Thursday, September 29, 2011

Basic Course: Lesson 4 Video!

I’ve decided to use this Taishanese project as an opportunity to practice video editing on the free trial version of Final Cut Pro X. For my first video, I slapped together lesson four text and audio with a few illustratory photos:

This lesson is the first one with vocabulary and dialogue; lessons one, two and three all had to do with pronunciation. The lesson four vocabulary and dialogue were previously covered in February, along with versions adapted to the pronunciation of the Kaiping dictionary (see here and here).

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Tone Change and Reduplication

Over at Toisanese Chop Suey 台山话杂碎, Stephen writes about the fascinating interface of tone and reduplication in Taishanese. Reduplicated words like 紅紅 have different pronunciations, depending on the tone—hüng-hüng* or hüng*-hüng—but what do the different forms mean? Check out Stephen’s post to learn more!

Friday, September 9, 2011

Basic Course: Lesson 18 Reading

The reading for lesson 18 recycles the new words and grammar points from the dialogue.

黃二昨晚瞓得好好,好够;今日朝頭早佢起得好早,吃得好多。

佢翻學,佢上堂;佢讀中文,佢讀得好勤力,學得好快;到班房,佢寫中文字,佢寫得好靚。佢係一個好好個學生。嚀個先生係台山人,佢教得好好,講得唔快唔慢,講得好清楚好明白;黃二好明白;嚀個先生係一個好好個先生。黃二個朋友亦係學生,佢讀得唔係幾勤力,學得冇黃二該快;佢寫中文字,寫得冇黃二個該靚。

該時黃二翻屋企,佢行得好快;黄二個朋友行得冇黃二該快。

Wöng Ngì dọk-mạn fun-ak hō hō, hō gau; gim-ngìt chiau-häu-dō kui hī-ak hō dō, hiak-ak hō u.

Kui fan hòk, kui siang höng; kui ùk Jung-Mün*, kui ùk-ak hō kïn-lìk, hòk-ak hō fai; o ban-fọng*, kui lhē Jung-Mün dù, kui lhē-ak hō liang. Kui hài yīt-gwoi hō hō gwoi hòk-sang*. Nịng-gwoi lhing-sang hài Höi-San ngïn, kui gau-ak hō hō, gōng-ak m̈-fai m̈-màn, gōng-ak hō ting-chō hō mïng-bàk; Wöng Ngì hō mïng-bàk; nịng-gwoi lhing-sang hài yīt-gwoi hō hō gwoi lhing-sang. Wöng Ngì gwoi päng-yịu yìak hài hòk-sang*, kui ùk-ak m̈-hài gī kïn-lìk, hòk-ak mo Wöng Ngì kwọi fai; kui lhē Jung-Mün dù, lhē-ak mo Wöng Ngì gwoi kwọi liang.

Kwọi-sị Wöng Ngì fan ūk-kī, kui häng-ak hō fai; Wöng Ngì gwoi päng-yịu häng-ak mo Wöng Ngì kwọi fai.

You may have also noticed a comparative construction that was briefly covered in lesson 12 (e.g. 我冇佢該快 Ngoi mo kui kwọi fai “I’m not as fast as him”). In this lesson, the comparative construction also includes the form of 得 ak used to modify a verb (e.g. 佢學得冇黃二該快 Kui hòk-ak mo Wöng Ngì kwọi fai “He doesn't study as quickly as Wong Ngi”).

If you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Basic Course: Lesson 18 Dialogue

Last lesson’s question was “can you do it?” This lesson we ask, “How?”

