Scribd
Upload
286 views2 pages

Taiwanese Phonetic Alphabet Guide

This document provides instructions on pronouncing the initial consonants, finals, and tones in Taiwanese. It includes: 1) Descriptions of how to produce the initial consonants h, s, ph, th, kh, and the finals a, ai, i. 2) Lists of syllables with different initials, finals, and tones for listening and pronunciation practice. 3) Notes that Taiwanese syllables have an initial, final, and tone; the 1st tone is high and level while the 2nd tone falls sharply, indicated by an acute accent.

Uploaded by

rosaline_thu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
286 views2 pages

Taiwanese Phonetic Alphabet Guide

This document provides instructions on pronouncing the initial consonants, finals, and tones in Taiwanese. It includes: 1) Descriptions of how to produce the initial consonants h, s, ph, th, kh, and the finals a, ai, i. 2) Lists of syllables with different initials, finals, and tones for listening and pronunciation practice. 3) Notes that Taiwanese syllables have an initial, final, and tone; the 1st tone is high and level while the 2nd tone falls sharply, indicated by an acute accent.

Uploaded by

rosaline_thu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Lesson 1

LESSON 1

Initials: h, s, ph, th, kh Finals: a, ai, i Tones 1 & 2

HOW TO MAKE THE SOUNDS

h similar to an initial English h as in hood.

s similar to an English s, except that the front part of the tongue is slightly further
forward (as in months) and the tongue tip is down behind the lower teeth.
However, when followed by an i, the front part of the tongue is slightly further
back and may sound more like English she rather than see

ph same as an initial English p as in pill, but with more aspiration.

th similar to initial English t as in till, but with more aspiration and the tongue tip
slightly further forward touching the back of the upper teeth, as in English
eight-th. The middle part of the tongue is kept down.

kh same as initial English k as in kill, but with more aspiration.

a as when the doctor says: Open your mouth wide and say Ah!

i similar to ee in English see, but note the difference: Taiwanese vowels are pure
vowels (i.e. the tongue remains steady throughout the production of the sound).
So whereas when saying the word see the tongue glides upwards towards the roof
of the mouth during the production of ee, the Taiwanese i is different in that the
tongue remains steady in the high-front position throughout, and the lips are
spread flat. The tongue muscles are somewhat tense.

ai similar to ai in English aisle.

LISTENING & PRODUCTION DRILLS ai

1. a ha sa pha tha kha


ai hai sai phai thai khai
i hi si phi thi khi

2. h s ph th kh
i hi si phi thi khi
h s ph th kh
2
Lesson 1

3. Contrasting 1st tone with 2nd tone


a a ai i i ai i i
ha h h ha hai hi hi hai hi h h hi
sa s s sa sai si si sai si s s si
pha ph ph pha phai phi phi phai phi ph ph phi
tha th th tha thai thi thi thai thi th th thi
kha kh kh kha khai khi khi khai khi kh kh khi

4. Random order
si hi thi kh sa ph ai si kh i
hi kha ph thai s a khi hai thi
h khai s a kh pha th i phi sai

Notes

Taiwanese syllables consist of three parts: the initial (a consonant), the final (usually a
vowel) and the tone.

The 1st tone is high & level and has no tone mark, e.g. a
The 2nd tone has a long, sharp fall and is indicated by an acute accent, e.g.

If you are already familiar with Mandarin pronunciation, see Appendix A & B for a
comparison of the sounds in Mandarin and Taiwanese.

The Seven Tones in Taiwanese (note that there is no 6th tone):

You might also like