Basic Course: Lesson 7 Dialogue

Here’s the lesson seven dialogue. See the vocabulary list in the previous post to look up the word meanings.

1	A: 幾好喇嗎？	Gī hō lā-ma?
	B: 幾好呀。你呢？	Gī hō ā. Ni nē?
	A: 幾好。	Gī hō.
2	A: 你去唔去街呀？	Ni hui m̈-hui gại* a?
	B: 去，我去街。	Hui, ngoi hui gại*.
3	A: 佢去街，佢去做乜呀？	Kui hui gại*, kui hui du mōt a?
	B: 佢去街，佢去買鷄。	Kui hui gại*, kui hui mai gai.
4	A: 逽買鷄唔買呢？	Nìak mai gai m̈-mai nē?
	B: 唔買，哦唔買鷄。	M̈-mai, ngọi m̈-mai gai.
5	A: 佢唔買鷄，佢買乜呢？	Kui m̈-mai gai, kui mai mōt nē?
	B: 佢唔買鷄，佢買米。	Kui m̈-mai gai, kui mai māi.
6	A: 你吃飯嗎？	Ni hiak fàn ma?
	B: 唔吃，我唔吃飯。	M̈-hiak, ngoi m̈-hiak fàn.
7	A: 逽唔吃飯，逽吃乜呢？	Nìak m̈-hiak fàn, nìak hiak mōt nē?
	B: 哦唔吃飯，哦吃粉。	Ngọi m̈-hiak fàn, ngọi hiak fūn.
8	A: 你買鷄嗎？	Ni mai gai ma?
	B: 唔買，我唔買鷄。	M̈-mai, ngoi m̈-mai gai.
9	A: 乃個買米呀？	Nại-goi mai māi a?
	B: 佢買米。	Kui mai māi.
10	A: 我走囉。	Ngoi dāu lo.
	B: 慢慢行！	Màn-màn* häng!

It’s really fun to practice pronouncing 買 mai versus 米 māi or 街 gại versus 鷄 gai. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to let me know in the comments section below.

Basic Course: Lesson 7 Vocabulary

Here is the vocabulary list for lesson seven of the Basic Course. Whereas the last three lessons discussed classroom vocabulary, this lesson brings us into the realm of food.

1. 佢 · kui · he, her, him, it
2. 逽 · nìak · you (plural); (singular in the possessive case)
3. 哦 · ngọi · we, us
4. 買 · mai · to buy
5. 鷄 · gai · chicken
6. 米 · māi · raw rice
7. 飯 · fàn · cooked rice
8. 粉 · fūn · noodle, powder
9. 街 · gại* · street
10. 去街 · hui gại* · to go out
11. 吃 · hiak · to eat
12. 做 · du · to do, work, make
13. 慢慢行 · màn-màn* häng · good-bye (walk slowly)
14. 幾好喇嗎？ · gī-hō lā-ma (gēi-hō lā-ma) · how are you?
15. 走 · dāu · to leave, to run
16. 乃個 · nại goi · who?
17. 呀 · ā · (final particle)
18. 出街 · chūt gại* (chūt gại) · to go out

Unlike Mandarin or Cantonese, Taishanese has single-syllable words for the plural pronouns (i.e. us, you, them). In this chapter, we get two: 哦 ngọi “us” and 逽 nìak “you” (“y’all” or “you guys” in colloquial American). Since these words don’t exist in Mandarin or Cantonese, these characters are adaptations.

If you should have any comments, questions or suggestions, just post them below in the comments section!

Basic Course: Lesson 6 Dialogue (Kaiping)

Here’s the lesson six dialogue transcribed according to the Kaiping dictionary.

