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A Beginner's Guide to Taiwanese: Difference between revisions
A Beginner's Guide to Taiwanese (view source)
Revision as of 23:03, 10 January 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 [[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. | 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. | ||
[[File:Tones1235784.ogg|thumb|''af'', ''ar'', ''ax'', ''aa'', ''a'', ''ah'', ''aq'']] | [[File:Tones1235784.ogg|thumb|none|''af'', ''ar'', ''ax'', ''aa'', ''a'', ''ah'', ''aq'']] | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
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| 7 || Basic || mid level tone || default || a | | 7 || Basic || mid level tone || default || a | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 8 || Short high || short high tone || ends with ''h'', ''p'', ''t'' or ''k'' || {{xl|ah}} | | 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}} | | 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. However, the ending letter of a [[short tone]] tells both final consonant and tone. Looking at the high short tones first: the ''h'' is a {{w|glottal stop}}, then the ''p'', ''t'' and ''k'' are stops sounding similar to how they're used as an initial consonant. The low short tones are then the same as the corresponding high tone version but in lower pitch. | The letters ''f'', ''r'' and ''x'' are silent tone indicators for [[Tng'ym|long tone]]s. However, the ending letter of a [[short tone]] tells both final consonant and tone. Looking at the high short tones first: the ''h'' is a {{w|glottal stop}}, then the ''p'', ''t'' and ''k'' are stops sounding similar to how they're used as an initial consonant. The low short tones are then the same as the corresponding high tone version but in lower pitch. | ||
Here are some common examples of the | Here are some common examples of the long tones: | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| Basic || {{xl|si}} || is | | Basic || {{xl|si}} || is | ||
|} | |||
And here are some examples of the short tones: | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
! pitch !! -h !! -p !! -t !! -k | |||
|- | |- | ||
| | | 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]]'') | ||
|} | |} | ||
For both long and short tones, the tone indicators always come right after 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: {{xl|jidthaau}} & {{xl|na'aau}}. | |||
==== Special vowels ==== | ==== Special vowels ==== | ||