This lesson, Taiji Romanisation for Hokkien Speakers, is intended to provide people who already speak Hokkien the means to communicate in writing, using a very easy-to-learn writing system. The writing system, Taiji Romanisation, was created in Penang for the use with Penang Hokkien. Therefore the rule of tone and tone changes (or tone sandhi) is specific to Penang Hokkien. Nevertheless, for transcribing sentences, you can use it for other dialects of Hokkien.
The Tone System of Taiji Romanisation
There are four classes of tones in Taiji, namely 1, 2, 3/33 and 4. These four tones correspond to the four tones in Mandarin.
For example:
ma1 , ma2 , ma3 , ma4
pa1 , pa2 , pa3 , pa4
kau1 , kau2 , kau3 , kau4
kong1 , kong2 , kong3 , kong4
A syllable that has a meaning is called a morpheme. A morpheme can be a word on its own, for example kau1 (to hang), jip1 (to go in), chut3 (to go out). Words can also be formed by putting morphemes together, for example, lau3juak1 (fun), pan3gee2 (cheap), etc.
When two morphemes are side by side, the one in front usually changes its tone.
Example 1: ang2 (red) and sna1 (shirt) becomes ang3 sna1 (red shirt).
Example 2: wah4 (I), boek3 (want), khee3 (to go), co3 (to do) and kang1 (work).
Strung together, those words form the sentence: Wah1 boek1 khee1 co1 kang1 (I want to go to work). As you see, all the words change tones except the last one.
The rule for changing tones is as follows:
Words ending in tone 1 or tone 2 change their tone to 3 when placed in front of another word.
Example: ang1 (husband) + bor4 (wife) = ang3bor4 (husband and wife, couple)
Example: ang2 (red) + sna1 (shirt) = ang3 sna1 (red shirt)
Words ending in tone 3 or tone 4 change their tone to 1 when placed in front of another word.
Example: lau3 (to leak) + chooi4 (water) = lau1 chooi4 (leaking water)
Example: kang4 (river) + pni1 (side) = kang1 pni1 (riverside)
Tone 33 sounds the same as tone 3, except that, words ending in tone 33 do not change the final tone when placed in front of another word.
Note that lau3 (to leak) and lau33 (old) sound almost the same (in fact, I regard them as the same), but due to the way one changes tones while the other doesn't, we can tell which is which when we see them in writing.
The Penang Hokkien Dictionary compiles over 5,000 words in use. The dictionary has audio to help you hear how each word is pronounced. All the entries include definition in English and Malay, with a large number also showing example sentences, the Chinese characters, and the same word in Taiwanese Hokkien and Amoy Hokkien. You can reference it for free from anywhere in the world. To learn more of Penang Hokkien, go to Penang Hokkien Made Easy or try the free online course, Penang Hokkien on Memrise.
I wish you all the best in getting to know Taiji Romanisation!
Now you can use the most user-friendly tool on the web to learn Penang Hokkien. It helps you to listen, understand and memorise. Go to Memrise, and learn Penang Hokkien at your own pace.
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Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang
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Adakah anda mempunyai hartanah untuk dijual atau disewakan? Adakah anda ingin membeli atau menyewa hartanah? Hubungi saya. WhatsApp saya (Timothy Tye) di 012 429 9844, dan saya akan menugaskan salah seorang ejen hartanah saya untuk berkhidmat kepada anda. Saya akan pilih ejen untuk anda, mengikut keperluan hartanah anda. Oleh itu, apabila anda menghantar mesej kepada saya, berikan saya beberapa butiran tentang apa yang anda perlukan, sama ada untuk menjual, untuk membeli, untuk disewakan atau untuk disewakan, dan jenis hartanah apakah itu kondo, pangsapuri, rumah, kedai, pejabat atau tanah.
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Disclaimer
Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.
Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.