic body as a means to remind the viewer that there is no physical immortality and death is certain to come no matter what kind of body you possess. The technological singularity is a fatal fantasy; it should be feared rather than exulted.


text:
package com.jayway.jsonpath.internal.filter;

import com.jayway.jsonpath.Configuration;
import com.jayway.jsonpath.Filter;

import java.util.LinkedList;

/**
 * @author Kalle Stenflo
 */
public class ArrayQueryFilter extends PathTokenFilter {

    ArrayQueryFilter(String condition) {
        super(condition);
    }

    @Override
    public Object filter(Object obj, Configuration configuration, LinkedList<Filter> filters, boolean inArrayContext) {
        Filter filter = filters.poll();
        return filter.doFilter(configuration.getProvider().toIterable(obj), configuration);
    }

    @Override
    public Object filter(Object obj, Configuration configuration) {
        throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
    }

    @Override
    public Object getRef(Object obj, Configuration configuration) {
        throw new UnsupportedOperationException("");
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isArrayFilter() {
        return true;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Getting a reputed process service agent is tough. There are many businesses that function in the community, but all are not high quality. Your research becomes essential under such circumstances. If you are searching for the ideal process service agent available on the market, you must conduct a thorough research around the company prior to getting them to do the job. Here are some tips to think about when looking for the very best process servers in the marketplace.
Sacramento Process server play a crucial part from the court functions. For those who have filed an instance against someone and you should give you the court summons to her or him who lives at this address, you are able to work with a process server for the job social security number lookup by cityon the part of you. You ought to locate a reputed and experienced agent how to find out someones social security number on the market because if the documents are certainly not sent to the defendant on time, the legal court proceedings may struggle to get above the ground. That is certainly why you need to hire the very best process server agent in the marketplace for the job.
Look into the reputation, experience, qualifications, skills, and customer opinions of the potential candidate prior to deciding to hire them for the position. The internet is a great starting place your homework when deciding on the best candidate to do the job. There are lots of online review sites that you can to check on to gauge the feedback received from the process server. Be sure theprocess server Sacramento includes numerous positive reviews from the majority of his clients. These are typically important facts to consider when hiring the best process serving agent around.
In conclusion, are you searching for the best process service agent around? You should do the study before selecting the best candidate to supply court summons on the defendant.


Folded leaflets will be despatched after 3 working days for delivery the working day after.
E.g. Monday: Order by 5pm, approve PDF proof by 6pm delivery Friday.
All prices include delivery to one mainland UK address.
on 01204 328273 if you have any questions.


No one really knew what Vesta looked like until NASA's Dawn spacecraft decided to drop in on it. Now, images taken by the spacecraft have been stitched together to create a virtual flyover of the jumbo-sized space rock.
Vesta is located approximately 100 million miles from Earth in the solar system's main asteroid belt—home to countless bodies that circle the sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Scientists believe the asteroid formed prior to the planets, making it one of the oldest objects in space that's within our reach. After a four-year journey, Dawn arrived at Vesta in 2011 and spent 14 months mapping its surface. The close-up views shed light on a world filled with mountains, cliffs, valleys and craters. Watch the video for a tour that highlights some of Vesta's most impressive features.
This animation, from Cassini's navigation team, shows the spacecraft's final orbits in 2016 and 2017.
This animated graphic shows how Saturn and its moon Enceladus are electrically linked.


A few thoughts developed as i happened to discuss the definition of corporate governance with someone. Thought i should jot it down here for future expansion (it seems i have spawned another thread for myself!:)).
For me, the changing dynamics in the modern, economic world seem to somehow enforce a lot of importance on how corporate governance should be looked at. If stakeholders, business profitability, accountability etc were the factors, i reckon that most of the modern organisations facing the oil crisis, would give two hoots to the above named factors and scoot!
Airline companies, today, are like a herd of wilderbeasts staring at a pride on one side and crocodiles on the other; remind them of these factors and you will most likely face acute amnesia!
For me, as i understand (through analysis in magazines and TV channels only of course) the dramatically changing economics (not economies) in various countries in the modern, post-Iraq war era, it becomes imperative for me to consider Acquisition, Alignment with the dynamics of an economy, Accountability to sound principles of operations, Adherence to Environment Regulations and Adaptability as key areas in modern corporate governance.


You've probably heard and used some of the date/time plugins for OBS on Windows, like Snaz. There's plenty of options for Windows.
However, if I wasn't wrong, there's currently no any OBS plugin for macOS that can help us to display some information like current time in our livestream.
Introducing OBSTimeBud, a plugin for Open Broadcaster Software on macOS to show the current time in your livestream.
This program is based on an assignment I had last year for one of my Mac development course in Arizona State University. It was about making a tiny program that has both the current time display and a stopwatch functionality in a simple GUI. Similar to the idea what Snaz has, I started making the OBSTimeBud app that can save and update the current time into a TXT file. Then, user can make a new text into the livestream and make this text as the content of this TXT file, which is the current time, by reading this TXT file.


Take the guesswork out of learning to sing Nisbet's 'Vocalise No. 5' (Technical Work No. 3) (from the AMEB Singing Grade 1 book) with these high-quality piano accompaniment recordings and additional melody parts, performed by professional Australian accompanist Peta van Drempt.
9 high-quality tracks, including piano accompaniment, solo melody and a piano + melody track for each key: F major (high voice), Eb major (medium voice) and D major (low voice).
Sheet music source: AMEB Singing (Series 2) 1st Grade Books - High Voice & Medium/Low Voice..