1	A: 你好嗎？	Nei hō ma?
	B: 我好。你呢？	Ngoi hō. Nei nē?
	A: 我好好。	Ngoi hō hō?
2	A: 該一間係唔係學校？	Kọi yīt-gan hài m̈-hài hòk-hàu?
	B: 係，該一間係學校。	Hài, kọi yīt-gan hài hòk-hàu.
3	A: 嚀一間學校有冇班房呀？	Nẹn yīt-gan hòk-hàu yiu-mo van-fọng* a?
	B: 有，嚀一間學校有班房。	Yiu, nẹn yīt-gan hòk-hàu yiu van-fọng*.
4	A: 該一間班房有冇先生呀？	Nẹn yīt-gan van-fọng* yiu-mo lhen-sang a?
	B: 冇，嚀一間班房有先生。	Mo, nẹn yīt-gan van-fọng* mo lhen-sang.
5	A: 嚀一間班房有冇黑板呢？	Nẹn yīt-gan van-fọng* yiu-mo hāk-vān ne?
	B: 有，該一間班房有黑板。	Yiu, kwọi yīt-gan van-fọng* yiu hāk-vān.
6	A: 該一間班房有學生冇呢？	Kọi yīt-gan van-fọng* yiu hòk-sang mo ne?
	B: 冇，該一間班房冇學生。	Mo, kọi yīt-gan van-fọng* mo hòk-sang.
7	A: 嚀一間屋有牆冇呢？	Nẹn yīt-gan ūk yiu tiäng mo ne?
	B: 有，該一間屋有牆。	Yiu, kọi yīt-gan ūk yiu tiäng.
8	A: 該一間屋有窗嗎？	Kọi yīt-gan ūk yiu tong ma?
	B: 冇，嚀一間屋冇窗。	Mo, nẹn yīt-gan ūk mo tong.
9	A: 嚀一間屋有門嗎？	Nẹn yīt-gan ūk yiu mön ma?
	B: 有，該一間屋有門。	Yiu, kọi yīt-gan ūk yiu mön.
10	A: 唔該，唔該。	M̈-goi, m̈-goi.
	B: 唔使唔該。	M̈-sōi m̈-goi.

You can use the lesson six vocabulary list to translate these questions and answers. Please don’t hesitate to post any of your own questions or thoughts in the comments below.

Basic Course: Lesson 6 Vocabulary (Kaiping)

Here is the lesson six vocabulary list retranscribed according to the Kaiping dictionary.

1. 嗎 · ma · (final particle for yes/no questions)
2. 我 · ngoi · I, me
3. 間 · gan · (classifier for buildings, rooms)
4. 學校 · hòk-hàu · school
5. 班房 · van-fọng* · classroom
6. 先生 · lhen-sang · teacher, Mr., sir
7. 學生 · hòk-sang · student
8. 黑板 · hāk-vān · blackboard
9. 牆 · tiäng · wall
10. 窗 · tong · window
11. 屋 · ūk · house, home
12. 門 · mön · door
13. 有 · yiu · to have, there is
14. 冇 · mo · to have not, there isn’t
15. 唔該，唔該 · m̈-goi, m̈-goi · thank you, excuse me, pardon me, much obliged
16. 唔使 · m̈-sōi · to need not, it is unnecessary
17. 呀 · a · (final particle)

The differences in this lesson appear to be very small. As always, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment with any questions, comments or corrections!

Basic Course: Lesson 6 Dialogue

Here’s the lesson six dialogue. As in the previous lesson, it’s been retranscribed according to my revised romanization. It’s already getting to the point where the dialogue’s running into multiple lines!

