Cantonese language

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Cantonese
Yue
廣州 話  /  广州 话
廣東話  /  广东话
粵語  /  粤语

Spoken in

China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China People's Republic of China , Hong Kong , Macau , and worldwide in the diaspora communities with Cantonese roots
Hong KongHong Kong 
MacauMacau 
speaker 71 million
Linguistic
classification
Official status
Official language in Hong KongHong Kong Hong Kong Macau
MacauMacau 
Language codes
ISO 639 -1

zh (Chinese languages)

ISO 639 -2 ( B ) chi (Chinese languages) ( T ) zho (Chinese languages)
ISO 639-3

yue, zho (macro language, Chinese languages)

Geographical distribution of the Chinese languages
Geographical distribution of Yue ( 粵語  /  粤语 ) and Pinghua ( 平 話  /  平 话 ) in southern China
Tone contour (pitch and course) of the syllable "si" - six tones of the Cantonese language, Francis 2008

The Cantonese language ( Chinese  廣東話  /  广东话 , Pinyin Guǎngdōnghuà , Jyutping Gwong 2 dung 1 waa 2 , Yale Gwóngdūngwá ) or Yue ( 粵語  /  粤语 , Yuèyǔ , Jyutping Jyut 6 jyu 5 , Yale Yuhtyúh ) is a Chinese language that precedes is spoken mainly in southern China ( Huanan ).

designation

Historically and technically, the term Guangfuhua ( 廣 府 話  /  广 府 话 , Guǎngfǔhuà , Jyutping Gwong 2 fu 2 waa 2 , Yale Gwóngfúwá ) continues to exist in Chinese for the Cantonese language , which refers to the historical administrative term fǔ ( 府  - "Prefecture, Official seat, seat of government, palace, residence ”) for prefecture. The speakers in the region prefer Guangzhou mostly Chinese concept Guǎngzhōuhuà ( 廣州話  /  广州话 , Jyutping Gwong 2 zau 1 waa 2 , Yale Gwóngjāuwá ) for the Cantonese, while native of the region Hong Kong and Macau rather the name Guǎngdōnghuà ( 廣東話  /  广东话 , Jyutping Gwong 2 dung 1 waa 2 , Yale Gwóngdūngwá ) for the Cantonese language. Speakers of the Cantonese language in other southern Chinese regions of Guangdong and Guangxi sometimes also use the term Shěngchénghuà ( 省城 話  /  省城 话 , Jyutping Saang 2 sing 4 waa 2 , Yale Sáangsìngwá  - "language of the provincial capital") or, less often, the term Báihuà ( 白話  /  白话 , Jyutping Baak 1 waa 2 , Yale Baahkwá  - "Cantonese, Chinese colloquial language").

Classification

Linguistically, the Cantonese language forms with the standard Cantonese ( 標準 粵語  /  标准 粤语 , Biāozhǔn Yuèyǔ , Jyutping Biu 1 zeon 2 Jyut 6 jyu 5 , Yale Bīujéun Yuhtyúh ), represented by the Guangzhou 'he Cantonese ( 廣州 正音  /  广州 正音  - "Guangzhou" er standard tone ”), the main linguistic representative. Other Cantonese region lects ( 粵語 方言  /  粤语 方言 , Yuèyǔ Fāngyán , Jyutping Jyut 6 jyu 5 Fong 1 jin 4 , Yale Yuhtyúh Fongyin ), such as the Siyi region lect ( 四 邑 話  /  四 邑 话 ) and Hong Kong Cantonese ( 香港 粵語  /  香港 粤语 ), are important linguistic representatives of the regional dialect.

distribution

In China, Cantonese is spoken in most of Guangdong Province ( exonym "Canton", hence "Cantonese") and in parts of Guangxi , such as B. Wuzhou spoken. The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone is an exception . Because of the very high proportion of immigrants from the south-eastern and various parts of China, besides Cantonese, Hakka and Teochew, mainly Mandarin , also known as Standard Chinese , is spoken here. Cantonese is also spoken in the two special administrative areas of Hong Kong and Macau .