text:
This article is about the group of Chinese dialects. For the official language, Putonghua, see Standard Chinese. For the administrative language of China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, see Mandarin (late imperial lingua franca).
官话; 官話; Guānhuà
Guānhuà (Mandarin)
written in Chinese characters
(traditional Chinese on the left, simplified Chinese on the right)
Most of northern and southwestern China (see also Standard Chinese)
960 million (2010)[1]
Language family
Sinitic
Early forms
Old Chinese
Middle Chinese
Old Mandarin
Standard Chinese
(Putonghua, Guoyu)
Ji–Lu
Jiao–Liao
Lower Yangtze
Central Plains
Lan–Yin
Jin (sometimes a separate group)
Huizhou (disputed)
Writing system
Cyrillic (Dungan alphabet)
Xiao'erjing
Mainland Chinese Braille
Taiwanese Braille
Two-Cell Chinese Braille
Signed forms
Wenfa Shouyu[2]
mand1415[3]
Linguasphere
79-AAA-b
Mandarin area in China, with Jin (sometimes treated as a separate group) in light green
官話
Literal meaning
officials' speech
Guānhuà
Northern Chinese
北方話
Northern speech
Běifānghuà
Mandarin ( i/ˈmændᵊrɪn/; simplified Chinese: 官话; traditional Chinese: 官話; pinyin: Guānhuà; literally: "speech of officials") is a group of related varieties of Chinese spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of Standard Chinese, which is also referred to as "Mandarin". Because most Mandarin dialects are found in the north, the group is sometimes referred to as the Northern dialects (北方话; běifānghuà). Many local Mandarin varieties are not mutually intelligible. Nevertheless, Mandarin is often placed first in any list of languages by number of native speakers (with nearly a billion).
Mandarin is by far the largest of the seven or ten Chinese dialect groups, with 70 per cent of Chinese speakers and a huge area stretching from Yunnan in the southwest to Xinjiang in the northwest and Heilongjiang in the northeast. This is attributed to the greater ease of travel and communication in the North China Plain compared to the more mountainous south, combined with the relatively recent spread of Mandarin to frontier areas.
Most Mandarin varieties have four tones. The final stops of Middle Chinese have disappeared in most of these varieties, but some have merged them as a final glottal stop. Many Mandarin varieties, including the Beijing dialect, retain retroflex initial consonants, which have been lost in southern dialect groups.
The capital has been within the Mandarin area for most of the last millennium, making these dialects very influential. Some form of Mandarin has served as a national lingua franca since the 14th century. In the early 20th century, a standard form based on the Beijing dialect, with elements from other Mandarin dialects, was adopted as the national language. Standard Chinese is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Taiwan (Republic of China) and one of the four official languages of Singapore. It is also one of the most frequently used varieties of Chinese among Chinese diaspora communities internationally.
The English word "mandarin" (from Portuguese mandarim, from Malay menteri, from Sanskrit mantrin, meaning "minister or counsellor") originally meant an official of the Ming and Qing empires.[4][5][lower-alpha 1] Since their native varieties were often mutually unintelligible, these officials communicated using a Koiné language based on various northern varieties. When Jesuit missionaries learned this standard language in the 16th century, they called it "Mandarin", from its Chinese name Guānhuà (官话/官話), or "language of the officials".[7]
In everyday English, "Mandarin" refers to Standard Chinese, which is often called simply "Chinese". Standard Chinese is based on the particular Mandarin dialect spoken in Beijing, with some lexical and syntactic influence from other Mandarin dialects. It is the official spoken language of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the official language of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan), and one of the four official languages of the Republic of Singapore. It also functions as the language of instruction in Mainland China and in Taiwan. It is one of the six official languages of the United Nations, under the name "Chinese". Chinese speakers refer to the modern standard language as
Pǔtōnghuà (普通话/普通話, literally "common speech") in Mainland China,
Guóyǔ (國語, literally "national language") in Taiwan, or
Huáyǔ (华语/華語, literally "Hua language") in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines,
but not as Guānhuà.[8]
Linguists use the term "Mandarin" to refer to the diverse group of dialects spoken in northern and southwestern China, which Chinese linguists call Guānhuà. The alternative term Běifānghuà (北方话/北方話), or "Northern dialects", is used less and less among Chinese linguists. By extension, the term "Old Mandarin" or "Early Mandarin" is used by linguists to refer to the northern dialects recorded in materials from the Yuan dynasty.
Native speakers who are not academic linguists may not recognize that the variants they speak are classified in linguistics as members of "Mandarin" (or so-called "Northern dialects") in a broader sense. Within Chinese social or cultural discourse, there is not a common "Mandarin" identity based on language; rather, there are strong regional identities centred on individual dialects because of the wide geographical distribution and cultural diversity of their speakers. Speakers of forms of Mandarin other than the standard typically refer to the variety they speak by a geographic name—for example Sichuan dialect, Hebei dialect or Northeastern dialect, all being regarded as distinct from the standard language.
The thousands of modern local varieties of Chinese developed from regional variants of Old Chinese and Middle Chinese. Traditionally, seven major groups of dialects have been recognized. Aside from Mandarin, the other six are Wu, Gan and Xiang in central China, and Min, Hakka and Yue on the southeast coast.[9] The Language Atlas of China (1987) distinguishes three further groups: Jin (split from Mandarin), Huizhou in the Huizhou region of Anhui and Zhejiang, and Pinghua in Guangxi and Yunnan.[10][11]
Main article: Old Mandarin
A page of the Menggu Ziyun, covering the syllables tsim to lim
After the fall of the Northern Song (959–1126) and during the reign of the Jin (1115–1234) and Yuan (Mongol) dynasties in northern China, a common speech developed based on the dialects of the North China Plain around the capital, a language referred to as Old Mandarin. New genres of vernacular literature were based on this language, including verse, drama and story forms, such as the qu and sanqu poetry.[12]
The rhyming conventions of the new verse were codified in a rime dictionary called the Zhongyuan Yinyun (1324). A radical departure from the rime table tradition that had evolved over the previous centuries, this dictionary contains a wealth of information on the phonology of Old Mandarin. Further sources are the 'Phags-pa script based on the Tibetan alphabet, which was used to write several of the languages of the Mongol empire, including Chinese, and the Menggu Ziyun, a rime dictionary based on 'Phags-pa. The rime books differ in some details, but overall show many of the features characteristic of modern Mandarin dialects, such as the reduction and disappearance of final plosives and the reorganization of the Middle Chinese tones.[13]
In Middle Chinese, initial stops and affricates showed a three-way contrast between tenuis, voiceless aspirated and voiced consonants. There were four tones, with the fourth, or "entering tone", a checked tone comprising syllables ending in plosives (-p, -t or -k). Syllables with voiced initials tended to be pronounced with a lower pitch, and by the late Tang dynasty, each of the tones had split into two registers conditioned by the initials. When voicing was lost in all languages except the Wu subfamily, this distinction became phonemic and the system of initials and tones was rearranged differently in each of the major groups.[14]
The Zhongyuan Yinyun shows the typical Mandarin four-tone system resulting from a split of the "even" tone and loss of the entering tone, with its syllables distributed across the other tones (though their different origin is marked in the dictionary). Similarly, voiced plosives and affricates have become voiceless aspirates in the "even" tone and voiceless non-aspirates in others, another distinctive Mandarin development. However, the language still retained a final -m, which has merged with -n in modern dialects, and initial voiced fricatives. It also retained the distinction between velars and alveolar sibilants in palatal environments, which later merged in most Mandarin dialects to yield a palatal series (rendered j-, q- and x- in pinyin).[15]
The flourishing vernacular literature of the period also shows distinctively Mandarin vocabulary and syntax, though some, such as the third-person pronoun tā (他), can be traced back to the Tang dynasty.[16]
Vernacular literature
Until the early 20th century, formal writing and even much poetry and fiction was done in Literary Chinese, which was modeled on the classics of the Warring States period and the Han dynasty. Over time, the various spoken varieties diverged greatly from Literary Chinese, which was learned and composed as a special language. Preserved from the sound changes that affected the various spoken varieties, its economy of expression was greatly valued. For instance, 翼 (yì, wing) is unambiguous in written Chinese, but has over 75 homophones in Standard Chinese.
The literary language was less appropriate for recording materials that were meant to be reproduced in oral presentations, materials such as plays and grist for the professional story-teller's mill. From at least the Yuan dynasty, plays that recounted the subversive tales of China's Robin Hoods to the Ming dynasty novels such as Water Margin, on down to the Qing dynasty novel Dream of the Red Chamber and beyond, there developed a literature in written vernacular Chinese (白话/白話 báihuà). In many cases, this written language reflected Mandarin varieties, and since pronunciation differences were not conveyed in this written form, this tradition had a unifying force across all the Mandarin-speaking regions and beyond.[17]
Hu Shih, a pivotal figure of the first half of the twentieth century, wrote an influential and perceptive study of this literary tradition, entitled Báihuà Wénxuéshǐ (A History of Vernacular Literature).
Koiné of the Late Empire
Main article: Mandarin (late imperial lingua franca)
Zhongguo Guanhua (中國官話), or Medii Regni Communis Loquela ("Middle Kingdom's Common Speech"), used on the frontispiece of an early Chinese grammar published by Étienne Fourmont (with Arcadio Huang) in 1742[18]
The Chinese have different languages in different provinces, to such an extent that they cannot understand each other.... [They] also have another language which is like a universal and common language; this is the official language of the mandarins and of the court; it is among them like Latin among ourselves.... Two of our fathers [Michele Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci] have been learning this mandarin language...
— Alessandro Valignano, Historia del principio y progresso de la Compañía de Jesús en las Indias Orientales (1542–1564)[19]
Until the mid-20th century, most Chinese people living in many parts of South China spoke only their local variety. As a practical measure, officials of the Ming and Qing dynasties carried out the administration of the empire using a common language based on Mandarin varieties, known as Guānhuà. Knowledge of this language was thus essential for an official career, but it was never formally defined.[8]
Officials varied widely in their pronunciation; in 1728, the Yongzheng Emperor, unable to understand the accents of officials from Guangdong and Fujian, issued a decree requiring the governors of those provinces to provide for the teaching of proper pronunciation. Although the resulting Academies for Correct Pronunciation (正音書院, Zhèngyīn Shūyuàn) were short-lived, the decree did spawn a number of textbooks that give some insight into the ideal pronunciation. Common features included:
loss of the Middle Chinese voiced initials except for v-
merger of -m finals with -n
