Not quite true: although the tongue is not as obviously involved as it is in stop sounds (like /t/ or /k/), friction between the tongue and the air are what make the sound /ʂ/ (here transcribed as "sh"), while during a vowel sound (/i/), the air passage is open. So the tongue does have to move a little relative to the roof of the mouth; just not very much.
I really don't move my tongue when I say these in a row. Is this because I'm speaking with a Beijing accent? Apparently what's coming out for me is: ʂ̺ɻ̩. Or should that combination also force me to move my tongue?
When I lay off the accent and move the i to the front of my mouth a bit, I do seem to move my tongue a little. I'm not sure I'm doing it right though, the i's in non-Beijing Mandarin are actually always a bit stressful for me, but I'm pretty sure I'm pronouncing my "shi" correctly for Beijing.
It's likely that your tongue isn't moving much. It's also possible that the tongue isn't moving front-to-back (as it would for the English word "she") or that it isn't moving with respect to your lower jaw or that it isn't moving very much compared to nearly any other set of sounds you might utter. But the tongue must be moving if you are making any differentiated sound at all there.
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Ironically, when pronouncing this you don't move your tongue at all.
Not quite true: although the tongue is not as obviously involved as it is in stop sounds (like /t/ or /k/), friction between the tongue and the air are what make the sound /ʂ/ (here transcribed as "sh"), while during a vowel sound (/i/), the air passage is open. So the tongue does have to move a little relative to the roof of the mouth; just not very much.
I really don't move my tongue when I say these in a row. Is this because I'm speaking with a Beijing accent? Apparently what's coming out for me is: ʂ̺ɻ̩. Or should that combination also force me to move my tongue?
When I lay off the accent and move the i to the front of my mouth a bit, I do seem to move my tongue a little. I'm not sure I'm doing it right though, the i's in non-Beijing Mandarin are actually always a bit stressful for me, but I'm pretty sure I'm pronouncing my "shi" correctly for Beijing.
It's likely that your tongue isn't moving much. It's also possible that the tongue isn't moving front-to-back (as it would for the English word "she") or that it isn't moving with respect to your lower jaw or that it isn't moving very much compared to nearly any other set of sounds you might utter. But the tongue must be moving if you are making any differentiated sound at all there.