Furthermore, the third or fourth largest Chinese language (depending on the categorization) is spoken by emigrated minorities with Cantonese roots in many Chinese diaspora communities in Southeast Asia and some Chinatowns worldwide. Historically, Southeast Asia was one of the earliest areas of the Cantonese language. Therefore, Cantonese is still widely spoken in the communities of the emigrated minority and their descendants in Australia , Indonesia , Japan , Cambodia , Malaysia , Singapore , Thailand and Vietnam .

phonetics

Yue is structurally and linguistically largely in line with standard Chinese , but differs from it considerably in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. The most noticeable difference in pronunciation is that syllables can end with plosives (e.g. Sun Ya t -sen , Pa k Choi ).

Sounds

Cantonese is a tonal language . A distinction is made here between yām tones - standard Chinese yin tones - ( 陰 聲  /  阴 声 , yīnshēng , Jyutping jam 1 sing 1 , Yale yāmsing ) and Yèuhng tones - standard Chinese yang tones - ( 陽 聲  /  阳 声 , yángshēng , Jyutping joeng 4 sing 1 , Yale yèuhngsing ). Yām tones are high, yèuhng tones are low. In the Yale Romanization , the low notes are indicated by an h attached to the vowel. There are three yām and three yèuhng tones. These differ in the tone course. Furthermore, there are also three entry tones, also called Yap tones - in standard Chinese, ru tones - ( 入聲  /  入声 , rùshēng , Jyutping jap 6 sing 1 , Yale yahpsing ), which are derived from three of the Yām and Yèuhng tones can and therefore not be considered distinctive.

Different languages ​​of the Yue differ in some characteristics of the sound system. For example, the Yāmping tone - Mandarin Chinese Yinping tone - ( 陰平  /  阴平 , yīnpíng , Jyutping jam 1 ping 4 , Yale yāmpìng ) in Guangzhou has variants 53 and 55, while in Hong Kong the contour 55 predominates. Diachronic changes also play a role here; Thus the contour of the Yāmsèuhng tone - Mandarin Chinese Yinshang tone - ( 陰 上  /  阴 上 , yīnshàng , Jyutping jam 1 soeng 5 , Yale yāmsèuhng ) changed from 35 to 25 in the 20th century.

Tone quotation according to Zhao Yuanren. Compared to Standard Chinese (Standard Chinese), Cantonese has better preserved the ancient Chinese tone system and has nine tones (six tones plus three phonetically abbreviated variants), which are divided into three categories

The Chinese linguist Zhao Yuanren developed a system for notating tones. It divides the pitch into five levels, with 5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. The tone change (tone progression) can be represented by chaining the numbers. This chain of numbers, which expresses the height and course of the tone change, is also called tone contour or tone shape . The tones of Cantonese can be characterized by a pair of numbers as follows:

Sounds of the Cantonese language
volume High-, yām- / yin-
(陰 聲 / 阴 声) 		Low, Yèuhng / Yang
(陽 聲 / 阳 声) 		Entry, Yap / Ru
(入聲 / 入声)
Number
hist. (9) Phonet. (6) 		1 A 1 B 2 3 4th 5 6th 7 (see 1) 8 (see 3) 9 (see 6)
designation Yāmping
( 陰平 ) 		Yāmping
( 陰平 )
 Yāmsèuhng
( 陰 上 )
 Yāmheui
( 陰 去 )
 Yèuhngping
( 陽平 )
 Yèuhngsèuhng
( 陽 上 )
 Yèuhngheui
( 陽 去 )
 Yāmyap
( 陰 入 )
 jungyap
( 中 入 )
 Yèuhngyap
( 陽 入 )
Art High High, slightly falling Means increasing medium Low (slightly falling) Low (rising slightly) Deep High (entry) Entry funds Low (entry)
contour 55 53 or 52, 51 35 or 25 33 21st 13 or 23 22nd 5 3 2
Contour symbol ˥˥ [˥] ˥˧ or ˥˨, ˥˩ ˧˥ ˧˧ [˧] ˨˩ ˩˧ or ˨˧ ˨˨ [˨] ˥ ˧ ˨
example 詩 詩 史 試 時 市 是 色 錫 食
meaning poem poem history test time Market, city be colour tin eat
Jyutping si 1 si 1 si 2 si 3 si 4 si 5 si 6 sik 1 sec 3 sik 6
Yale sī - si 1 sī - si 1 sí - si 2 si - si 3 sìh - sih 4 síh - sih 5 sih - sih 6 sīk - sik 1 sec - sec 3 sihk - sihk 6
IPA ( diacritic ) s i , [ s íː ] s i , [ s îː ] s i , [ s ǐː ] s i , [ s īː ] s i , [ s i̖ː ] s i , [ s i̗ː ] s i , [ s ìː ] s i k , [ s eːk ] s e k , [ s ɛ̄ːk ] s i k , [ s ɛk ]
IPA ( contour ) siː˥˥ [siː˥] siː˥˧ or siː˥˨, siː˥˩ siː˧˥ siː˧˧ [siː˧] siː˨˩ siː˩˧ siː˨˨ [siː˨] siːk˥ sec˧ siːk˨
Notes on the table
A: Mostly Hong Kong , B: Mostly Guangdong

In general, the Cantonese language historically distinguishes between nine tones (e.g. Cantonese Pinyin ). With a precise phonetic distinction it results that within the nine tones ( 九 聲 六 調  /  九 声 六 调 , jiǔshēng liùdiào , Jyutping gau 4 sing 4 luk 6 diu 6 , Yale gaausìng lukdiu  - "nine tones six initials") next to the six high-low tones contain three so-called entry tones; the three entry tones (No. 7 to 9; tone contour 5, 3 or 2) are ultimately only the abbreviated variants of the 1st, 3rd and 6th tone (contour 53/55, 33 or 22). These tones are spoken when a syllable ends in a plosive sound (-p, -k, -t). Depending on the transcription system, the cases of the entry tone (No. 7 to 9; tone contour 5, 3 or 2) are not treated as a separate tone, but viewed as a variant. (e.g. Yale, Jyutping)

Relationship to the four tones in standard Chinese

Knowing the tone of the Cantonese reading of a character, the tone of the Mandarin reading can be clearly deduced:

1 - 1 身 、 心 、 張 、 生 、 媽 、 工 ...

2 - 3 早 、 體 、 好 、 小 、 姐 、 許 ...

3 - 4 課 、 再 、 見 、 姓 、 性 、 貴 ...

4 - 2 晨 、 陳 、 婷 、 梁 、 同 、 原 ...

5 - 3 你 、 有 、 我 、 領 、 老 、 友 ...

6 - 4 第 、 二 、 部 、 分 、 問 、 候 ...

Most mandarin tones can be derived in this way. Make sure, however, that the Cantonese reading is a standard reading, as some characters can change their tone when used alone or in a composition unknown in Mandarin. Deviations from the above-mentioned rule are also to be expected if the reading contains a plosive sound, because the number of possible tones is limited to only three if there is a plosive sound. The conversion scheme is then almost random. You can then only specify statistical tendencies:

1 - 1, 4, 2 一 、 級 、 室 、 築 、 足 、 急

3 - 4, 2, 3 隔 、 潔 、 雪 、 ...

6 - 4, 2 學 、 屬 、 傑 、 達 、 實 、 服 、 白 、 薄

Change of tone

Any tone can change into a second, sometimes also into a first tone. This phenomenon is called binjām ( 變 音  /  变 音 , biànyīn , Jyutping bin 3 jam 1  - "sound change, change of tone"). Binjām - standard Chinese bianyin - can have the following functions:

  • Marking of special Cantonese usage of a word , such as stand-alone usage where it would not be possible in standard Chinese (standard Chinese):
臺子 toi 4 zi 2 → 臺 （檯） toi 2 ("table" - "table")
名字 ming 4 zi 6 → 名 meng 2 ("Name" - "Name")
畫 waak 6 - 畫 waa 2 ("paint, draw" - "painting (picture), drawing")
話 waa 6 - 話 waa 2 ("speak, say, talk" - "conversation (language), what is said, speech")
  • Creation of intimacy, for example with terms for family members or even names :
  • 6 5 → 6 2
外 母 ngoi 6 mou 5 → 外 母 ngoi 6 mou 2 ("mother-in-law - mother of the wife")
  • 3 6 → 3 2
雪 妹 syut 3 mui 6 → 雪 妹 syut 3 mui 2 ("personal name")

The doubling words have a special conversion scheme:

  • 1 1 → 4 1
媽媽 maa 1 maa 1 → 媽媽 maa 4 maa 1 ("Mother - written language" - "Mama, Mutti - colloquial language ")
哥哥 go 1 go 1 → 哥哥 go 4 go 1 ("older brother - written language" - "big brother - colloquial language")
  • 4 4, 6 6 → 4 2
婆婆 po 4 po 4 → 婆婆 po 4 po 2 ("Old woman, grandma - maternal side - written language" - "Grandma, the grandmother - colloquial language")
弟弟 dai 6 dai 6 → 弟弟 dai 4 dai 2 ("younger brother - written language" - "little brother - colloquial language")
In Mandarin there is also a change in the tone of these words: the second syllable simply loses its tone.

structure

The structure of the Yue language is very similar to that of other modern Chinese languages. The following section therefore presents only a few of the characteristics that characterize the Yue.

morphology

A characteristic morphological feature that distinguishes the Yue language from other Chinese languages ​​is the order of the components in some compounds , in which the head is not at the end but at the beginning: Cantonese: 人 客 jan4 haak3 Person-guest = “guest " ; Standard Chinese: 客人 kèrén guest-person = "guest" .

syntax

The Yue not only uses counting words in noun phrases that are determined by numeralia or a demonstrative pronoun, but also uses them for determination :

隻 zek3 雞 乸 gai1 na2 睇 見 tai2 gin3 隻 zek3 鷹 jing1
Count word hen look - see Count word Hawks
"The hen saw the falcon"

In some cases, the sentence order in Yue differs from that of other Chinese languages. Certain adverbs are not in front of the verb, but behind the verb. In addition, in contrast to northern forms of Chinese, the direct object comes before the indirect object:

送 solution3 本 bun2 書 syu1 畀 at2 佢 keoi5
give Count word book give; on; for + acc. he, him
"Give him a book"

Choice of words and writing

There are special Cantonese words with their own characters, e.g. B. the Cantonese character “冇” Jyutping mou 5 - “not have”, “not” ( Standard Chinese : 沒有  /  没有 , méiyŏu , Jyutping mut 6 jau 5 ).

Transcription systems

So far there has been no uniform, official standard transcription system for Cantonese, like the Hanyu Pinyin for standard Chinese . There are various transcription systems for transcribing into Latin letters, of which Yale Romanization and Jyutping are among the most popular.

literature

  • Oi-kan Yue Hashimoto: Phonology of Cantonese. University Press, Cambridge 1972 ( Studies in Yue Dialects 1, ZDB -ID 184532-9 = Princeton-Cambridge Studies in Chinese Linguistics 3).
  • Robert S. Bauer, Paul K. Benedict: Modern Cantonese Phonology. de Gruyter, Berlin 1997. ISBN 3-11-014893-5 , ISBN 978-3-11-014893-0
  • 饒 秉 才 ： 廣州 音 字典 —— 普通話 對照 （廣東 人民出版社）
  • 劉 扮 盛 ： 廣州 話 普通話 詞典 （商務印書館）
  • 鄭 定 歐 ： 香港 粵語 詞典 （江蘇 教育 出版社）
  • Christopher Hutton, Kingsley Bolton: A Dictionary of Cantonese Slang. The Language of Hong Kong Movies, Street Gangs and City Life. Hurst & Company, London 2005, ISBN 1-85065-419-0 .

Web links

Wikipedia in Cantonese
Wiktionary: Cantonese  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alexander L. Francis, Valter Ciocca, Lian Ma, Kimberly Fenn - Journal of Phonetics Vol. 36, Issue 2, April 2008, pp. 268-294 ScienceDirect In: sciencedirect.com. Retrieved November 8, 2018
  2. ^ Contours based on Hashimoto 1972
  3. ↑ a b Yuen Ren Chao : Cantonese Primer. Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA 1947.
  4. ^ A b c d Robert S. Bauer, Paul K. Benedict: Modern Cantonese Phonology . de Gruyter, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-11-014893-5 .
  5. ↑ Example according to Hashimoto, page 20
  6. ^ Example after Hashimoto, page 26
  7. ↑ Term “mou (冇)”, Chinese / English: [1] on zdic.net, accessed on January 4, 2018 - online
The following important information is missing from this article or section:
Phonetics and phonology, grammar, vocabulary (possibly in contrast to standard Chinese), language examples (cf. language template ); Bibliography; References to articles about Romanizations: Meyer-Wempe , Yale Romanization , Barnett-Chao , Cantonese Pinyin, Romanization of the "Guangdong Provincial Education Department" from 1960?
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