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A Beginner's Guide to Taiwanese: Difference between revisions
A Beginner's Guide to Taiwanese (view source)
Revision as of 01:52, 31 October 2018
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Taiwanese is a tonal language which means that pitch is used to convey meaning. Many words are differentiated solely by tone. Learning to speak and hear the [[tones of Taiwanese]] correctly is often difficult for an English speaker. With practice you will be able to hear and speak them. Again most speakers of Taiwanese are not aware of the different tones but they can all understand you when you pronounce them correctly. | Taiwanese is a tonal language which means that pitch is used to convey meaning. Many words are differentiated solely by tone. Learning to speak and hear the [[tones of Taiwanese]] correctly is often difficult for an English speaker. With practice you will be able to hear and speak them. Again most speakers of Taiwanese are not aware of the different tones but they can all understand you when you pronounce them correctly. | ||
Taiwanese has seven tones: five long tones and two short tones. Here are the tones in their classic order: | |||
[[File:Seven Tones.mp3|thumb|none|1. ''{{x|af}}'', 2. ''{{x|ar}}'', 3. ''ax'', 4. ''{{x|aq}}'', 5. ''aa'', 7. ''a'', 8. ''{{x|ah}}'']] | |||
The letters ''f'', ''r'' and ''x'' are silent tone indicators for long tones. Short tones always end with a stop (the ending letter tells both consonant and tone). | |||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| 3 || low falling || somewhat downward (31) || [[x]] (silent)|| {{x|pax}} (''leopard'') | | 3 || low falling || somewhat downward (31) || [[x]] (silent)|| {{x|pax}} (''leopard'') | ||
|- | |||
| 4 || short low || (3ʔ) || ends with ''q'', ''b'', ''d'' or ''g'' || {{x|aq}} (''a duck'') | |||
|- | |- | ||
| 5 || curving || mid, downward, then upward (24) || doubling of vowel || {{x|gaau}} (''extraordinary'') | | 5 || curving || mid, downward, then upward (24) || doubling of vowel || {{x|gaau}} (''extraordinary'') | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| 8 || short high || (5ʔ) || ends with ''h'', ''p'', ''t'' or ''k'' || {{x|ah}} (''a box'') | | 8 || short high || (5ʔ) || ends with ''h'', ''p'', ''t'' or ''k'' || {{x|ah}} (''a box'') | ||
|} | |} | ||
Here are the tones in a different order. Can you tell the difference? | |||
[[File:Tones1235784.mp3|thumb|none|''af'', ''ar'', ''ax'', ''aa'', ''a'', ''ah'', ''aq'']] | |||
==== Long tones ==== | ==== Long tones ==== | ||
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! Tone !! Example !! Meaning | ! Tone !! Example !! Meaning | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 1. high || {{ | | 1. high || {{x|hiaf}} || there | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 2. shouting || {{ | | 2. shouting || {{x|zar}} || early | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 3. low-falling || {{ | | 3. low-falling || {{x|zhaix}} || vegetable | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 5. curving || {{ | | 5. curving || {{x|hii}} || fish | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 7. basic || {{ | | 7. basic || {{x|si}} || is | ||
|} | |} | ||
The tone indicators always come to the right of the vowel, with one exception. To indicate the curving tone of a compound vowel, normally its last letter is repeated. But when there is an ''a'', it is the one repeated, even when it doesn't sit at the very end of the vowel. For example: ''{{x|gaau}}'', ''{{ | The tone indicators always come to the right of the vowel, with one exception. To indicate the curving tone of a compound vowel, normally its last letter is repeated. But when there is an ''a'', it is the one repeated, even when it doesn't sit at the very end of the vowel. For example: ''{{x|gaau}}'', ''{{x|jidthaau}}'', ''{{x|na'aau}}''. | ||
==== Short tones ==== | ==== Short tones ==== | ||
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! Pitch !! -h !! -p !! -t !! -k | ! Pitch !! -h !! -p !! -t !! -k | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 8. high || {{ | | 8. high || {{x|ciah}} (''to eat'') || {{x|ap}} (''a box'') || {{x|lat}} (''strength'') || {{x|bak}} (''ink'') | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 4. low || {{ | | 4. low || {{x|phaq}} (''to hit'') || {{x|ciab}} (''juice'') || {{x|kad}} (''knot'') || {{x|kag}} (''horn'') | ||
|} | |} | ||
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! Vowel<sup>#</sup> !! Base <br>spelling !! Special vowel<br> or shortcut !! Example || Meaning | ! Vowel<sup>#</sup> !! Base <br>spelling !! Special vowel<br> or shortcut !! Example || Meaning | ||
|- | |- | ||
| ai<sup>2</sup> || air || ae || {{ | | ai<sup>2</sup> || air || ae || {{x|hae}} || sea | ||
|- | |- | ||
| i<sup>2</sup> || ir || {{x|ie}} || {{ | | i<sup>2</sup> || ir || {{x|ie}} || {{x|lie}} || you | ||
|- | |- | ||
| u<sup>2</sup> || ur || {{x|uo}} || {{ | | u<sup>2</sup> || ur || {{x|uo}} || {{x|kuo}} || (''of time'') long | ||
|- | |- | ||
| e<sup>2</sup> || er || {{x|ea}} || {{ | | e<sup>2</sup> || er || {{x|ea}} || {{x|bea}} || horse | ||
|- | |- | ||
| au<sup>2</sup> || aur || {{x|ao}} || {{ | | au<sup>2</sup> || aur || {{x|ao}} || {{x|kao}} || dog | ||
|- | |- | ||
| i<sup>1</sup> || if || {{x|y}} || {{ | | i<sup>1</sup> || if || {{x|y}} || {{x|y}} || he / she / it | ||
|- | |- | ||
| u<sup>1</sup> || uf || w || {{ | | u<sup>1</sup> || uf || w || {{x|wtiu}} || universe | ||
|- | |- | ||
| ø<sup>5</sup> || øø || {{x|øo}} || {{ | | ø<sup>5</sup> || øø || {{x|øo}} || {{x|kiøo}} || bridge | ||
|} | |} | ||