1	A: 你好嗎？	Ni hō ma?
	B: 我好。你呢？	Ngoi hō. Ni nē?
	A: 我好好。	Ngoi hō hō?
2	A: 該一間係唔係學校？	Kwọi yīt-gan hài m̈-hài hòk-hàu?
	B: 係，該一間係學校。	Hài, kwọi yīt-gan hài hòk-hàu.
3	A: 嚀一間學校有冇班房呀？	Nịng yīt-gan hòk-hàu yiu-mo ban-fọng* a?
	B: 有，嚀一間學校有班房。	Yiu, nịng yīt-gan hòk-hàu yiu ban-fọng*.
4	A: 該一間班房有冇先生呀？	Nịng yīt-gan ban-fọng* yiu-mo lhing-sang a?
	B: 冇，嚀一間班房有先生。	Mo, nịng yīt-gan ban-fọng* mo lhing-sang.
5	A: 嚀一間班房有冇黑板呢？	Nịng yīt-gan ban-fọng* yiu-mo hāk-bān ne?
	B: 有，該一間班房有黑板。	Yiu, kwọi yīt-gan ban-fọng* yiu hāk-bān.
6	A: 該一間班房有學生冇呢？	Kwọi yīt-gan ban-fọng* yiu hòk-sang mo ne?
	B: 冇，該一間班房冇學生。	Mo, kwọi yīt-gan ban-fọng* mo hòk-sang.
7	A: 嚀一間屋有牆冇呢？	Nịng yīt-gan ūk yiu tiäng mo ne?
	B: 有，該一間屋有牆。	Yiu, kwọi yīt-gan ūk yiu tiäng.
8	A: 該一間屋有窗嗎？	Kwọi yīt-gan ūk yiu tong ma?
	B: 冇，嚀一間屋冇窗。	Mo, nịng yīt-gan ūk mo tong.
9	A: 嚀一間屋有門嗎？	Nịng yīt-gan ūk yiu mön ma?
	B: 有，該一間屋有門。	Yiu, kwọi yīt-gan ūk yiu mön.
10	A: 唔該，唔該。	M̈-goi, m̈-goi.
	B: 唔使唔該。	M̈-sōi m̈-goi.

You can use the vocabulary list in the previous post to translate these questions and answers. If there are any questions, please don’t hesitate to post in the comments below.

Basic Course: Lesson 6 Vocabulary

Here is the vocabulary list for lesson six of the Basic Course. We’re taking a step out of the classroom, moving on to discussions about buildings and their characteristics.

1. 嗎 · ma · (final particle for yes/no questions)
2. 我 · ngoi · I, me
3. 間 · gan · (classifier for buildings, rooms)
4. 學校 · hòk-hàu · school
5. 班房 · ban-fọng* · classroom
6. 先生 · lhing-sang · teacher, Mr., sir
7. 學生 · hòk-sang · student
8. 黑板 · hāk-bān · blackboard
9. 牆 · tiäng · wall
10. 窗 · tong · window
11. 屋 · ūk · house, home
12. 門 · mön · door
13. 有 · yiu · to have, there is
14. 冇 · mo · to have not, there isn’t
15. 唔該，唔該 · m̈-goi, m̈-goi · thank you, excuse me, pardon me, much obliged
16. 唔使 · m̈-sōi · to need not, it is unnecessary
17. 呀 · a · (final particle)

Note that the expression 唔該 m̈-goi “thank you” is the term used in thanks for favors, not presents. You can also use this term to say “excuse me,” if you are trying to get someone’s attention, not as an apology. The term 唔使 m̈-sōi “no need” is not quite an equivalent to “you’re welcome”; it means something more along the lines of “it’s nothing.” But you can also use it to literally say, “it’s not necessary.” I was in a flower shop the other day, and when the owner offered to sprinkle glitter on the flowers, I simply said, “唔使!”

It wasn’t until I reached this lesson that I noticed the problem with Deng Jun’s convention of writing kwọi as 該; this character is the character used for goi, as in m̈-goi “thank you.” Since the Basic Course was handwritten, the author was able to essentially invent a new character by writing a tiny 口 next to 該 to denote kwọi “here/this,” a word that has no written equivalent in Standard Chinese. I’m going to stick with writing kwọi as 該 for now, but please let me know in the comments if you have any better suggestions!

Basic Course: Lesson 5 Dialogue (Kaiping)

Here’s the lesson five dialogue adapted to the pronunciations in the Kaiping dictionary.