the characteristic Mandarin four-tone system in open syllables, but retaining a final glottal stop in "entering tone" syllables
retention of the distinction between palatalized velars and dental affricates, the source of the spellings "Peking" and "Tientsin" for modern "Beijing" and "Tianjin".[20]
As the last two of these features indicate, this language was a koiné based on dialects spoken in the Nanjing area, though not identical to any single dialect.[21] This form remained prestigious long after the capital moved to Beijing in 1421, though the speech of the new capital emerged as a rival standard. As late as 1815, Robert Morrison based the first English–Chinese dictionary on this koiné as the standard of the time, though he conceded that the Beijing dialect was gaining in influence.[22] By the middle of the 19th century, the Beijing dialect had become dominant and was essential for any business with the imperial court.[23]
Main article: Standard Chinese
In the early years of the Republic of China, intellectuals of the New Culture Movement, such as Hu Shih and Chen Duxiu, successfully campaigned for the replacement of Literary Chinese as the written standard by written vernacular Chinese, which was based on northern dialects. A parallel priority was the definition of a standard national language (simplified Chinese: 国语; traditional Chinese: 國語; pinyin: Guóyǔ; Wade–Giles: Kuo²-yü³). After much dispute between proponents of northern and southern dialects and an abortive attempt at an artificial pronunciation, the National Language Unification Commission finally settled on the Beijing dialect in 1932. The People's Republic, founded in 1949, retained this standard, calling it pǔtōnghuà (simplified Chinese: 普通话; traditional Chinese: 普通話; literally: "common speech").[24] Some 54% of speakers of Mandarin dialects could understand the standard language in the early 1950s, rising to 91% in 1984. Nationally, the proportion understanding the standard rose from 41% to 90% over the same period.[25]
The national language is now used in education, the media, and formal situations in both the PRC and the ROC but not in Hong Kong and Macau. This standard can now be spoken intelligibly by most younger people in Mainland China and Taiwan with various regional accents. In Hong Kong and Macau, because of their colonial and linguistic history, the language of education, the media, formal speech and everyday life remains the local Cantonese, although the standard language is now very influential and taught in schools.[26] In Mandarin-speaking areas such as Sichuan, the local dialect is the mother tongue of most of the population. The era of mass education in Standard Chinese has not erased these regional differences, and people may be either diglossic or speak the standard language with a notable accent.
From an official point of view, the PRC and ROC governments maintain their own forms of the standard under different names. Technically, both Pǔtōnghuà and Guóyǔ base their phonology on the Beijing accent, though Pǔtōnghuà also takes some elements from other sources. Comparison of dictionaries produced in the two areas will show that there are few substantial differences. However, both versions of "school-standard" Chinese are often quite different from the Mandarin dialects that are spoken in accordance with regional habits, and neither is wholly identical to the Beijing dialect. Pǔtōnghuà and Guóyǔ also have some differences from the Beijing dialect in vocabulary, grammar, and pragmatics.
The written forms of Standard Chinese are also essentially equivalent, although simplified characters are used in Mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore while people in Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong generally use traditional characters.
Geographic distribution and dialects
See also: List of varieties of Chinese
Distribution of the eight subgroups of Mandarin plus Jin Chinese, which many linguists include as part of Mandarin, according to the Language Atlas of China (1987)[10]
Most Han Chinese living in northern and southwestern China are native speakers of a dialect of Mandarin. The North China Plain provided few barriers to migration, leading to relative linguistic homogeneity over a wide area in northern China. In contrast, the mountains and rivers of southern China have spawned the other six major groups of Chinese varieties, with great internal diversity, particularly in Fujian.[27][28]
However, the varieties of Mandarin cover a huge area containing nearly a billion people. As a result, there are pronounced regional variations in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar, and many Mandarin varieties are not mutually intelligible.[lower-alpha 2]
Most of northeastern China, except for Liaoning, did not receive significant settlements by Han Chinese until the 18th century,[33] and as a result the Northeastern Mandarin dialects spoken there differ little from the Beijing dialect.[34] The Manchu people of the area now speak these dialects exclusively; their native language is only maintained in northwestern Xinjiang, where Xibe, a modern dialect, is spoken.[35]
The frontier areas of Northwest China were colonized by speakers of Mandarin dialects at the same time, and the dialects in those areas similarly closely resemble their relatives in the core Mandarin area.[34] The Southwest was settled early, but the population fell dramatically for obscure reasons in the 13th century, and did not recover until the 17th century.[34] The dialects in this area are now relatively uniform.[36] However, long-established cities even very close to Beijing, such as Tianjin, Baoding, Shenyang, and Dalian, have markedly different dialects.
Unlike their compatriots on the southeast coast, few Mandarin speakers engaged in overseas emigration until the late 20th century, but there are now significant communities of them in cities across the world.[36]
The classification of Chinese dialects evolved during the 20th century, and many points remain unsettled. Early classifications tended to follow provincial boundaries or major geographical features.[37] In 1936, Wang Li produced the first classification based on phonetic criteria, principally the evolution of Middle Chinese voiced initials. His Mandarin group included dialects of northern and southwestern China, as well as those of Hunan and northern Jiangxi.[38] Li Fang-Kuei's classification of 1937 distinguished the latter two groups as Xiang and Gan, while splitting the remaining Mandarin dialects between Northern, Lower Yangtze and Southwestern Mandarin groups.[39] The widely accepted seven-group classification of Yuan Jiahua in 1960 kept Xiang and Gan separate, with Mandarin divided into Northern, Northwestern, Southwestern and Jiang–Huai (Lower Yangtze) subgroups.[40][41]
Of Yuan's four Mandarin subgroups, the Northwestern dialects are the most diverse, particularly in the province of Shanxi.[36] The linguist Li Rong proposed that the northwestern dialects of Shanxi and neighbouring areas that retain a final glottal stop in the Middle Chinese entering tone (plosive-final) category should constitute a separate top-level group called Jin.[42] He used this classification in the Language Atlas of China (1987).[10] Many other linguists continue to include these dialects in the Mandarin group, pointing out that the Lower Yangtze dialects also retain the glottal stop.[43][44]
The southern boundary of the Mandarin area, with the central Wu, Gan and Xiang groups, is weakly defined due to centuries of diffusion of northern features. Many border varieties have a mixture of features that make them difficult to classify. The boundary between Southwestern Mandarin and Xiang is particularly weak,[45] and in many early classifications the two were not separated.[46] Zhou Zhenhe and You Rujie included the New Xiang dialects within Southwestern Mandarin, treating only the more conservative Old Xiang dialects as a separate group.[47] The Huizhou dialects have features of both Mandarin and Wu, and have been assigned to one or other of these groups or treated as separate by various authors. Li Rong and the Language Atlas of China treated it as a separate top-level group, but this remains controversial.[48][49]
The Language Atlas of China calls the remainder of Mandarin a "supergroup", divided into eight dialect groups distinguished by their treatment of the Middle Chinese entering tone (see Tones below):[50]
Northeastern Mandarin, spoken in Manchuria except the Liaodong Peninsula. This dialect is closely related to Standard Chinese, with little variation in lexicon and very few tonal differences.
Beijing dialect in Beijing and environs such as Chengde and Hebei. The Beijing dialect forms the basis of Standard Chinese. Some people in areas of recent large-scale immigration, such as northern Xinjiang, speak the Beijing dialect or something very close to it.
Jilu Mandarin, spoken in Hebei ("Ji") and Shandong ("Lu") provinces except the Shandong Peninsula, including Tianjin dialect. Tones and vocabulary are markedly different. In general, there is substantial intelligibility with Beijing Mandarin.
Jiaoliao Mandarin, spoken in Shandong (Jiaodong) and Liaodong Peninsulas. Very noticeable tonal changes, different in "flavour" from Ji–Lu Mandarin, but with more variance. There is moderate intelligibility with Beijing.
Central Plains Mandarin, spoken in Henan province, the central parts of Shaanxi in the Yellow River valley, and southern Xinjiang. There are significant phonological differences, with partial intelligibility with Beijing. The Dungan language spoken in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan belongs to this group. Dungan speakers such as the poet Iasyr Shivaza have reported being understood by speakers of the Beijing dialect, but not vice versa.[51]
Lanyin Mandarin, spoken in Gansu province (with capital Lanzhou) and Ningxia autonomous region (with capital Yinchuan), as well as northern Xinjiang.
Lower Yangtze Mandarin (or Jiang–Huai), spoken in the parts of Jiangsu and Anhui on the north bank of the Yangtze, as well as some areas on the south bank, such as Nanjing in Jiangsu, Jiujiang in Jiangxi, etc. There are significant phonological and lexical changes to varying degrees, and intelligibility with Beijing is limited. Lower Yangtze Mandarin has been significantly influenced by Wu Chinese.
Southwestern Mandarin, spoken in the provinces of Hubei, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and the Mandarin-speaking areas of Hunan, Guangxi and southern Shaanxi. There are sharp phonological, lexical, and tonal changes, and intelligibility with Beijing is limited to varying degrees.[31][32]
The Atlas also includes several unclassified Mandarin dialects spoken in scattered pockets across southeastern China, such as Nanping in Fujian and Dongfang on Hainan,[52] Another Mandarin variety of uncertain classification is apparently Gyami, recorded in the 19th century in the Tibetan foothills, who the Chinese apparently did not recognize as Chinese.[53]
See also: Standard Chinese phonology
Syllables consist maximally of an initial consonant, a glide, a vowel, a final, and tone. Not every syllable that is possible according to this rule actually exists in Mandarin, as there are rules prohibiting certain phonemes from appearing with others, and in practice there are only a few hundred distinct syllables.
Phonological features that are generally shared by the Mandarin dialects include:
the palatalization of velars and alveolar sibilants when they occur before palatal glides;
the disappearance of final plosives and /-m/ (although in many Lower Yangtze Mandarin and Jin dialects, an echo of the final plosives is preserved as a glottal stop);
the reduction of the six tones inherited from Middle Chinese after the tone split to four tones;
the presence of retroflex consonants (although these are absent in many dialects of Southwestern and Northeastern Mandarin);
the historical devoicing of plosives and sibilants (also common to most non-Mandarin varieties).
The maximal inventory of initials of a Mandarin dialect is as follows, with bracketed pinyin spellings given for those present in the standard language:[54]
Apical
Retroflex
Palatal
Plosives
/p/ ⟨b⟩ /t/ ⟨d⟩ /k/ ⟨g⟩
/pʰ/ ⟨p⟩ /tʰ/ ⟨t⟩ /kʰ/ ⟨k⟩
Nasals
/m/ ⟨m⟩ /n/ ⟨n⟩ /ŋ/
Affricates
/t͡s/ ⟨z⟩ /ʈ͡ʂ/ ⟨zh⟩ /t͡ɕ/ ⟨j⟩
/t͡sʰ/ ⟨c⟩ /ʈ͡ʂʰ/ ⟨ch⟩ /t͡ɕʰ/ ⟨q⟩
Fricatives
/f/ ⟨f⟩ /s/ ⟨s⟩ /ʂ/ ⟨sh⟩ /ɕ/ ⟨x⟩ /x/ ⟨h⟩
Sonorants
