原文
《南腔北调：方言里的中国》声调：老外说汉语最大的障碍
有个笑话，说是如果你想五秒钟之内学会河南话，就得记住一串神秘的数字 12431，意思是普通话第 1 声读成第 2 声，第 2 声读成第 4 声，第4 声读成第 3 声，第 3 声读成第 1 声，这样你就成功学会了河南话。
这样的“声调密码”在北方乃至长江中上游地区的方言中，还可以编出不少。譬如想说关中话，大概可以1→3→4→1，2 声保持不变；要是想说四川话，就试试 1 声保持不变，2→3→4→2。
尽管我们已经谈论了很多各地方音的不同，但是我们每一个人的成长经验都会告诉我们，要判断一个人是从哪来的，我们很多时候还是根据他说话的声调来判断。调子怎么走，很多时候比其他特征的优先级要高得多。譬如我们仍然可以长篇累牍地讨论，其实普通话和河南话之间的关系远远不是 12431 那么简单，要想说河南话，你最好还得记住河南人把“龙”说成 liong，把“精”说成 zing，把“药”说成 yo，把“你们”叫“恁”，等等。 但是这无所谓，就算你对以上特征都一无所知，只要牢牢记住 12431的规律，说话时勤加练习，对于很多人来说，说话就带了河南味。甚至北方地区一些年轻人由于受到普通话的影响，在说方言时，声母、韵母都跟着普通话跑，但是声调则仍然是当地方言的声调，被谑称为是在说“变调普通话”。尽管遭遇如此揶揄，外人听来这样的“变调普通话”仍然方言感十足。
参考译文
Tone: The biggest obstacle for foreigners to speak Chinese
Here’s a joke that claims you can learn to speak Henan dialect in five seconds byremembering a mysterious series of numbers: 12431. The idea is that you pronounce the upper even tone in Mandarin as the lower even tone, the lower even tone as the checked tone, the checked tone as the rising tone, and the rising tone as the uppereven tone. Supposedly, you can successfully mimic the pronunciation of Henan dialect.
Such “tone conversion code” can indeed be devised for many dialects in northern China and even in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River region. For example, if you want to mimic the dialect of Guanzhong region5, you can use a tone conversion in 1→3→4→1, while keeping the lower even tone unchanged. And if you want to try speaking Sichuan dialect, you can keep the upper even tone unchanged and use conversion in 2→3→4→2.
Despite the numerous differences we have discussed about dialects, in accordance with our personal experiences, when it comes to identifying where a person is from, we often rely more on the tone of his speech. The way the tones are pronounced often has a higher priority than other characteristics. For instance, we can still have a long discussion about the conversion between Mandarin and Henan dialect, it is far more complex than simply the “12431” law. In order to speak authentic Henan dialect, you should also remember that Henan people pronounce“ 龙 ” (lóng/dragon) as “liong”, “ 精 ” (jīng/essence) as “zing”, “ 药 ” (yào/medicine) as “yo”, and “ 你们 ” (nǐmén/you plural) as “恁” (nèn) and so on.
However, it’s not entirely necessary to know all these features mentioned. Onlysimply remembering the “12431” law and imitating it while speaking, can manypeople often give a distinct Henan dialect. Even among some young people innorthern China, due to the influence of Mandarin, they may pronounce initials andfinals of their dialects in a way that aligns with Mandarin, but they still retain the localdialect’s tone patterns. This phenomenon is often jokingly referred to “Mandarin with a dialect twist”. Despite being ridiculed, outsiders still have a strong sense of dialectwhen listening to such “Mandarin with a dialect twist”.