1	A: 好喇嗎？	Hō lā ma?
	B: 好好。你呢？	Hō hō. Nei nē?
	A: 好好。	Hō hō.
2	A: 該枝係唔係粉筆？	Kọi ji hài m̈-hài fūn-vēt?
	B: 係，該枝係粉筆。	Hài, kọi ji hài fūn-vēt.
3	A: 嚀枝係唔係鉛筆？	Nẹn ji hài m̈-hài yön-vēt?
	B: 唔係，嚀枝唔係鉛筆。	M̈-hài, nẹn ji m̈-hài yön-vēt.
4	A: 該一部係唔係草槁部？	Kọi yīt-vù hài m̈-hài tō-gō vù*?
	B: 係嚀一部係草槁部。	Hài, nẹn yīt-vù hài tō-gō vù*
5	A: 嚀一張係唔係報紙？	Nẹn yīt-jiang hài m̈-hài vo-jī.
	B: 唔係，該一張唔係報紙。	M̈-hài, kọi yīt-jiang m̈-hài vo-jī.
6	A: 該本侅字典唔係？	Kọi vōn hài dù-īn m̈-hài?
	B: 係，嚀本係字典。	Hài, nẹn bōn hài dù-īn.
7	A: 嚀枝係粉筆唔係？	Nẹn ji hài fūn-vēt m̈-hài?
	B: 唔係，該枝唔係粉筆。	M̈-hài, kọi ji m̈-hài fūn-vēt.
8	A: 該一枝係鉛筆唔係？	Kọi yīt-ji hài yön-vēt m̈-hài?
	B: 係，嚀一枝係鉛筆。	Hài, nẹn yīt-ji hài yön-vēt.
9	A: 嚀一本係草槁部唔係？	Nẹn yīt-vōn hài tō-gō vù* m̈-hài?
	B: 唔係，該一本唔係草槁部。	M̈-hài, kọi yīt-vōn m̈-hài tō-gō vù*.
10	A: 聽早見。	Hen Hìn-dō gin.
	B: 聽早再見。	Hen Hìn-dō doi-gin.

As I mentioned before, I’m not sure about how to pronounce the tones in 聽早. If you know how, please drop me a comment. Questions and corrections are of course welcome too!

Basic Course: Lesson 5 Vocabulary (Kaiping)

Here is the lesson five vocabulary list, transcribed according to the Kaiping dictionary.

1. 好 · hō · good, fine, allright, OK, right, very
2. 喇嗎 · lā-ma · (final particle for yes/no questions)
3. 呢 · nē · (final particle for “how about” questions)
4. 唔 · m̈ · not, cannot, (negative prefix)
5. 你 · nei · you
6. 粉筆 · fūn-vēt · chalk
7. 鉛筆 · yön-vēt · pencil
8. 草槁陪 · tō-gō vù* · writing tablet
9. 報紙 · vo-jī · newspaper
10. 字典 · dù-īn · (character) dictionary
11. 本 · vōn · volume, copy, (measure word for books)
12. 部 · vù · department, volume, copy, (measure word for works of literature, films, machines, etc.)
13. 張 · jiang · (measure word for flat objects, chairs, etc.)
14. 枝 · ji · (measure word for stick-like things)
15. 聽早* · hen-dō (?), hiang-dō (?) · tomorrow
16. 見 · gin · to see
17. 再 · doi · again, once more

My remarks from lesson four discuss some of the regular differences between the pronunciation in the Basic Course and the pronunciation in the Kaiping dictionary. Some words, like lā and nē, are transcribed with different characters. Deng Jun uses 啦 and 呐, respectively, but since these particles are more often spoken than written, I don’t consider this to be a major difference.

As I mentioned previously, I’m not familiar with the falling tone for 聽 hiàng, as in 聽早 “tomorrow.” The character 聽 is pronounced with a mid tone as either hen or hiang depending on the context, according to the Kaiping dictionary. If you’re more familiar with how to pronounce this word (at least with regard to tone), please drop me a comment and educate me!