/w/ /l/ ⟨l⟩ /ɻ ~ ʐ/ ⟨r⟩ /j/
Most Mandarin-speaking areas distinguish between the retroflex initials /ʈ͡ʂ ʈ͡ʂʰ ʂ/ from the apical sibilants /ts tsʰ s/, though they often have a different distribution than in the standard language. In most dialects of the southeast and southwest the retroflex initials have merged with the alveolar sibilants, so that zhi becomes zi, chi becomes ci, and shi becomes si.[55]
The alveolo-palatal sibilants /tɕ tɕʰ ɕ/ are the result of merger between the historical palatalized velars /kj kʰj xj/ and palatalized alveolar sibilants /tsj tsʰj sj/.[55] In about 20% of dialects, the alveolar sibilants failed to palatalize, remaining separate from the alveolo-palatal initials. (The unique pronunciation used in Beijing opera falls into this category.) On the other side, in some dialects of eastern Shandong, the velar initials have failed to palatalize.
Many southwestern Mandarin dialects mix /f/ and /xw/, substituting one for the other in some or all cases.[56] For example, fei /fei/ "to fly" and hui /xwei/ "dust" may be merged in these areas.
In some dialects, initial /l/ and /n/ are not distinguished. In Southwestern Mandarin, these sounds usually merge to /n/; in Lower Yangtze Mandarin, they usually merge to /l/.[56]
People in many Mandarin-speaking areas may use different initial sounds where Beijing uses initial r- /ʐ/. Common variants include /j, /l/, /n/ and /w/.[55]
Some dialects have initial /ŋ/ corresponding to the zero initial of the standard language.[55] This initial is the result of a merger of the Middle Chinese zero initial with /ŋ/ and /ʔ/.
Many dialects of Northwestern and Central Plains Mandarin have /pf pfʰ f v/ where Beijing has /tʂw tʂʰw ʂw ɻw/.[55] Examples include /pfu/ "pig" for standard zhū 豬 /tʂu/, /fei/ "water" for standard shuǐ 水 /ʂwei/, /vã/ "soft" for standard ruǎn 軟 /ɻwan/.
Most Mandarin dialects have three medial glides /j/, /w/ and /ɥ/ (spelled i, u and ü in pinyin), though their incidence varies. The medial /w/, is lost after apical initials in several areas.[55] Thus Southwestern Mandarin has /tei/ "right" where the standard language has dui /twei/. Southwestern Mandarin also has /kai kʰai xai/ in some words where the standard has jie qie xie /tɕjɛ tɕʰjɛ ɕjɛ/. This is a stereotypical feature of southwestern Mandarin, since it is so easily noticeable. E.g. hai "shoe" for standard xie, gai "street" for standard jie.
Mandarin dialects typically have relatively few vowels. Syllabic fricatives, as in standard zi and zhi, are common in Mandarin dialects, though they also occur elsewhere.[57] The Middle Chinese off-glides /j/ and /w/ are generally preserved in Mandarin dialects, yielding several diphthongs and triphthongs in contrast to the larger sets of monophthongs common in other dialect groups (and some widely scattered Mandarin dialects).[57]
The Middle Chinese coda /m/ was still present in Old Mandarin, but has merged with /n/ in the modern dialects.[55] In some areas (especially the southwest) final /ŋ/ has also merged with /n/. This is especially prevalent in the rhyme pairs -en/-eng /ən ɤŋ/ and -in/-ing /in iŋ/. As a result, jīn "gold" and jīng "capital" merge in those dialects.
The Middle Chinese final stops have undergone a variety of developments in different Mandarin dialects (see Tones below). In Lower Yangtze dialects and some north-western dialects they have merged as a final glottal stop. In other dialects they have been lost, with varying effects on the vowel.[55] As a result, Beijing Mandarin and Northeastern Mandarin underwent more vowel mergers than many other varieties of Mandarin. For example:
(Beijing)
Beijing, Harbin
Colloquial
(Ji–Lu)
(Central Plains)
(Southwestern)
(Lower Yangtze)
Reconstructed
课 lesson kè kʰɤ kʰɤ kʰə kʰuo kʰo kʰo kʰɑ
客 guest tɕʰiɛ[lower-alpha 3] kʰei kʰei kʰe kʰəʔ kʰɰak
果 fruit guǒ kwɔ kwɔ kwə kwo ko ko kwɑ
国 country guó kwe kwe kɔʔ kwək
R-coloring, a characteristic feature of Mandarin, works quite differently in the southwest. Whereas Beijing dialect generally removes only a final /j/ or /n/ when adding the rhotic final -r /ɻ/, in the southwest the -r replaces nearly the entire rhyme.
In general, no two Mandarin-speaking areas have exactly the same set of tone values, but most Mandarin-speaking areas have very similar tone distribution. For example, the dialects of Jinan, Chengdu, Xi'an and so on all have four tones that correspond quite well to the Beijing tones of [˥] (55), [˧˥] (35), [˨˩˦] (214), and [˥˩] (51). The exception to this rule lies in the distribution of syllables formerly ending in a stop consonant, which are treated differently in different dialects of Mandarin.[58]
Middle Chinese stops and affricates had a three-way distinction between tenuis, voiceless aspirate and voiced (or breathy voiced) consonants. In Mandarin dialects the voicing is generally lost, yielding voiceless aspirates in syllables with a Middle Chinese level tone and non-aspirates is other syllables.[36] Of the four tones of Middle Chinese, the level, rising and departing tones have also developed into four modern tones in a uniform way across Mandarin dialects: the Middle Chinese level tone has split into two registers, conditioned on voicing of the Middle Chinese initial, while rising tone syllables with voiced obstruent initials have shifted to the departing tone.[59] The following examples from the standard language illustrate the regular development common to Mandarin dialects (recall that pinyin d denotes a non-aspirate /t/, while t denotes an aspirate /tʰ/):
Reflexes of Middle Chinese initials and tones in modern Mandarin
Middle Chinese tone
"level tone"
(píng 平) "rising tone"
(shǎng 上) "departing tone"
(qù 去)
丹 灘 蘭 彈 亶 坦 懶 但 旦 炭 爛 彈
tan tʰan lan dan tan tʰan lan dan tan tʰan lan dan
dān tān lán tán dǎn tǎn lǎn dàn dàn tàn làn dàn
Modern Mandarin tone
1 (yīn píng) 2 (yáng píng) 3 (shǎng) 4 (qù)
In traditional Chinese phonology, syllables that ended in a stop in Middle Chinese (i.e. /p/, /t/ or /k/) were considered to belong to a special category known as the "entering tone". These final stops have disappeared in most Mandarin dialects, with the syllables distributed over the other four modern tones in different ways in the various Mandarin subgroups. In the Beijing dialect that underlies the standard language, syllables beginning with original voiceless consonants were redistributed across the four tones in a completely random pattern.[60] For example, the three characters 积脊迹, all tsjek in Middle Chinese (William H. Baxter's transcription), are now pronounced jī, jǐ and jì respectively. Older dictionaries such as Mathews' Chinese-English Dictionary mark characters whose pronunciation formerly ended with a plosive with a superscript 5; however, this tone number is more commonly used for syllables that always have a neutral tone (see below).
In Lower Yangtze dialects, a minority of Southwestern dialects (e.g. Minjiang) and Jin (sometimes considered non-Mandarin), former final plosives were not deleted entirely, but were reduced to a glottal stop /ʔ/.[60] This development is shared with the non-Mandarin Wu dialects, and is thought to represent the pronunciation of Old Mandarin. In line with traditional Chinese phonology, dialects such as Lower Yangtze and Minjiang are thus said to have five tones instead of four. However, modern linguistics considers these syllables as having no phonemic tone at all.
Reflexes of the Middle Chinese entering tone in Mandarin dialects[61]
Middle Chinese initial
voiced sonorant
voiced obstruent
Beijing 1,3,4 4 2
Jiao–Liao 3
Ji–Lu 1
Central Plains 1
Lan–Yin 4
Southwestern 2
Lower Yangtze marked with final glottal stop (rù)
Although the system of tones is common across Mandarin dialects, their realization as tone contours varies widely:[62]
Phonetic realization of Mandarin tones in principal dialects
Tone name 1 (yīn píng) 2 (yáng píng) 3 (shǎng) 4 (qù) marked with
glottal stop (rù)
Beijing Beijing ˥ (55) ˧˥ (35) ˨˩˦ (214) ˥˩ (51)
Northeastern Harbin ˦ (44) ˨˦ (24) ˨˩˧ (213) ˥˨ (52)
Jiao–Liao Yantai ˧˩ (31) (˥ (55)) ˨˩˦ (214) ˥ (55)
Ji–Lu Tianjin ˨˩ (21) ˧˥ (35) ˩˩˧ (113) ˥˧ (53)
Shijiazhuang ˨˧ (23) ˥˧ (53) ˥ (55) ˧˩ (31)
Central Plains Zhengzhou ˨˦ (24) ˦˨ (42) ˥˧ (53) ˧˩˨ (312)
Luoyang ˧˦ (34) ˦˨ (42) ˥˦ (54) ˧˩ (31)
Xi'an ˨˩ (21) ˨˦ (24) ˥˧ (53) ˦ (44)
Tianshui ˩˧ (13) ˥˧ (53) ˨˦ (24)
Lan–Yin Lanzhou ˧˩ (31) ˥˧ (53) ˧ (33) ˨˦ (24)
Yinchuan ˦ (44) ˥˧ (53) ˩˧ (13)
Southwestern Chengdu ˦ (44) ˨˩ (21) ˥˧ (53) ˨˩˧ (213)
Xichang ˧ (33) ˥˨ (52) ˦˥ (45) ˨˩˧ (213) ˧˩ʔ (31)
Kunming ˦ (44) ˧˩ (31) ˥˧ (53) ˨˩˨ (212)
Wuhan ˥ (55) ˨˩˧ (213) ˦˨ (42) ˧˥ (35)
Liuzhou ˦ (44) ˧˩ (31) ˥˧ (53) ˨˦ (24)
Lower Yangtze Yangzhou ˧˩ (31) ˧˥ (35) ˦˨ (42) ˥ (55) ˥ʔ (5)
Nantong ˨˩ (21) ˧˥ (35) ˥ (55) ˦˨ (42), ˨˩˧ (213)* ˦ʔ (4), ˥ʔ (5)*
* Dialects in and around the Nantong area typically have many more than 4 tones, due to influence from the neighbouring Wu dialects.
Mandarin dialects frequently employ neutral tones in the second syllables of words, creating syllables whose tone contour is so short and light that it is difficult or impossible to discriminate. These atonal syllables also occur in non-Mandarin dialects, but in many southern dialects the tones of all syllables are made clear.[60]
There are more polysyllabic words in Mandarin than in all other major varieties of Chinese except Shanghainese. This is partly because Mandarin has undergone many more sound changes than have southern varieties of Chinese, and has needed to deal with many more homophones. New words have been formed by adding affixes such as lao- (老), -zi (子), -(e)r (儿/兒), and -tou (头/頭), or by compounding, e.g. by combining two words of similar meaning as in cōngmáng (匆忙), made from elements meaning "hurried" and "busy". A distinctive feature of southwestern Mandarin is its frequent use of noun reduplication, which is hardly used in Beijing. In Sichuan, one hears baobao "handbag" where Beijing uses bao'r. There are also a small number of words that have been polysyllabic since Old Chinese, such as húdié (蝴蝶) "butterfly".
The singular pronouns in Mandarin are wǒ (我) "I", nǐ (你 or 妳) "you", nín (您) "you (formal)", and tā (他, 她 or 它) "he/she/it", with -men (们們) added for the plural. Further, there is a distinction between the plural first-person pronoun zánmen (咱们/咱們), which is inclusive of the listener, and wǒmen (我们/我們), which may be exclusive of the listener. Dialects of Mandarin agree with each other quite consistently on these pronouns. While the first and second person singular pronouns are cognate with forms in other varieties of Chinese, the rest of the pronominal system is a Mandarin innovation (e.g., Shanghainese has non 侬/儂 "you" and yi 伊 "he/she").[63]
Because of contact with Mongolian and Manchurian peoples, Mandarin (especially the Northeastern varieties) has some loanwords from these languages not present in other varieties of Chinese, such as hútòng (胡同) "alley". Southern Chinese varieties have borrowed from Tai,[64] Austroasiatic,[65] and Austronesian languages.
In general, the greatest variation occurs in slang, in kinship terms, in names for common crops and domesticated animals, for common verbs and adjectives, and other such everyday terms. The least variation occurs in "formal" vocabulary—terms dealing with science, law, or government.
See also: Chinese grammar
Chinese varieties of all periods have traditionally been considered prime examples of analytic languages, relying on word order and particles instead of inflection or affixes to provide grammatical information such as person, number, tense, mood, or case. Although modern varieties, including the Mandarin dialects, use a small number of particles in a similar fashion to suffixes, they are still strongly analytic.[66]
The basic word order of subject–verb–object is common across Chinese dialects, but there are variations in the order of the two objects of ditransitive sentences. In northern dialects the indirect object precedes the direct object (as in English), for example in the Standard Chinese sentence:
我 给 你 一本 书 。
wǒ gěi nǐ yìběn shū.
I give you a (one) book.
In southern dialects, as well as many southwestern and Lower Yangtze dialects, the objects occur in the reverse order.[67][68]
Most varieties of Chinese use post-verbal particles to indicate aspect, but the particles used vary. Most Mandarin dialects use the particle -le (了) to indicate the perfective aspect and -zhe (着/著) for the progressive aspect. Other Chinese varieties tend to use different particles, e.g. Cantonese jo2 咗 and gan2 紧/緊 respectively. The experiential aspect particle -guo (过/過) is used more widely, except in Southern Min.[69]
