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(1)
Explanatory
Introduction
Cantonese
is one of the major dialects of the Chinese Language. It is the
most predominant dialect used in Southern China including Hong
Kong. Because of the pre-eminence of Hong Kong as a commercial,
financial, manufacturing and trading center, the importance of
Cantonese should not be under estimated. According to the
statistics, over 60 million people in China speak Cantonese. Added
to this figure is the number of overseas Chinese living in
communities in places like Canada, USA, the UK, Australia and in
South East Asia.
Cantonese
is monosyllabic. The sound of each syllable is made up of two
parts -- an Initial (being the part consisting of the
initial consonant) and a Final which includes the vowel to
indicate what the sound is like.
Cantonese
is a tonal language in the sense that if we use the wrong tone,
what we want to say is totally unintelligible. At the very least,
confusion will arise if the wrong tone is used.
The
new system used in Cantonese for English Speakers has two
innovative features:
(1)
The inventor treats the tones as musical notes. He arranges
these notes
from high to
low. The students would find it much easier to commit these
tones into
memory.
(2)
The inventor adopts a new set of phonetic symbols. These
symbols are user
friendly.
Anyone accustomed to English will be able to correctly guess what
the
pronunciation is like.
Top
(2)
The Musical Approach Concept
There are basically
six tones in Cantonese. Here we provide a sample word for each
tone. Great care was taken to ensure that the sample word is
familiar to the English ear. Our students are asked to memorize
these sample words or sounds. It constitutes a “Magic
Formula” to
demonstrate what each tone is like.
The
“Magic
Formula”
is:-
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si1
si2
mi3
fa4
ho5
ti6
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|
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si1
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as
in: I
see,
or the deep blue sea.
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si2
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as
in: You
see!
Here he comes!
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mi3
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as
you sing: doh-re-mee
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fa4
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as
you sing: …… Far,
a long long way to run (taken from the musical – The
Sounds of Music)
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ho5
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as
in: hotel
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ti6
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as
in: society
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Top
(3)
The Spokesperson
A unique feature that
we offer is a computer software we developed called “The
Spokesperson”. This software program converts text to
speech, giving you the convenience to check and practice accurate
tone of any Cantonese word at any time anywhere.
You can type in any phonetic symbol, or a string of
symbols, the computer will then read out the word(s) in perfect
Cantonese with absolute clarity. This is immensely helpful when
the teacher is not around. The software, which can be installed in
a few simple steps, is compatible with English Windows
environment. You can see how it works as indicated below.
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Steps:
1.
Users can run the program after installation in
the computer successfully;
2.
Type any phonetic symbol or a string of symbols
in the left-handed box as illustrated;
3.
Press Play
to listen the pronunciation;
4.
Cantonese in perfect tone will be read out
clearly;
5.
User
can also download a word file in phonetic symbols by
pressing Add
File at right corner.
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Example:
gam1 yat5 tin1 hei3 ho3
, daai5 ga1
yat1 chai6
hui3 lui4 hang6
今
日
天
氣
好
, 大
家
一
齊
去
旅
行。
Top
(4)
A New Simple Phonetic System explaining the Finals and Initials
A
new set of phonetic symbols has been carefully selected for the
system. It is user friendly to those who are accustomed to
English. You can correctly guess what each symbol pronounced.
There are together 53 finals and 19 initials as listed below.
The Symbols for the Finals:
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No.
|
Final
|
English
Comparison
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Often
Used Examples
|
Phonetic
Symbols
|
Meaning
|
|
1
|
a
|
barber
|
爸
|
ba1
|
father
|
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2
|
aai
|
High
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街
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gaai1
|
street
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3
|
aak
|
bark
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白
|
baak5
|
white
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4
|
aam
|
Palm
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三
|
saam1
|
Three
|
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5
|
aan
|
Aunt
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難
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naan6
|
difficult
|
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6
|
aang
|
Sound(ng)
|
冷
|
laang4
|
Cold
|
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7
|
aap
|
harp
|
鴨
|
ngaap3
|
Duck
|
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8
|
aat
|
art
|
八
|
baat3
|
eight
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9
|
aau
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How
|
教
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gaau3
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to
teach
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10
|
ai
|
Item
|
仔
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jai2
|
Son
|
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11
|
ak
|
duck
|
得
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dak1
|
Can
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12
|
am
|
come
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心
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sam1
|
heart
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13
|
an
|
gun
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新
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san1
|
New
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14
|
ang
|
hungry
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燈
|
dang1
|
Lamp
|
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15
|
ap
|
up
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濕
|
sap1
|
Wet
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16
|
at
|
Utter
|
一
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yat1
|
One
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17
|
au
|
Outer
|
頭
|
tau6
|
Head
|
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18
|
e
|
yellow
|
車
|
che1
|
Car
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19
|
ei
|
Faith
|
飛
|
fei1
|
to
fly
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20
|
ek
|
check
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石
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sek5
|
Rock
|
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21
|
eng
|
Length
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靚
|