Basic Course: Lesson 5 Dialogue

Here’s the lesson five dialogue. As in the previous lesson, it’s been retranscribed according to my revised romanization.

1	A: 好喇嗎？	Hō lā ma?
	B: 好好。你呢？	Hō hō. Ni nē?
	A: 好好。	Hō hō.
2	A: 該枝係唔係粉筆？	Kwọi ji hài m̈-hài fūn-bīt?
	B: 係，該枝係粉筆。	Hài, kwọi ji hài fūn-bīt.
3	A: 嚀枝係唔係鉛筆？	Nịng ji hài m̈-hài yön-bīt?
	B: 唔係，嚀枝唔係鉛筆。	M̈-hài, nịng ji m̈-hài yön-bīt.
4	A: 該一部係唔係草槁部？	Kwọi yīt-bù hài m̈-hài tō-gō bù*?
	B: 係嚀一部係草槁部。	Hài, nịng yīt-bù hài tō-gō bù*.
5	A: 嚀一張係唔係報紙？	Nịng yīt-jiang hài m̈-hài bo-jī?
	B: 唔係，該一張唔係報紙。	M̈-hài, kwọi yīt-jiang m̈-hài bo-jī.
6	A: 該本侅字典唔係？	Kwọi bōn hài dù-īng m̈-hài?
	B: 係，嚀本係字典。	Hài, nịng bōn hài dù-īng.
7	A: 嚀枝係粉筆唔係？	Nịng ji hài fūn-bīt m̈-hài?
	B: 唔係，該枝唔係粉筆。	M̈-hài, kwọi ji m̈-hài fūn-bīt.
8	A: 該一枝係鉛筆唔係？	Kwọi yīt-ji hài yön-bīt m̈-hài?
	B: 係，嚀一枝係鉛筆。	Hài, nịng yīt-ji hài yön-bīt.
9	A: 嚀一本係草槁部唔係？	Nịng yīt-bōn hài tō-gō bù* m̈-hài?
	B: 唔係，該一本唔係草槁部。	M̈-hài, kwọi yīt-bōn m̈-hài tō-gō bù*.
10	A: 聽早見。	Hìng-dō gen.
	B: 聽早再見。	Hìng-dō doi-gen.

You can use the vocabulary list in the previous post to translate these questions and answers. If there are any questions, please don’t hesitate to post in the comments below.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

This holiday is not one much celebrated in my family, but I thought it’s worth a post no less. In Chinese, Valentine’s Day is (perhaps more appropriately) called 情人節 or “Sweethearts’ Day.” So how to wish a happy Valentine’s Day in Taishanese? You might want to try…

情人節快樂！
tën ngën dīt fai lòk

That’s according to the pronunciation in the Kaiping dictionary. My best guess is that, according to the accent in the Basic Course, you’d likely say: tïng ngïn dīt fai lòk.

If you know of other “traditional” Valentine’s Day greetings in Taishanese, please feel free to drop a comment below! May your day be filled with love and joy!

Basic Course: Lesson 5 Vocabulary

Below is the vocabulary list for lesson five of the Basic Course. This lesson expands on lesson four, focusing on basic questions and classroom objects. I’ve transcribed it as close as I was able to, notes below.

1. 好 · hō · good, fine, allright, OK, right, very
2. 喇嗎 · lā-ma · (final particle for yes/no questions)
3. 呢 · nē · (final particle for “how about” questions)
4. 唔 · m̈ · not, cannot, (negative prefix)
5. 你 · ni (nei) · you
6. 粉筆 · fūn-bīt · chalk
7. 鉛筆 · yön-bīt · pencil
8. 草槁陪 · tō-gō bù* · writing tablet
9. 報紙 · bo-jī · newspaper
10. 字典 · dù-īng · (character) dictionary
11. 本 · bōn · volume, copy, (measure word for books)
12. 部 · bù · department, volume, copy, (measure word for works of literature, films, machines, etc.)
13. 張 · jiang · (measure word for flat objects, chairs, etc.)
14. 枝 · ji · (measure word for stick-like things)
15. 聽早 · hìng-dō · tomorrow
16. 見 · gen (ging) · to see
17. 再 · doi · again, once more