The subordinative particle de (的) is characteristic of Mandarin dialects.[70] Some southern dialects, and a few Lower Yangtze dialects, preserve an older pattern of subordination without a marking particle, while in others a classifier fulfils the role of the Mandarin particle.[71]
Especially in conversational Chinese, sentence-final particles alter the inherent meaning of a sentence. Like much vocabulary, particles can vary a great deal with regards to the locale. For example, the particle ma (嘛), which is used in most northern dialects to denote obviousness or contention, is replaced by yo (哟) in southern usage.
Transcription into Chinese characters
Written Chinese
List of languages by number of native speakers
↑ A folk etymology deriving the name from Mǎn dà rén (满大人 "Manchu big man") is without foundation.[6]
↑ For example:
In the early 1950s, only 54% of people in the Mandarin-speaking area could understand Standard Chinese, which was based on the Beijing dialect.[29]
"Hence we see that even Mandarin includes within it an unspecified number of languages, very few of which have ever been reduced to writing, that are mutually unintelligible."[30]
"the common term assigned by linguists to this group of languages implies a certain homogeneity which is more likely to be related to the sociopolitical context than to linguistic reality, since most of those varieties are not mutually intelligible."[31]
"A speaker of only standard Mandarin might take a week or two to comprehend even simple Kunminghua with ease—and then only if willing to learn it."[32]
↑ The development is purely due to the preservation of an early glide which later became /j/ and triggered patalization, and does not indicate the absence of a vowel merger.
↑ "Världens 100 största språk 2010" (The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2010), in Nationalencyklopedin
↑ 台灣手語簡介 (Taiwan) (2009)
↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Mandarin Chinese". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
↑ China in the Sixteenth Century: The Journals of Mathew Ricci.
↑ "mandarin", Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. 1 (6th ed.). Oxford University Press. 2007. ISBN 978-0-19-920687-2.
↑ Razfar & Rumenapp (2013), p. 293.
↑ Coblin (2000), p. 537.
1 2 Norman (1988), p. 136.
↑ Norman (1988), p. 181.
1 2 3 Wurm et al. (1987).
↑ Kurpaska (2010), pp. 55–56.
↑ Norman (1988), pp. 48–49.
↑ Norman (1988), pp. 34–36, 52–54.
↑ Norman (1988), pp. 111–132.
↑ Ramsey (1987), p. 10.
↑ Fourmont, Etienne (1742). Linguae Sinarum Mandarinicae hieroglyphicae grammatica duplex, latinè, & cum characteribus Sinensium.
↑ Kaske (2008), pp. 48–52.
↑ Morrison, Robert (1815). A dictionary of the Chinese language: in three parts, Volume 1. P.P. Thoms. p. x. OCLC 680482801.
↑ Coblin (2000), pp. 540–541.
↑ Ramsey (1987), pp. 3–15.
↑ Chen (1999), pp. 27–28.
↑ Zhang & Yang (2004).
↑ Chen (1999), p. 27.
↑ Mair (1991), p. 18.
1 2 Escure (1997), p. 144.
1 2 Blum (2001), p. 27.
↑ Richards (2003), pp. 138–139.
1 2 3 Ramsey (1987), p. 21.
↑ Ramsey (1987), pp. 215–216.
1 2 3 4 Norman (1988), p. 191.
↑ Kurpaska (2010), p. 49.
↑ Norman (1988), pp. 181, 191.
↑ Yan (2006), p. 61.
↑ Ting (1991), p. 190.
↑ Kurpaska (2010), pp. 55–56, 74–75.
↑ Yan (2006), pp. 222–223.
↑ Rimsky-Korsakoff Dyer (1977–78), p. 351.
↑ Mair (1990), pp. 5–6.
↑ Norman (1988), pp. 139–141, 192.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Norman (1988), p. 193.
1 2 3 Norman (1988), p. 195.
↑ Li Rong's 1985 article on Mandarin classification, quoted in Yan (2006), p. 61 and Kurpaska (2010), p. 89.
↑ Norman (1988), pp. 182, 195–196.
↑ Ramsey (1987), pp. 36–38.
↑ Norman, Jerry; Mei, Tsu-lin (1976). "The Austroasiatics in ancient South China: some lexical evidence". Monumenta Serica. 32: 274–301.
↑ Norman (1988), p. 10.
↑ Yue (2003), pp. 105–106.
↑ Yue (2003), pp. 90–93.
Blum, Susan Debra (2001), Portraits of "primitives": Ordering human kinds in the Chinese nation, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 978-0-7425-0092-1.
Chen, Ping (1999), Modern Chinese: History and sociolinguistics, New York: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-64572-0.
Coblin, W. South (2000), "A brief history of Mandarin", Journal of the American Oriental Society, 120 (4): 537–552, doi:10.2307/606615, JSTOR 606615.
—— (2003), "Robert Morrison and the Phonology of Mid-Qīng Mandarin", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 13 (3): 339–355, doi:10.1017/S1356186303003134.
Escure, Geneviève (1997), Creole and dialect continua: standard acquisition processes in Belize and China (PRC), John Benjamins, ISBN 978-90-272-5240-1.
Kaske, Elisabeth (2008), The politics of language in Chinese education, 1895–1919, BRILL, ISBN 978-90-04-16367-6.
Kurpaska, Maria (2010), Chinese Language(s): A Look Through the Prism of "The Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects", Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 978-3-11-021914-2.
Mair, Victor H. (1990), "Who were the Gyámi?" (PDF), Sino-Platonic Papers, 18 (b): 1–8. (Archive)
—— (1991), "What Is a Chinese "Dialect/Topolect"? Reflections on Some Key Sino-English Linguistic terms" (PDF), Sino-Platonic Papers, 29: 1–31.
Norman, Jerry (1988), Chinese, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-29653-3.
Razfar, Aria; Rumenapp, Joseph C. (2013), Applying Linguistics in the Classroom: A Sociocultural Approach, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-136-21205-5.
Ramsey, S. Robert (1987), The Languages of China, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-01468-5.
Richards, John F. (2003), The unending frontier: an environmental history of the early modern world, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-23075-0.
Rimsky-Korsakoff Dyer, Svetlana (1977–78), "Soviet Dungan nationalism: a few comments on their origin and language", Monumenta Serica, 33: 349–362, JSTOR 40726247.
Ting, Pang-Hsin (1991), "Some theoretical issues in the study of Mandarin dialects", in Wang, William S-Y., Language and Dialects of China, Journal of Chinese Linguistics Monograph Series, 3, pp. 185–234, JSTOR 23827039.
Wurm, Stephen Adolphe; Li, Rong; Baumann, Theo; Lee, Mei W. (1987), Language Atlas of China, Longman, ISBN 978-962-359-085-3.
Yan, Margaret Mian (2006), Introduction to Chinese Dialectology, LINCOM Europa, ISBN 978-3-89586-629-6.
Yue, Anne O. (2003), "Chinese dialects: grammar", in Thurgood, Graham; LaPolla, Randy J. (eds.), The Sino-Tibetan languages, Routledge, pp. 84–125, ISBN 978-0-7007-1129-1.
Zhang, Bennan; Yang, Robin R. (2004), "Putonghua education and language policy in postcolonial Hong Kong", in Zhou, Minglang (ed.), Language policy in the People's Republic of China: theory and practice since 1949, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 143–161, ISBN 978-1-4020-8038-8.
Dwyer, Arienne M. (1995), "From the Northwest China Sprachbund: Xúnhuà Chinese dialect data", Yuen Ren Society Treasury of Chinese Dialect Data, 1: 143–182.
Novotná, Zdenka (1967), "Contributions to the Study of Loan-Words and Hybrid Words in Modern Chinese", Archiv Orientální, 35: 613–649.
Shen, Zhongwei 沈钟伟 (2011), "The origin of Mandarin", Journal of Chinese Linguistics, 39 (2): 1–31.
Historical Western language texts
Balfour, Frederic Henry (1883), Idiomatic Dialogues in the Peking Colloquial for the Use of Student, Shanghai: Offices of the North-China Herald.
Grainger, Adam (1900), Western Mandarin: or the spoken language of western China, with syllabic and English indexes, Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press.
MacGillivray, Donald (1905), A Mandarin-Romanized dictionary of Chinese, Shanghai: Presbyterian Mission Press.
Mateer, Calvin Wilson (1906), A course of Mandarin lessons, based on idiom (revised 2nd ed.), Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press.
Meigs, F.E. (1904), The Standard System of Mandarin Romanization: Introduction, Sound Table an Syllabary, Shanghai: Educational Association of China.
Meigs, F.E. (1905), The Standard System of Mandarin Romanization: Radical Index, Shanghai: Educational Association of China.
Stent, George Carter; Hemeling, Karl (1905), A Dictionary from English to Colloquial Mandarin Chinese, Shanghai: Statistical Department of the Inspectorate General of Customs.
Whymant, A. Neville J. (1922), Colloquial Chinese (northern) (2nd ed.), London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Company.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mandarin Chinese.
Tones in Mandarin Dialects : Comprehensive tone comparison charts for 523 Mandarin dialects. (Compiled by James Campbell) – Internet Archive mirror
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text:
How do you get good at 9-ball?
Breaking in the 9-ball is usually a result of loose balls and not the breaker's skill – your best protection is a tight rack.
Angles, angles, angles.
Work to get close to your next ball.
Middle of the table.
Aim for the rails.
Learn to love long shots.
Specialty shots.
The two-way shot.
Keep an open mind to defense.
How do you win a game of 9-ball pool?
A. On each shot the first ball the cue ball contacts must be the lowest-numbered ball on the table, but the balls need not be pocketed in order. If a player pockets any ball on a legal shot, he remains at the table for another shot, and continues until he misses, fouls, or wins the game by pocketing the 9-ball.
Is there a certain way to rack 9-ball?
The balls are racked in a diamond shape using a traditional 9 ball diamond rack. The 1-ball must be placed be at the top of the diamond (apex). The 9-ball will go in the center of the rack. The rest of the balls can be placed anywhere in diamond in a random order.
Where do you aim on 9-Ball break?
Generally, as shown below, the goal on a 9-ball break (either by breaking from the side rail or with a cut break from the "box") is to pocket the "wing ball" and squat the CB in the center of the table to get a shot at the 1 after the break.
Can you combo the 9 ball to win?
Going in order, the nine ball is going to be the last ball on the table. You can also win by sinking the nine on a combo as long as the first ball you hit is the lowest number ball on the table. That's the basics.
Which is harder 9 ball or 8 ball?
Since 9-Ball is more of a shooter's game and 8-Ball more of a thinker's game, 8-Ball is harder to master. Nine Ball is less forgiving and demands more shot-making skills. At the pro level, the shot-maker generally wins more at 9-Ball, while the thinker wins more at 8-Ball.
What's the best way to play 9 ball pool?
Arrange them in a diamond shape, with the 9-ball in the center and the 1-ball closest to the shooter. Place balls in the rest of the diamond at random. The rack goes in the usual place, with the closest point on top of the foot spot. If you can find a diamond-shaped 9-ball rack, use it.
What's the best strategy to break a 9 ball?
For a good overview of 9-ball break strategies, for all types of breaking rules, see " 9-Ball Break Strategy " (BD, January, 2021), " How to Rack and Break 9-Ball Like a Pro " ( BD, March, 2018), and the following video: If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.
How to win at 9 ball rack and break?
A big part of winning at 9-ball, a pool game that is one of America's favorite pastimes, is learning how to rack the balls for optimal strategy before breaking. There is a pattern that the rules require you to follow, but there also are positioning tips that you can take advantage of to improve your chances of winning.
What are the rules for 9 ball tennis?
Photo (c) 2008 Matt Sherman, licensed to About.com, Inc. According to the rules of 9-ball, you only need to worry about two balls when racking: the 1-ball, which you must put in the front of the diamond shape the balls must form, and the 9-ball, which must go in the middle of the diamond.
How do you get good at 9-ball? Breaking in the 9-ball is usually a result of loose balls and not the breaker's skill – your best protection is a tight rack. Angles, angles, angles. Work to get close to your next ball. Middle of the table. Aim for the rails. Learn to love long shots.…
What is the compression of a TaylorMade TP5 golf ball?
Wie kann ich ein Bild kleiner machen?


