In this first episode of Pronounce it Like a Pro, we learned the 7 basic tones of Taiwanese.
(These show notes use tables and rich formatting. Please visit theย episode webpageย for an optimal viewing experience.)
When we talk about โtoneโ, there are two parts to it:
- Pitch: High, Mid and Low
- Contour: Flat/Level, Falling, Rising or Stop
Tone 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 are the long tones, and Tone 4 and 8 are the short tones that end abruptly in a stop (i.e. -p, -t, -k, or glottal stop, written as โ-hโ).
When we write Taiwanese using the Tรขi-lรด (TL) Romanization system or the Peฬh-ลe-jฤซ (POJ) Romanization system, the tones are marked with a diacritic on the core vowel of each syllable.
Below is a summary of the 7 Taiwanese tones.
You can also check out the tone diagrams on our website.
|
Tone |
Pitch Contour |
Sounds like... |
Examples |
|
1 |
High Flat |
When a doctor asks you to open your mouth and say โAhhhhhโ. |
โKhaโ /kสฐaหฅ/ leg, foot โSannโ /sรฃหฅ/ clothes โHeโ /heหฅ/ that โTshiaโ /tษสฐiaหฅ/ car, vehicle |
|
2 |
High Falling |
When youโre angry and youโre shouting: โNo! Hey!โ |
โPhรกngโ /pสฐaลหฅหง/ bread โHรณโ /hษหฅหง/ good, well โTsuรญโ /tsuiหฅหง/ water โTshiรบโ /tษสฐiuหฅหง/ hand, arm |
|
3 |
Mid Falling |
A sigh, โughโ, or if someone punches you in the gut โuhโ. |
โTshรนโ /tsสฐuหจหฉ/ house, home โKhรฒoโ /kสฐษหจหฉ/ pants, trousers โTshร iโ /tsสฐaiหจหฉ/ vegetables; a dish โKuร nโ /kuanหจหฉ/ measure word for bottles |
|
4 |
Mid Stop |
โHuh...โ thatโs interesting. Or when you catch someone staring at you and say: โWhat, what are you looking at?โ |
โTsiapโ /tษiapฬหจ/ juice โPitโ /pitฬหจ/ pen, writing utensil โSikโ /siษkฬหจ/ color; appearance โBahโ /baสหจ/ meat, flesh |
|
5 |
Low Rising |
โReally?โ, when you canโt believe it. |
โThรขuโ /tสฐauหจหฆ/ head โLรขngโ /laลหจหฆ/ person, people โTรชโ /teหจหฆ/ tea โTsรฎnnโ /tsฤฉหจหฆ/ money |
|
6 |
-- |
(merged with other tones) |
-- |
|
7 |
Mid Flat |
In meditation or yoga, you have that mantra, โohmโ that you hold in either the middle or lower part of your voice. |
โPnฬgโ /pลฬหง/ cooked rice; a meal โMฤซโ /mฤฉหง/ noodles โLลoโ /lษหง/ road; route โBฤซnโ /binหง/ face |
|
8 |
High stop |
โWut?!โ, when youโve heard something shocking. |
โLiaฬpโ /liapฬหฅ/ measure word for round objects โJฤฑฬtโ /dสitฬหฅ/ day; sun โToฬkโ /tษkฬหฅ/ poison; cruel โGueฬhโ /gueสหฅ/ month; moon |
THE โTAIWANESE TONE ANIMALSโ
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | (6) | 7 | 8 |
| sai ็ | hรณo ่ | pร ่ฑน | pih ้ฑ | kรขu ็ด | (kรกu ็) | tshiลซnn ่ฑก | loฬk ้นฟ |
| lion | tiger | leopard | soft-shelled turtle | monkey | dog | elephant | deer |
In Taiwan one common way to help children remember the tones is the โtone animalsโ. It is a phrase comprised of seven (or eight) animals, each of which has a different tone. The students would memorize this phrase as well as the melody of it. So whenever they want to know which tone is which, they could refer to this template they have learned by heart.
Try practicing it a few times yourself. It will be helpful for you to establish a melody template of Tone 1 to Tone 8.
Music Credit: TeknoAXE