1 A: 你有乜盛事呀,李四先生? Ni yiu mōt sìng-lhù a, Lī-Lhi Lhing-Sang?
  B: 我冇乜事。我順便來拜候你喲。 Ngoi mo mōt lhù. Ngoi sùn-bìng loi bai-hàu ni yiak.
2 A: 我講得清唔清楚呀? Ngoi gōng-ak ting m̈-ting-chō a?
  B: 清楚,你講得好清楚。 Ting-chō, ni gōng-ak hō ting-chō.
3 A: 我教得明唔明白呢? Ngoi gau-ak mïng m̈-mïng-bàk nē?
  B: 明白,你教得好明白。 Mïng-bàk, ni gau-ak hō mïng-bàk.
4 A: 佢讀得勤力嗎? Kui ùk-ak kïn-lìk ma?
  B: 唔勤力,佢讀得唔勤力。 M̈-kïn-lìk, kui ùk-ak m̈-kïn-lìk.
5 A: 你昨晚瞓得够嗎? Ni dọng-mạn* fun-ak gau ma?
  B: 唔夠,我昨晚瞓得唔够。 M̈-gau fun, ngoi dọng-mạn* m̈-gau fun.
6 A: 你昨日行得疚嗎? Ni dọng-ngìt häng-ak gau ma?
  B: 疚,我昨日行得好疚。 Gau ngoi dọng-ngìt häng-ak hō gau.
7 A: 佢吃得多嗎? Kui hiak-ak u ma?
  B: 多,佢吃得好多。 U, kui hiak-ak hō u.
8 A: 佢學得幾妥樣呀? Kui hòk-ak gī-họ-yịang* a?
  B: 佢學得好快。 Kui hòk-ak hō fai.
9 A: 佢做得幾妥樣呢? Kui du-ak gī-họ-yịang* nē?
  B: 佢做得好慢。 Kui du-ak hō màn.
10 A: 我想走囉,黄先生。 Ngoi lhīang dāo lō, Wöng Lhing-Sang.
  B: 還坐下喲,李先生。 Wạn tu hạ yi, Lī Lhing-Sang.
  A: 唔好儸,我走囉。 M̈-hō lo, ngoi dāu lo.

V得 + Adj

This lesson introduces a new function for the word 得 ak/āk; in the last lesson, we saw two uses of 得 ak/āk/dak, both of which convey some type of ability, as English does with can, be able to and may. In this lesson, the word 得 ak is used to express the equivalent of English adverbs.

The short (and rather imprecise) formula is when modifying the verb, the verb is followed by 得 ak and then by the modifying adjective (or predicate). Thus…

講得清楚 gōng-ak ting-chō “speak clearly”
教得明白 gau-ak mïng-bàk “teach understandably”
讀得勤力 ùk-ak kïn-lìk “study diligently”

On Convention

You may notice the two different versions of gau “enough” in line 5b—both 夠 and 够—I wrote these deliberately to match the text of the Basic Course. The author actually included both on the same line!

My goal for these lesson posts is to use the exact Chinese characters that the Basic Course uses wherever possible. I try to offer the exact same characters, mistakes included. Sometimes the Basic Course employs characters that aren’t in the Unicode set, and so I make do with other conventions—usually similar to those from the Kaiping Dictionary. Thus, I use 嚀 nịng* “there” following the Basic Course, but 該 kọi* following the Kaiping Dictionary.

Sometimes readers will note that quite different characters are actually used in Taishan, and I would love to see these observations included in the comments sections below!

That reminds me—how would you, readers, translate 行得疚 häng-ak gau?

Monday, September 5, 2011

Basic Course: Lesson 18 Vocabulary

This lesson focuses on how things are done, and so the vocabulary focuses on a number of new adjectives. Note that differing pronunciations in the Kaiping dictionary are provided in brackets.

  1. 乜 · mōt · what? something, anything, what kind of…? any, some, why?
  2. 貴(好價)· gwi [gui] (hō ga) · honorable; (expensive)
  3. 有乜盛事 · yiu mōt sìng [sèn] lhù · what can I do for you? Can I help you?
  4. 順便 · sùn-bìng* [vìn] · at one’s convenience, to take the opportunity of
  5. 拜候 · bai-hàu [vai-hàu] · to visit, call on
  6. 想 · lhīang · to desire, think, hope, expect, want
  7. 走 · dāu · to leave, go away
  8. 勤力(行)· kïn-lìk · industrious, diligent
  9. 夠 · gau · enough, sufficient
  10. 快 · fai · fast, quick, prompt, hurry
  11. 慢 · màn · slow, slowly
  12. 清楚 · ting-chō [ten-chū] · plainly, clearly, distinctly
  13. 講得清楚 · gōng-ak ting-chō [ten-chū] · to speak clearly
  14. 疚(悸)· gao (gwùi [gui]) · tired, fatigue

If you have any questions, thoughts or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to drop me a comment below!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Basic Course: Lesson 17 Reading

The reading passage for lesson 17 deals with the story of a certain 黃二 Wong Ngi, who fell sick and thus is unable to follow his usual routine.