All of the new words in this lesson have corresponding Chinese characters. The character 唔 is typically a Cantonese character, also used in other dialects like Hakka. Other words are new to me, like 聽早 hìng-dō “tomorrow.” I wasn’t able to find this word in the Kaiping dictionary, but the dictionary (really, a character dictionary—or 字典 dù-īng) doesn’t claim to be an absolute linguistic authority. If you have any insights to this vocabulary list, please feel free to share your thoughts below.

Tomorrow I’ll post the corresponding dialogue.

Update: So my note on 聽日 聽早 belies my supreme nonfluence of Taishanese. It’s embarrassing, I must admit. Like Cantonese, we use 聽日 聽早 for “tomorrow,” but apparently we pronounce 聽 with a different tone (hìng instead of hing)—or maybe it’s just a difference in the accents.

Update: Here’s another character that speakers have been using to write hìng-dō.

Basic Course: Lesson 4 Dialogue (Kaiping)

Here’s the lesson four dialogue adapted to the pronunciations listed in the Kaiping Dialect Character Dictionary.

1	A: 早晨，早晨。	Dō sïn, dō sïn.
	B: 早晨，早晨。	Dō sïn, dō sïn.
2	A: 該尼係乜野？	Kọi nāi hài mōt yịa?
	B: 該尼係書。	Kọi nāi hài si.
3	A: 嚀尼係乜野？	Nẹn nāi hài mōt yịa?
	B: 嚀尼係筆。	Nẹn nāi hài vēt.
4	A: 該尼係乜？	Kọi nāi hài mōt?
	B: 該尼係部。	Kọi nāi hài vù*.
5	A: 嚀尼係乜？	Nẹn nāi hài mōt?
	B: 該尼係椅。	Kọi nāi hài yī.
6	A: 乃尼係紙？	Nại nāi hài jī?
	B: 嚀尼係紙。	Nẹn nāi hài jī.
7	A: 乃尼係枱？	Nại nāi hài họi*?
	B: 該尼係枱。	Kọi nāi hài họi*.
8	A: 該一尼係乜？	Kọi yīt nāi hài mōt?
	B: 嚀一尼係紙。	Nẹn yīt nāi hài và vo*.
9	A: 乃一尼係畫報？	Nại yīt nāi hài và vo*?
	B: 該一尼係畫報。	Kọi yīt nāi hài và vo*.
10	A: 再見。	Doi gin.
	B: 再見。	Doi gin.

Earlier in the week, I posted the original transcription from the Basic Course and also the lesson four vocabulary list (both from the Basic Course and also adapted to the Kaiping dictionary).

Basic Course: Lesson 4 Vocabulary (Kaiping)

Below is the vocabulary list for lesson four of the Basic Course, transcribed according to the Kaiping Dialect Character Dictionary.

1. 早晨 · dō sïn · good morning
2. 該尼 · kọi nāi · these, this
3. 係 · hài · is, are, am, were, was
4. 乜(野) · mōt (yịa) · what?
5. 嚀尼 · nẹn nāi · those, that
6. 乃尼 · nại nāi · which? every
7. 該一尼 · kọi yīt nāi · these, these ones
8. 嚀一尼 · nẹn yīt nāi · those, those ones
9. 乃一尼 · nại yīt nāi · which? which ones?
10. 書 · si · book
11. 筆 · vēt · pen
12. 部 · vù* · notebook, exercise book
13. 椅 · yī · chair
14. 紙 · jī · paper
15. 枱 · họi · table, desk
16. 畫報 · và vo* · magaine
17. 再見 · doi gin · good bye, see you again
18. 該一 · kọi yīt · this one
19. 嚀一 · nẹn yīt · that one

You’ll notice some obvious differences from the variant used in the Basic Course. I counted just five.

1. In terms of consonants, the letters b and w are both pronounced as v according to the Kaiping dicationary. So 報 becomes vo*, instead of po*. We don’t actually have to write v; we could continue to write w and p, and then simply remind ourselves to pronounce these letters like an English “v” when reading in this accent. But for the purposes of highlighting these different accents, I plan to write v for the Kaiping dictionary’s pronunciation.
2. As I mentioned before, this accent lacks the letters gw and kw, so 該 becomes kọi, instead of kwọi.
3. This accent has also lost the final ng following the vowel i. 嚀 becomes nẹn, instead of nịng. But wait—what about that e in nẹn?
4. This is the famous I-E accent split. Where some accents have i (e.g. 心 lhim), other dialects have e (e.g. 心 lhem). This rule doesn’t hold for all words with i; note 書 is pronounced si in both accents. This I-E accent split probably deserves a post of its own. (By the way, is there a better term for this distinction than “accent split”?)
5. Lastly, 見 is pronounced here as gin, instead of gen (or ging). It’s the flipside to the I-E contrast. The vowel in 見 can be either i, e or ia (also written ie), depending on the accent. From my experience, E-accents tend to pronounce 見 as gin, while I-accents pronounce 見 as either gen or gian. (You’ll notice that in the Basic Course, this word is transcribed as gien.)

If you find more, or see the need for corrections, please let me know in the comments!

Basic Course: Lesson 4 Dialogue

Here’s the lesson four dialogue. It’s short and straightforward. No doubt, I’ll be listening to it on repeat in my car.

1	A: 早晨，早晨。	Dō sïn, dō sïn.
	B: 早晨，早晨。	Dō sïn, dō sïn.
2	A: 該尼係乜野？	Kwọi nāi hài mōt yẹ?
	B: 該尼係書。	Kwọi nāi hài si.
3	A: 嚀尼係乜野？	Nịng nāi hài mōt yẹ?
	B: 嚀尼係筆。	Nịng nāi hài bīt.
4	A: 該尼係乜？	Kwọi nāi hài mōt?
	B: 該尼係部。	Kwọi nāi hài bù*.
5	A: 嚀尼係乜？	Nịng nāi hài mōt?
	B: 該尼係椅。	Kwọi nāi hài ī.
6	A: 乃尼係紙？	Nại nāi hài jī?
	B: 嚀尼係紙。	Nịng nāi hài jī.
7	A: 乃尼係枱？	Nại nāi hài họi*?
	B: 該尼係枱。	Kwọi nāi hài họi*.
8	A: 該一尼係乜？	Kwọi yīt nāi hài mōt?
	B: 嚀一尼係紙。	Nịng yīt nāi hài wà bo*.
9	A: 乃一尼係畫報？	Nại yīt nāi hài wà bo*?
	B: 該一尼係畫報。	Kwọi yīt nāi hài wà bo*.
10	A: 再見。	Doi gen.
	B: 再見。	Doi gen.

You can use the vocabulary list in the previous post to translate these questions and answers. If there are any questions, please don’t hesitate to post in the comments below.

Basic Course: Lesson 4 Vocabulary

Below is the vocabulary list for lesson four of the Basic Course. The lesson introduces basic questions along with classroom objects. I’ve transcribed it as close as I was able to, notes below.

1. 早晨 · dō sïn · good morning
2. 該尼 · kwọi nāi · these, this
3. 係 · hài · is, are, am, were, was
4. 乜(野) · mōt (yẹ) · what?
5. 嚀尼 · nịng nāi · those, that
6. 乃尼 · nại nāi · which? every
7. 該一尼 · kwọi yīt nāi · these, these ones
8. 嚀一尼 · nịng yīt nāi · those, those ones
9. 乃一尼 · nại yīt nāi · which? which ones?
10. 書 · si · book
11. 筆 · bīt · pen
12. 部 · bù* · notebook, exercise book
13. 椅 · ī · chair
14. 紙 · jī · paper
15. 枱 · họi* · table, desk
16. 畫報 · wà bo* · magaine
17. 再見 · doi gen / doi ging · good bye, see you again
18. 該一 · kwọi yīt · this one
19. 嚀一 · nịng yīt · that one

Some of these words seem to have no corresponding Chinese character. In the Basic Course, all the Chinese is handwritten, and the author used a character radical 口 to produce a corresponding word for Taishanese. Add 口 to 該 for kwọi “this” and to 乃 for nāi “some.” I wasn’t able to make new characters myself, so I adapted some of the characters used by Deng Jun (鄧鈞) in his Kaiping Dialect Character Dictionary (開平方音字典).

The word 尼 nāi is important to know. It corresponds to the Cantonese word 尐/啲 dī “some.” You use this word before plural nouns, like 我尼朋友 “my friends” or 我尼毛/頭髮 “my hair.” In quick speech, this word is often reduced to nā. Deng Jun transcribes this word with the character 尼, and I continue to do so here.

I’ve also applied my own romanization system here, based on my comments in previous posts. You should be able to review this system for transcribing vowels, consonants and tones in those posts.

Tomorrow I’ll post the corresponding dialogue.

Kaiping Dialect Character Dictionary

Given how few people in the world speak Taishanese, I was pleasantly surprised to find a number of dictionaries and word lists had already been compiled. I was even more surprised to find a dictionary based on the speech as spoken in my grandmother’s hometown district, Chikan 赤坎, in Kaiping. The linguist Deng Jun 鄧鈞, a Kaiping native, published this Kaiping Dialect Character Dictionary 開平方音字典 in 2003.

This dictionary provides a straightforward romanization scheme, and is organized with an eye to how the speech of Kaiping is currently used and understood. I may not have borrowed many of Deng’s romanization conventions, but the thought and structure behind his organization has influenced me greatly. His dictionary has been comfortably natural to use, while also enjoyably illuminating.

Since this dictionary very closely matches the speech of my own family, I will be retranscribing each lesson for myself with the pronunciation listed in the dictionary. If I can manage, I’ll also post these pieces on line.

For those who are interested (of whom I’m sure there are many), there is also a dictionary based on the speech of Taishan. I haven’t been able to get my hands on a copy; I was too tired to look for it the last time I was in Taishan. The dictionary is based on the pronunciation of Taishan City 台城, or so I’m told. If you have a copy or know where to find one, please drop me a comment!

Happy New Year!

It’s Chinese New Year—or Lunar New Year, as my Vietnamese friends continue to remind me—and so you might want to spread around the warmth of New Year greetings. How do you say it in Taishanese? Here are two common greetings:

新年快樂	恭喜發財
lhen nïn fai lòk	gung hēi fat töi

If you need help with reading the transcription, see my notes on consonants, vowels and tones. I’m not exactly sure how to pronounce these according to the accent of the Basic Course, but I’d wager one would say lhin nïan fai lòk and gung hī fat töi, respectively.

What other New Year greetings do you know in Taishanese?

Basic Course: Lesson 3

The third lesson in the Basic Course simply expands on the drills in lesson two. That lesson introduced the consonants, while the first lesson introduced the tones and vowels. The drills are pretty repetitive, and if I weren’t such a horrible speaker already, I would ignore them altogether.

I’ve uploaded all the pronunciation files in the first three lessons onto my smart phone, and I’ve been listening to them as I drive around Southern California. Sometimes I repeat after the reader, but otherwise, I like to think of it as an easy way to assimilate Taishanese rhythm and melody into my linguistic experience. You can download these audio files yourself at Ben’s Cantonese Practice Journal. (Ben, you are seriously my hero.)

I can’t wait to start working on real words and phrases next week in lesson four!