A Beginner's Guide to Taiwanese: Difference between revisions

[[File:Lie hør.mp3|thumb|"Hello" in Taiwanese, written '''''[[Lie hør!]]''''']]  

We will first introduce all of the phonetic sounds of Taiwanese, using the [[Taiwanese alphabet]]. Some sounds have an approximation in English, while others may be less familiar. In the examples, we have underlined indicators (mainly ''f'', ''r'', ''x'', ''v'') that are silent, which we will explain later.

=== Initial consonants ===

Here are the 18 initial consonants in MTL, which come at the beginning of the syllable.

 

[[File:Initial consonants.mp3|thumb|none|Consonants]]

[[File:conExp.mp3|thumb|none|Examples]]

{{Initial_consonants}}

The ''p'' vs. ''b'' and ''k'' vs. ''g'' may be hard to differentiate at first. They are part of a three-way distinction, going from ''muddy'' to plain to [[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]].  

* The muddy ''b'' and ''g'' are voiced, meaning the vocal cords vibrate along with the consonant.  

* The plain ''p'' and ''k'' (and ''t'') are unvoiced, not as aspirated as in English, but do have a distinct click or pop.  

==== Single vowels ====

 

[[File:SimpleVowels.mp3]]

We saw ''m'' earlier as a consonant, but it can stand alone as a vowel. In fact, both ''m'' and ''ng'' are complete syllables and complete words. We will see them both again later as final consonants.

==== Compound vowels ====

These vowels are a combination of two (or three) pure vowel sounds.  

[[File:CompoundVowels.mp3]]

| {{xl|oe}}  || {{xl|hoe}} || meeting

==== Nasal vowels ====

[[File:FrontNasalV3.mp3]]

The following ''finals'' are composed of vowels capped with the nasal ''m'', ''n'' and ''ng'' as final consonants.

[[File:RearNasal.mp3]]

* [consonant] + [nasal] '''vowel'''

* [consonant] + '''vowel''' + [nasal final consonant]

As a bare minimum, only a vowel is required. The items in the [[koat'hoo|brackets]] are optional. We will explain below how every syllable has a distinct tone.

Taiwanese is a tonal language which means that pitch is used to convey meaning. Many words are differentiated solely by [[sviatiau|tone]]. Learning to speak and hear the [[tones of Taiwanese]] correctly is often difficult for an English speaker since there are no tones in English. With practice you will be able to hear and speak it. Taiwanese has seven tones (Mandarin has four). Again most speakers of Taiwanese are not aware of the different tones but they can all understand it when you pronounce it.

 

! # !! Tones !! Description !! MTL !! Example

| 1 || High || high level tone || [[f]] || {{x|khaf}}

| 2 || Shouting || start high, then sharp downward || [[r]] || {{x|ar}}

| 3 || Low Falling || start mid then downward tone || [[x]] || {{x|extaxng}}

| 5 || Curving || start mid level then down and up  || doubling of vowel || {{x|gaau}}

| 7 || Basic || mid level tone || default || {{x|toa}}

| 8 || Short high || short high tone || ends with ''h'', ''p'', ''t'' or ''k'' || {{xl|ah}}, {{xl|ap}}, {{xl|lat}}, {{xl|bak}}

| 4 || Short low || short low tone || ends with ''q'', ''b'', ''d'' or ''g'' || {{xl|aq}}, {{xl|ab}}, {{xl|ad}}, {{xl|ag}}

The letters ''f'', ''r'' and ''x'' are silent tone indicators for [[Tng'ym|long tone]]s.  

Here are some common examples of the long tones:

| high || {{xl|ciah}} (''to eat'') || {{xl|hap}} (''to close'') || {{xl|kut}} (''slippery'') || {{xl|lok}} (''deer'')

| low || {{xl|phaq}} (''to hit'') || {{xl|ciab}} (''to catch'') || {{xl|kud}} (''bone'') || {{xl|kog}} (''[[kokkaf|country]]'')

[[File:specialVowl.mp3]]

[[File:special_vowels_high.mp3]]

| i  || ir || {{x|ie}} || {{xl|lie}} || you

| u  || ur || {{x|uo}} || {{xl|kuo}} || (''of time'') long

| e  || er || {{x|ea}} || {{xl|bea}} || horse

| au  || aur || {{x|ao}} || {{xl|kao}} || dog

| i  || if || {{x|y}} || {{xl|y}} || he / she / it

| ø  || øø || {{x|øo}} || {{xl|kiøo}} || bridge

=== Three special symbols ===

==== Grave accent (`) ====

When a word contains a [[Kiongjiok-huhø|grave accent]], all the syllables after  

it are accented in a weaker, lower tone -- either a low-falling tone  

or a low stop. The tone of the syllable before the grave accent remains unchanged.

* [[File:Kviaf`sie.mp3]] [[kviaf`sie]] ((v.) ''to freak someone out'') - ''kviaf'' keeps its high tone but ''sie'' is pronounced with a weakened low tone.  

* [[File:Kviasie.mp3]] [[kviasie]] ((adj.) ''scared of death'') – ''kviaf'' is pronounced with normal tone change from high to basic while ''sie'' is pronounced as a shouting tone. ''{{w|Kiasi}}'' is Hokkien phrase that describes the attitude of being overly afraid or timid.