黃二係美國陸軍語言學校個學生。佢前日有病,唔翻得學,唔上得堂,唔行得街,亦唔瞓得。

佢昨日朝頭早唔起得身,唔吃得飯。佢個朋友好好,買田野俾佢,又送錢俾佢。昨晚黃二瞓得;今日朝頭早佢起得身,吃得飯;下午佢到屋企聽音樂,睇報紙;今晚佢吃飯,佢吃鷄。

聽早黃二翻得學,上得堂,去得街。

Wöng Ngì hài Mị-Gwōk Lùk-Gun* Ngụi-Ngün Hòk-Hàu gwoi hòk-sang*. Kui tïng-ngìt yiu bìang, m̈-fan-ak hòk, m̈-siang-ak höng, m̈-häng-ak gại*, yìak m̈-fun-ak.

Kui dọng-ngìt jiau-häu-dō m̈-hī-ak-sin, m̈-hiak-ak-fàn. Kui gwoi päng-yịu hō hō, mai hing-nẹ* bī kui, yìu lhung tïng bī kui. Dọng-mạn Wöng Ngì fun-ak; gim-ngìt jiau-häu-dō kui hī-ak sin, hiak-ak fàn; hà-ṇg kui hui ūk-kī hiang yim-ngòk, hāi bo-jī; gim-mạn kui hiak fàn, kui hiak gai.

Hìng-dō Wöng Ngì fan-ak hòk, siang-ak höng, hui-ak gại*.

I try to avoid posting translations because I feel that this gives learners more incentive to try to learn the language. But if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to to ask them in the comments. I myself may not know the answers, but I have some dedicated followers who are both more knowledgeable and helpful than I am, and I’m sure they’d be able to help you out too.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Basic Course: Lesson 17 Dialogue

What can you do? That’s the key question of this lesson. Check out the vocabulary here.

1 A: 我入得來嗎,陳先生? Ngoi yìp-ak löi ma, Chïn Lhing-Sang?
  B: 請入來喲。請坐,請坐,李先生。 Tīng yìp löi yi. Tīng tu, tīng tu, Lī Lhing-Sang.
  A: 好呀,好呀,陳先生。 Hō a, hō a, Chïn Lhing-Sang.
2 A: 你聽早翻唔翻得學呀? Ni hìng-dō fan m-fan-ak hòk a?
  B: 翻得,我聽早翻得學。 Fan-ak, ngoi hìng-dō fan-ak hòk.
3 A: 你一陣上唔上得堂呢? Ni yīt-jìn* siang m̈-siang-ak höng nē?
  B: 唔上得,我一陣唔上得堂。 M̈-siang-ak, ngoi yīt-jìn* m̈-siang-ak höng.
4 A: 你今晚去唔去得街呀? Ni gim-mạn hui m̈-hui-ak gại* a?
  B: 去得,我今晚去得街。 Hui-ak, ngoi gim-mạn hui-ak gại*.
5 A: 你聽早晚來唔來得我處呢? Ni hìng-dō-mạn* löi m̈-löi-ak ngoi chụi* nē?
  B: 唔來得,我聽早晚唔來得你處。 M̈-löi-ak, ngoi hìng-dō-mạn* m̈-löi-ak ni chụi*.
6 A: 你今日去得三籓市嗎? Ni gim-ngìt hui-ak Lham-Fän-Sị* ma?
  B: 去得,我今日去得三籓市。 Hui-ak, ngoi gim-ngìt hui-ak Lham-Fän-Sị*.
7 A: 佢後日翻得工嗎? Kui hạu-ngìt fan-ak gung ma?
  B: 唔翻得,佢後日唔翻得工。 M̈-fan-ak, kui hạu-ngìt m̈-fan-ak gung.
8 A: 嚀個病人昨日朝頭早起得身嗎? Nịng gwoi bìang-ngïn dọng-ngìt jiau-häu-dō hī-ak sin ma?
  B: 起得,嚀個病人昨日朝頭早起得身。 Hī-ak, nịng gwoi bìang-ngïn dọng-ngìt jiau-häu-dō hī-ak sin.
9 A: 嚀個病人昨晚瞓得嗎? Nịng gwoi bìang-ngïn dòk-mạn* fun-ak ma?
  B: 唔瞓得,嚀個病人昨晚唔瞓得。 M̈-fun-ak, nịng gwoi bìang-ngïn dòk-mạn* m̈-fun-ak.
10 A: 我該樣做,得嗎? Ngoi kwọ-yịang* du, dak ma?
  B: 得,你該樣做得。 Dak, ni kwọ-yịang* du-ak.
  A: 佢該樣做,得唔得呀? Kui kwọ-yịang* du, dak-m̈-dak a?
  B: 唔得,佢該樣做,唔得。 M̈-dak, kui kwọ-yịang* du, m̈-dak.

