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Brief Introduction to Cantonese Pronunciation
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In pronouncing a syllable in Cantonese, three elements must be taken into
account, namely, an initial, a final, and a tone. The initial
includes whatever is before the main vowel, the final includes the main vowel and
whatever follows it and the tone is the voice pitch of the syllable. For the syllable
ngáak, the initial is ng, the finial is áak and the tone
is high-rising. |
| Initials - An initial is the starting-off sound
of a word. |
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Of the nineteen initials in Cantonese, ch, p, t, ck, and kw are aspirated while
b, d, g, gw, and j are unaspirated. The aspirated ch is articulated between the
English ch and ts. Two terms may need explanation: aspirated and unaspirated.
Aspirated consonants are pronounced with a puff of air, as in the English p in pan
and lip. In some cases, such as, in English, after s (span, spill), the same
consonants lose the puff of air and are unaspirated. At the end of a word they may
not even be completed: the lips close to form the sound but do not open again to
make the sound explode. Such sounds are termed unaspirated. |
| Aspirated stops: |
Non-aspirated stops: |
| P |
T
CH
B
G
GW |
K
KW
D
J |
| Nasals: |
Fricative and Continuants: |
| M |
N
F
H |
NG
L
S |
| Semi-Vowels |
| Y |
W |
|
Finals
A finial is the concluding sound of a word and there are fifty-one of these.
The main vowel is the key part of the Cantonese final. The vowels may be either long or
short and this affects the pronunciation. The vowels in the underlined finals are shorter.
The endings are P T K are pronounced without any burst of air (unreleased).
Finals starting with "A"
| A |
AAI |
AAU |
AAM |
AAN |
AANG |
AAP |
AAT |
AAK |
| |
AI |
AU |
AM |
AN |
ANG |
AP |
AT |
AK |
Finals starting with "E"
| E |
ENG |
EK |
EU |
EUNG |
EUK |
| EI |
EUI |
EUN |
EUT |
|
|
Finals starting with "I"
Finals starting with "O"
Finals starting with "U"
Finals starting with "Y"
Tones
In pronouncing Cantonese, be aware of the importance of tones in conveying meaning.
Basically, there are seven tones which, in the Yale system, are represented by the use
of diacritics and by the insertion of h for the three low tones.
The following chart illustrates the seven tones:
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
High
Falling |
High
Rising |
Mid
Level |
High
Level |
Low
Falling |
Low
Rising |
Low
Level |
| Chàng Báai |
Cháng Báai |
Chang Baai |
Chäng Bäai |
Chàhng Bàaih |
Cháhng Báaih |
Chahng Baaih |
Below is a chart describing the relative differences between the seven tones:
The sound system of Cantonese
Note that the Yale system is not the only system generally found in
official transliterations of personal and place names, where there has been little
standardization over the centuries.
Below is a list of various sounds of Cantonese, as they are transcribed in the
Yale system.
Consonants
| Yale |
Description of sound
|
| b |
resembles the (unaspirated) 'p' in 'span', 'spill'; to an unaccustomed ear,
an initial unaspirated p can often sound like 'b' in 'bill'. |
| d |
resembles the (unaspirated) 't' in 'stand', 'still'. |
| g |
resembles the 'qu' in 'squad', 'square'. There is some evidence that this sound
is becoming simplified over time, and words transcribed with gw
may actually be heard, in the speech of some native-speakers, as beginning with
g. |
| j |
an unaspirated sound something between 'ts' in 'cats' and 'tch' in 'catch'. |
| p |
in initial positions the (aspirated) 'p' in 'pat', 'pin'; in final position,
that is, at the end of the syllable, 'p' in unreleased. |
| t |
in initial positions the (aspirated) 't' in 'top', 'tin'; in the final position,
the 't' is unreleased. |
| k |
in initial position resembles the 'k' in 'kick', 'kill'; in the finial position,
'k' is unreleased. |
| kw |
A strongly aspirated plosive, resembles 'qu' in 'quick', 'quill'. |
| ch |
resembles the (aspitated) 'ch' in 'cheese', 'chill'. |
| f |
resembles the 'f' in 'fan', 'scarf'. |
| s |
resembles the 's' in 'sing', 'sit'. |
| h |
(only in initial positions in the syllable) resembles the 'h' in 'how', 'hand'.
(after a vowel, 'h' is used to denote one of the low tones.) |
| l |
resembles the 'l' in 'like', 'love'. |
| m |
resembles the 'm' in 'man', 'stem'. |
| n |
resembles the 'n' in 'now', 'nice'. There is a widespread tendency, particularly
amongst the younger generation of Cantonese speakers, to replace an initial
n by l, and there is consequently some variation in
pronunciation: many words, which are transcribed with an initial letter n in this book
may be heard beginning with l. For instance, niéh 'you', may be heard
as liéh. |
| ng |
resembles the southern English pronunciation of 'ng' as in 'sing' (that is, without
pronouncing the 'g' separately). This sound occurs only after vowels in English, but in
Cantonese it can also occur at the beginning of syllables. However, many native speakers
do not pronounce this sound initially. And, just as in English, a final
-ng, particularly after the long vowel aa, is often
replaced by -n, although this variation does not have the social connotation
it has in English (i.e. runnin' and jumpin'). |
| y |
resembles the 'y' in 'yes', 'yellow'. |
| w |
resembles the 'w' in 'wish', 'will'. |
Vowels
| Yale |
Description of sound |
| a |
resembles the 'u' in the southern English pronunciation of 'but'. |
| aa |
resembles the southern English 'a' in 'father'. When this sound is not followed by
a consonant in the same syllable, the second a of the aa
is omitted in writing: fa is pronounced as if it were 'faa'. |
| e |
resembles the 'e' of 'ten'. |
| eu |
resembles the French 'eu' as is 'feu', or the German 'o' as in 'schon'. It is
pronounced like the 'e' of 'ten', but with rounded lips. |
| i |
resembles the 'ee' of 'deep'. |
| o |
resembles the 'aw' in 'saw'. |
| u |
resemebles the 'u' in the southern English 'put'. |
| yu |
resembles the French 'u' as in 'tu', or the German 'u' as in 'Tur'. It is
pronounced like the 'ee' of 'deep', but with the lips rounded instead of spread. |
Diphthongs
| Yale |
Description of sound |
| ai |
a + i, a combination of 'a' plus 'I', a very short diphthong,
much shorter than the sound of 'y' in 'my'. |
| aai |
a + i, resembling the 'ie' in 'lie'. |
| au |
a + u, resembling the 'ou' in 'out'. |
| aau |
aa + u, resembling a long 'ou' in 'ouch!' |
| eui |
eu + i, a combination of 'eu' plus 'i', something like the
hesitation form 'er' in English (without the 'r' sound) followed by 'ee': 'e(r)-ee'.
|
| iu |
i + u, a combination of 'i' plus 'u', something like 'yew' in
English. |
| oi |
o + i, resembling the 'oy' in 'boy'. |
| ou |
o + u, resembling the 'oe' in 'foe'. |
| ui |
u + i, resembling the 'ooey' in 'phooey'. |
Brief Introduction to Chinese Pronunciation in Pinyin
Over the centuries several Romanization systems have and are applied to
the Mandarin Chinese Language, which is now the standard for the whole country. The most
popular current system is the Pinyin Romanization and to date it has provided one of the
most conductive to the learning of Chinese Pronunciation. It has been the United Nations
standard since 1977 and is the ISO standard since 1982.
A syllable in Pinyin consists of three elements (1) an initial or the beginning sound,
(2) a final, the ending of a syllable, (3) a tone which characterizes the whole syllable
(much like the above Cantonese).
Initials
Of the twenty-one initials in Mandarin, b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, s,
and t sound the same as the letters pronounced in English. The letters c, q, x and z are
pronounced in a modified manner compared to English. The letters r, ch, sh, and zh do not
have an English equivelent.
| Pinyin |
Description of sound |
| b |
as in book |
| d |
as in dad |
| f |
as in fork |
| g |
as in good |
| h |
as in horse |
| j |
as in jeep |
| k |
as in kite |
| l |
as in look |
| m | as in moon
|
| n |
as in noon |
| p |
as in paper |
| s |
as in see |
| t |
as in tea
|
| Pinyin |
Description of sound |
| c |
like ts in its |
| q |
like ch in chip |
| x |
like sh in sheep |
| z |
like ds in hands
|
| Pinyin |
Description of sound |
| r |
like r in rule when it is before u or -ong; otherwise, it sounds like
the s in pleasure |
| ch |
like ts in its, but with the tongue retracted (the tip of the tongue is
turned up and back to touch the roof of the mouth |
| sh |
like s in see, but with the tongue retracted |
| zh |
like ds in hands, but with the tongue retracted |
Finals
A finial is the concluding sound of a word and there are thirty-six
of these. The main vowel is the key part of the Cantonese final. The vowels may be
either long or short and this affects the pronunciation. Some words end in only
one vowel (simple finals), some end in two or three vowels, and some end in nasal
sounds like -n or -ng (compound finals).
Simple Finals
There are six of these:
| Pinyin |
Description of sound |
| a |
as in father, with the mouth open |
| o |
like aw in saw |
| e |
like u in cup but after y like the e in yes |
| i |
like in ski, except after c, ch, r, s, sh, z, zh, when it is like ü |
| u |
like the u in super, except after j, q, x, y, when it is like ü |
| ü |
sound made with tongue in position of i (ski) with lips rounded
|
Compound Finals
There are twenty-one of these:
|
| Pinyin |
Description of sound |
| ai |
as in aisle or the I in bike |
| an |
like the a in father plus the n in in |
| ang |
like the a in father plus the ng in long |
| ao |
like the ow in now |
| ou |
like the o in home |
| ong |
like the aw in saw plus ng in long |
| ei |
as in eight |
| en |
like the un in under |
| eng |
like the ung in lung |
| er |
as in term |
| ia |
like the ya in yacht |
| ie |
like the e in yet |
| iao |
start with the ee in see and end with ow in now |
| in |
as in tin |
| ing |
as in sing |
| ian |
like yen |
| ua |
like the u in put plus the a in father |
| uo |
like the u in put plus the aw in saw |
| uai |
like why |
| un |
like the u in put plus the n in fun |
| ün |
start with the tongue in position of i (inn) with lips rounded and end in -n |
| ü |
please note that due to font limitations, throughout this website we make use
of the two dots as an indication of high, level tone. |
Tones
In pronouncing Mandarin, be aware of the importance of tones in conveying meaning.
Basically, there are four tones which, in the Pinyin system, are represented by the use of
diacritics.
The following chart illustrates the four tones:
| 1st Tone |
2nd Tone |
3rd Tone |
4th Tone |
| High Level |
Mid Rising |
Low Falling |
High Falling |
| Mä |
Má |
Mâ |
Mà |
| Dï |
Dí |
Dî |
Dì |
Below is a chart describing the relative differences between
the four tones:
| ä |
- please note that in most Pinyin writing utilizing diacritics this tone is noted
with a small bar across the vowel. We are limited in character selection and are
forced to use two dots to represent the bar. Any vowel with two dots on top should
be read as high, level tone. |
| â |
- please note that in most Pinyin writing utilizing diacritics, this tone looks
like a small v on top of the vowel. We are limited in character selection and are
forced to use an upside down v with our fonts.
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| Important Rules for Spelling and Pronunciation |
| 1) |
In writing, w is used for a word whose sound begins with the vowel u; y is used
for i or ü. |
| 2) |
The dots above the ü are dropped when it is preceded by j, q, x, or y. |
| 3) |
In writing, iu is a short form for iou, and ui for uei. |
| 4) |
In writing, the tone marks are on the main vowel, the one pronounced the loudest
and with the mouth open widest. |
| 5) |
In a sentence or phrase, some words do not carry their tone marks because they
are unstressed in that group of words. |
| 6) |
When two third tones are in succession, the first one changes into a rising tone,
the second tone. |
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