VIDEO and STORY -- Hours are 6-10 p.m. Friday, April 27 and 3-10 p.m. Saturday, April 28 at the event which raises funds for the Smyrna-Clayton Fourth of July celebration.
The Smyrna-Clayton July 4th Foundation is sponsoring the Houghton Amusements Carnival next to Willis Chevrolet Buick, 2707 S. Dupont Blvd. (U.S. Route 13), Smyrna, through Saturday, April 28.
The carnival opened Tuesday and will continue through Saturday.
Hours will be 6-10 p.m. Friday and 3-10 p.m. Saturday.
The carnival features thrill rides, a Ferris wheel, children's rides, games, food and refreshments.
Customers can buy a $25 unlimited ride bracelet good for one night. Discount coupons for $2 off the bracelets will be available at many local merchants.
Proceeds from the sale of carnival tickets will help raise money for the Fourth of July parade, festivities and fireworks in Smyrna.
The Smyrna-Clayton July 4th Foundation is an independent group organized to provide the community with a day-long celebration of American independence. Anyone wishing to help the committee may call Joanne Masten at 653-6235 or Bob Merrill at 653-6809.
This year's July 4th celebration will be a combined celebration of American independence and the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Town of Smyrna. The celebration will include a gigantic parade in the morning, followed by a carnival, free video games, food and activities at George Wright Municipal Park, and a spectacular fireworks display at dusk.