The main grammar point is with the word 得 ak/āk/dak. This word generally expresses deontic modality. (You don’t have to know what “deontic modality” means, I’ve just never been able to use those words in writing!) In short, it corresponds to English expressions of ability, including can, be able and may.

得 ak

When modifying a verb, 得 is pronounced ak or sometimes āk. In this sense, 得 ak is similar to the English “can” or “may” as in, 翻得 fan-ak “can go,” 上得 “can attend,” 去得 hui-ak “can go,” 來得 löi-ak “can come,” 起得 hī-ak “can get up,” 瞓得 fun-ak “can sleep.”

The word 得 immediately follows the verb. When the verb has two components, such as 入來 yìp-löi or 瞓覺 fun-gau, then 得 intervenes between them, so you would get 入得來 yìp-ak-löi and 瞓得覺 fun-ak-gau.

When you want to say “cannot,” you should put 唔 before the entire phrase, so 唔去得 m̈-hui-ak “cannot go” or 唔瞓得 m̈-fun-ak “cannot sleep.”

When asking a yes-or-no question (or rather, an “A-唔-A question”), you place 得 after the last verb, so: 翻唔翻得 fan-m̈-fan-ak or 瞓唔瞓得 fun-m̈-fun-ak. The proper response to an A-唔-A question is A得 or 唔A得.

得 dak

When 得 stands on its own, unassociated with a verb, it’s pronounced as dak. The meaning also changes to one of general ability, and can even be translated as “okay” or “alright.” In sentence 10, the first question could be translated as either “Can I do it this way?” or “Is it okay that I do it this way?” or even “I do it this way, alright?”

At least, that’s how I understand this word. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Basic Course: Lesson 17 Vocabulary

This lesson’s vocabulary includes several new time words in addition to some very useful expressions for everyday activities like 翻學 fan hòk “go to school” and 起身 hī sin “to get up.”

  1. 入 · yìp · to enter, put into
  2. 翻學 · fan hòk · to go to school
  3. 翻工 · fan gung · to go to work
  4. 起身 · hī sin · to get up
  5. 聽早晚 · hìng-dō-mạn* · tomorrow night
  6. 後日 · hàu-ngìt (häu-ngìt*) · day after tomorrow
  7. 昨日 · dọng-ngìt (dok-ngìt) · yesterday
  8. 一陣(捏久,捏誒久) · yīt-jìn* (nīt-gīu) (nīt-ẹ-gīu) · a short while, one moment
  9. 病人 · bìang-ngïn* · patient
  10. 病 · bìang · sick, ill
  11. 得 · ak, āk, dak · can, to obtain, get, okay, verb suffix
  12. 該,該樣 · kwọ*, kwọ-yiạng* (kwọ-yiàng) · so, in such a manner
  13. 朝頭早 · jiau-häu-dō (jiau-dō) · morning
  14. 三籓市(大埠)· Lham-Fän-Sị* (Ài-Fàu) · San Francisco
  15. 喲 · yiàk, yì · final particle

Quite a few of these words have different pronunciations listed in the Kaiping Dictionary.

  • 起身 · hēi sin · to get up
  • 聽早晚 · hìn-dō-mạn* · tomorrow night
  • 後日 · hàu-ngèt (häu-ngèt*) · day after tomorrow
  • 昨日 · dọng-ngèt (dòk-ngèt) · yesterday
  • 一陣(捏久,捏誒久)· yīt-jìn* (nīt-gēu, nīt-ẹ-gēu) · a short while, one moment
  • 病人 · vìang-ngën* · patient
  • 病 · vìang · sick
  • 該,該樣 · kọ*, kọ-yịang* (kọ-yìang) · so, in such a manner
  • 朝頊早 · jeu-häu-dō (jeu-dō) · morning

If you notice any corrections or have any comments, please don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments!