Pronunciation of Romanized Words. The letters used do not convey to the Western student an accurate idea of the Foochow sound. Many Western speakers of the Foochow Dialect have had wrong pronunciations permanently fixed in habit by too exclusive attention to the Romanized early in their language study. The sound should first be learned from the teacher. Only after it is heard and reproduced with some accuracy should the Romanized be learned.
The Initials require relatively less explanation, although the above caution applies. The sounds are quite similar to the sounds given the same letters in English, except for the 8th which is nearly like the English letter j as in jaw. The 13th may cause difficulty as most Western languages use the ng sound only as a final and not as an initial. By saying rapidly “singing” and then omitting the first two letters the right sound is approximated. Practice will soon make the sound seem less strange to the ear and vocal organs. The phonetic script if read according to the National (Mandarin) pronunciation will give the Foochow sounds with a fair degree of accuracy except in the 3rd, 4th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 19th, 21st, 28th, 29th and 30th finals in which the national pronunciation of the script must be more or less modified to fit the Foochow sounds. In the Wade system of Romanization in common use in the North, the second initial would be represented by p, the 3rd by k, the 4th by k’, the 5th by t, the 6th by p’, the 7th by t’, the 8th by ch, and the 14th by ch’.
The thirty-three Finals make use of nine vowels which are sometimes followed by the ng or in the oblique[1] tones (3rd, 4th, and 7th tones) by k or h. The suggestions given below may assist the student but cannot take the place of drill with the teacher.
a is pronounced as in father, in No. 2, 5, 7, 9, 27, 31, and in the oblique tones of 21 and 29. Followed by i it forms a diphthong pronounced as ai in aisle in 6, 32 and oblique tones of 14. Followed by u it forms a diphthong au pronounced like ou in house in No. 22 and in the oblique tones of No. 19.
e is pronounced nearly as in men in No. 14, 26, 30, 33, and in oblique tone of No. 8. It is scarcely audible in 17 and approaches a as in say in the oblique tones of No. 4 and No. 20.
i is nearly the i in machine in No. 3, 4, 12, 16, 17, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31. In No. 8 it approaches i as in pin. For ai see above.
- ↑ In Chinese poetry the deflected or oblique tones (cáh siang 仄聲) are all except the 1st and 5th which are called bìng siang 平聲. The term “oblique” is here used for convenience in describing the tones where the vowels often change, which are 3rd, 4th, and 7th. See below.