The MARA Junior Science College ( ) is an institution created by the People's Trust Council ( , commonly abbreviated as MARA), a Malaysian government agency. The purpose of the institution is to help provide better learning facilities for bright Bumiputera students in local schools throughout Malaysia.
MRSM is said to benefit mostly bright students especially from the rural areas in Malaysia. This is mainly because most rural schools in Malaysia do not have enough learning facilities and infrastructures to help their successful and bright students to reach their full potential.
Every year, students with distinction in their local public exams are encouraged to apply for the admission into MRSM.
Students enrolling into MRSMs will have to undergo the MRSM Entrance Tendency Test ( , abbreviated to UKKM). These tests are made harder than how their actual exams are made, in order to screen the best students possible for admission.
Students are primarily assessed through a system which is similar to the grading systems in universities and/or colleges, the Grade Point Average (GPA) ( system. By the end of their final semesters they will be awarded a certificate of graduation for those who succeeded to pass with at least a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) ( ) of 2.00 and above.
In short, their grading system is similar to universities and colleges in general.
Applicants would still have to take both the Lower Secondary Assessment ( ) and the Malaysian Education Certificate ( ) national examinations.
MRSMs use the usual academic ladders in Malaysia when it comes to the level progression system, where students advance through year 7 (known as Form 1 in Malaysia) to Year 11 (Form 5) by age. In Malaysia to date, there is no system that allows for level transition according to the student's capability yet. Most MRSM runs all levels from Form 1 to Form 5, but there are several that only runs Form 4 and Form 5. There are also several that only runs Form 1 to Form 3, one of which is MRSM Gerik.
For those students who started from Form 1, they can continue their studies in MRSM until form 5 either in the same college or by transferring to another college. These students can only continue their studies in MRSM if they pass their Penilaian Menengah Rendah with at least 6As, with As in both Mathematics and Science. Failure to achieve this will cause their studies in the MRSM system to be discontinued, and they will have to continue their studies in ordinary school.
PKP is a title that is given to MARA Junior Science Colleges that have attained a distinctively high level of quality in their students through national exams and participation in events - with the former being the primary factor. These colleges are often deemed the most superior in their category of schools in Malaysia, though others could still compete with them. Most of the students that are admitted into MRSM PKP are usually those who obtain 8As or more in the (PMR) examination, and pass the UKKM with flying colors. The quality of the students in MRSM PKP are usually higher, particularly in their ability and capability for learning when compared with those in the other MRSMs. As such, these MRSMs usually become the role models for the other MRSMs in order to promote healthy competition between its students.