leng3
|
beautiful
|
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22
|
euh
|
her
|
靴
|
heuh1
|
Boot
|
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23
|
euk
|
jerk
|
腳
|
geuk3
|
Leg
|
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24
|
eung
|
err
+ ng
|
長
|
cheung6
|
Long
|
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25
|
i
|
see
|
詩
|
si1
|
poem
|
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26
|
ik
|
liquor
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食
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sik5
|
to
eat
|
|
27
|
im
|
Limit
|
甜
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tim6
|
sweet
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28
|
in
|
dinner
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錢
|
chin2
|
money
|
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29
|
ing
|
Finger
|
星
|
sing1
|
Star
|
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30
|
ip
|
lip
|
葉
|
yip5
|
Leaf
|
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31
|
it
|
lit
|
熱
|
yit5
|
Hot
|
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32
|
iu
|
windowsill
|
小
|
siu2
|
small
|
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33
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m
|
Mmm
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唔
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m6
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Not
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34
|
ng
|
sing
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五
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ng4
|
Five
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35
|
o
|
low
|
高
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go1
|
Tall
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36
|
oh
|
Saw
|
歌
|
goh1
|
Song
|
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37
|
oi
|
oil
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海
|
hoi2
|
Sea
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38
|
ok
|
Rock
|
角
|
gok3
|
Horn
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39
|
on
|
bond
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寒
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hon6
|
chilly
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40
|
ong
|
song
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幫
|
bong1
|
to
help
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41
|
oo
|
Wool
|
虎
|
foo2
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Tiger
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42
|
ooi
|
oo
+ I
|
杯
|
booi1
|
Cup
|
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43
|
oon
|
soon
|
悶
|
moon5
|
boring
|
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44
|
oot
|
boot
|
闊
|
foot3
|
Wide
|
|
45
|
ot
|
hot
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渴
|
hot3
|
thirsty
|
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46
|
ue
|
sh….
|
雨
|
yue4
|
Rain
|
|
47
|
uen
|
ue
+ in
|
遠
|
yuen4
|
Far
|
|
48
|
uet
|
ue
+ t
|
月
|
yuet5
|
Month
|
|
49
|
ui
|
err
+ I
|
去
|
hui3
|
to
go
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|
50
|
uk
|
look
|
屋
|
nguk1
|
House
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51
|
un
|
action
|
信
|
sun3
|
Letter
|
|
52
|
ung
|
Lonely
|
龍
|
lung6
|
Dragon
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53
|
Ut
|
Richard
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出
|
chut1
|
Out
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The Symbols for the Initials :
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No.
|
Initial
|
English
Comparison
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|
1
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B
|
Barber
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2
|
Ch
|
Charcoal
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|
3
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D
|
Darling
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|
4
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F
|
Father
|
|
5
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G
|
Garden
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6
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Gw
|
gwendoline
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7
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H
|
Harbour
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8
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J
|
Jaw
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9
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K
|
king
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10
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Kw
|
Queen
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|
11
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L
|
Lamma
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12
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M
|
Market
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13
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N
|
No
|
|
14
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Ng
|
singer
("er" is representated by the symbol "nga")
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15
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P
|
Par
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16
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S
|
See
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17
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T
|
Team
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18
|
W
|
Win
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19
|
Y
|
Yes
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Using
the new Musical Approach Concept, the process of learning
Cantonese is simplified, and the time it takes is drastically
reduced.
Top
(5)
The Tones
Please
see the explanation provided in the Musical Approach Concept
above.
Demonstrations:
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This
time he’d Lo1
Ye4, winning
the Mark Six.
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The
lady in red addresses her father-in-law as Lo4
Ye6.
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The
lady calls her elderly companion Lo4
Ye4.
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The
syllable “Lo
Ye”
is
same, but the tone conveys a totally different meaning. Learning
Cantonese is considered relatively difficult as compared to other
spoken languages, e.g. English mainly because of the number of
tones it has.
Top
(6)
The Author
Mr.
Edward P.H. Woo is the author of the book. He is also the Director
of the Center for Linguistics (Tonal) Studies and the person who
invented the Musical Approach Concept on tonal studies.
Top
(7)
An Interview
Please
click on the Audio Interview File [click
to download] to listen an interview about the
Musical Approach Concept.
Top
(8)
Book Order
Please
click on Book
Order to
download the book order form.
(9)
IMPORTANT
NOTICE
We
wish to advise that in additional to the Musical Approach Concept,
our Mr. Woo has also advanced a very important theory about a
‘Hexatave’ in speech in a manner similar to an Octave in
music. Please refer to two Papers written by Mr. Woo.
(1)
The Musical Approach Concept in the Study of Languages;
[click
to download]
(2)
Speech Analysis and the
Hexatave.
[click
to download]
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