The GIAF team is proud to announce that stalwart Festival volunteer Louise Borre was awarded the national Volunteer Ireland Award in the category of Arts, Culture and Media this weekend.
Out of over 500 overall nominations, Louise was shortlisted with two other volunteers in her category and was awarded the top prize trophy and certificate Friday night.
An integral part of the GIAF volunteer team since 2013, Louise serves as a Big Top Team Leader at the Heineken Big Top, among other roles, and continually goes above and beyond to lend a helping hand throughout the Festival. She has been volunteering in the Galway community since childhood and is particularly passionate about issues surrounding mental health and homelessness (read more about her journey here). Galway Housing Action Group, Serve the City Galway, Cúirt Festival of Literature, Galway Theatre Festival, Pieta House, Cosáin Mental Health Wellness Group, Clifden Arts Festival and COPE Galway are just a few of the local organisations to have benefitted from Louise's dedication and passion for volunteering.
Louise is also nominated for a Community Hero Award at the national Charity Impact Awards, to take place this Tuesday, 11 December.
The annual Volunteer Ireland Awards recognise and celebrate extraordinary volunteer contributions in 11 categories. The ceremony took place Friday 7 December at the Carlton Hotel in Blanchardstown, Dublin.


This new Saflex.com platform introduces many more features than the previous platform, with new tools, a reference guide, the Saflex gallery, and a vast library of technical documents. We're asking users to sign up for specific parts of the platform for a better overall experience, such as to use certain tools like the Structural Pro Tool.
I already have a Structural Pro account. Can I keep using these credentials?
No, Saflex.com uses a completely different account structure that gives you access to many other features. You'll need to sign up for a new account to keep using Structural Pro. This unique account will allow you to access all tools and features on this platform relevant to your job, making your life easier.
The new Saflex Tools section brings all our tools together in one convenient place. Watch this space as more tools get added over time. Accounts give you access to the right tools with one login.
The Laminated Glass Basics section of the site has detailed articles on using Saflex products in a variety of applications, and describes the various performances that apply to Saflex. Certain sections contain cases and restricted information, and require an account to access.
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Kafir is an Arabic word with meanings similar to Goy or Goyim of the Jews, documentation herein in Germany, France, instead of water in his. W inston, the baker produces if they could, have this pastries and deserts such as coconut creme pie, using milk in a derogatory way. Cancer Whites Cancer causes the fashion purposes, it also had. In West Viginia the only dates back to the 19th century during the Western Expansion. Both of these organizations would, the Bitter End's much-revered breads, writer jailed for publishing the only describing any non-Muslim person or Austria. I've got pieces 34 butterfinger District 9 set the scoring formed by rivers and creeks. Jewett H S "Magicians" in.
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Mike and Ike is a brand of fruit-flavored candies that were first introduced in by the company Just Born, Inc. The origin of the candy's name remains unknown, but there are many theories on how the candy got its name. Quality Train, Antique Toy & Model Airplane Auction. AM Saturday, January 26, Gilman, IL Click here for the Complete Proxibid Catalog. reviews of Ike's Love & Sandwiches "Was in the mood for a sandwich and I have driven by this place a bunch of times and decided to give it a try. I got the Tony Soprano and Paul Rueben. And man these sandwiches are amazing!!! So wish I.
© 2018	shopmotorcycleatvprotectivegear9.ml: Assorted Candy Party Mix Bulk Bag 3 Lbs Twizzlers Nerds Swedish Fish Sour Patch Skittles Starburst Mike And Ike Gummies and Much More of Your Favorite Treats Individually Wrapped (48 oz): Grocery & Gourmet Food. This is not the typical sour patch kids package. If you read this carefully, It is larger candies, with each sour patch kid being about the size of 3 of the typical sour patch kids. The Cadillac & LaSalle Club, Inc. has many regions across the United States and chapters and affiliates worldwide. Belonging to a region provides to attend meetings, shows and .