Tag Archives: 中文

Phrase of the Day – Duck hears thunder 鴨仔聽雷

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 鴨仔聽雷 ah-á thiaⁿ lûi

A very apt description for the way some people have looked at me when I try to speak Taiwanese to them, somewhat equivalent to “like a deer in the headlights”, but in reference to hearing something that you can make neither head nor tail of. It’s nice that it conjures up a very specific image in your head. Suggested use – if you can get it out and be understood – is to use it to break the ice after a Taiwanese friend looks at you like a duck hearing thunder.

I will update the google doc soon. Feel free to contribute phrases you’ve heard, songs you can sing in Taiwanese, or recordings of you speaking Taiwanese.

(No ducks were harmed in the making of this post)

Phrase of the Day – Watermelons rest on the largest side 西瓜倚大傍

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西瓜倚大傍 si-koe óa tōa-pêng (Click syllable to hear pronunciation)

I like this phrase quite a lot as I always picture a watermelon rolling and then falling on its heaviest side. It’s used as a metaphor to say that people generally tend to side with those who will benefit them (as opposed to choosing through justice or impartiality), it can also suggest populism or going with the crowd. Below I’ve compiled two super short clips of Wu Nien-zhen’s Human Condition (《人間條件》）in which this phrase is mentioned. I don’t own the copyright to the video and am using the clips for purely educational purposes. Here the woman speaking uses a variation of the phrase: 吃西瓜倚大傍 ﹣ although the 倚 is commonly rendered phonetically as 挖 – which sounds closer to the Taiwanese pronunciation of 倚, which is pronounced “yǐ” in Mandarin. The 旁 is also commonly written as 邊, because it’s closer to the meaning of the phrase in Mandarin. In both cases the whole phrase is used as an adjective.

In the first clip she says: 食(吃)西瓜倚大旁的個性lóng(攏/都)無改變呢啊！chia̍h si-koe óa tōa-pêng ê kò-sèng lóng bô kái-piàn nih ah!    and in the second she says 按呢(這麼)吃西瓜大旁？án-ne chia̍h si-koe óa tōa-pêng?

http://youtu.be/a-yh6Du_XOs

Again, be careful how you use this phrase, as careless use can offend strangers.

I’ve updated the google doc, for those interested

 

Phrase of the day – Dead man’s bones 這是什麼死人骨頭？

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這是啥物死人骨頭? chit sī siánn-mih sí-lâng kut-thâu?

Note: 啥物, sometimes written phonetically as “蝦米” means 什麼 in Mandarin or “what” in English

My coworker told me about this phrase recently, meaning “What the heck is this?”, or “What’s this nonsense?”, though it literally means “What kind of dead man’s bones are these?” – kind of equivalent to “這是什麼鬼?” in Mandarin. It can be used for comic effect, when someone does, has, wears or says something weird:

For example when looking at the “Retrospective tea” advertised on a sign at a Gongguan teashop featured above, one might ask one’s friend: “這是啥物死人骨頭?”

Beware though, it can be offensive if you use it on strangers.

Here’s the updated Google doc, noting patterns between Mandarin and Taiwanese or lack thereof.

 

Taiwanese Language

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I’ve been making an effort to learn more Taiwanese lately, and have been trying to find some sort of pattern between Mandarin and Taiwanese that can provide me with an alternative method than just memorizing by heart. Some Taiwanese I’ve picked up from TV, KTV songs and from the Human Condition (《人間條件》 series of plays that I researched for my masters, but my vocabulary is limited to the very basic at the moment, so I hope that by starting a blog I’ll be more motivated. My approach to the language is not going to be scientific, but rather I’m going to rely on my own perceptions to build up an idea of how grammar and pronunciation rules work on my own terms, although I’m familiar with some of the rules around the language, as we were taught a limited amount as part of my master program.

Most of the phrases I’ve learned so far have only been simple greetings, basic common phrases or insults, as below:

你好: lí–hó [Click on each syllable to hear it] (Strangely enough, to my ear the direction of the tone mark seems to be counter-intuitive, as I would describe it as a slowly falling 4th tone.) – Hello

Going to test a few theories, as I continue learning:

你

we see “n” turn to “l” [and this may be limited to a third tone in Mandarin when followed by an “i” or may not]  [ㄋ->ㄌ]

“i” (zhuyinㄧ) remains similar in Mandarin and Taiwanese [which may be limited to when preceded by an “n” in Mandarin and an “l” in Taiwanese] [ㄧ->ㄧ]

好

“h” remains similar in both Taiwanese and Mandarin [which may be limited to when it’s followed by “ao” in Mandarin and “o” in Taiwanese or not] [ㄏ->ㄏ]

“ao” changes to “o” [which may be limited to when it’s preceded by “h”] [ㄠ->ㄛ]

Tones: I know that in speech, tones are affected by tones sandhi, but for the minute I’m going to ignore this, as I’m taking individual vocabulary and tone marks from a dictionary – later I’ll try and examine this in more depth

Tones: Third tones in Mandarin change to second tone (high-falling – ˥˧ (53) [Tainan] or falling – ˥˩ (51)[Taipei]) in Taiwanese [3->2]

這個人我熟似 chit-ê lâng góa se̍k-sāi (我認識/熟悉) – I know that guy/person

這

“zh” in Mandarin changes to “j”/”ch” in Taiwanese [which may be limited to when it’s followed by “e” in Mandarin or “it” in Taiwanese] [ㄓ->ㄐ]

“e” in Mandarin changes to “it” in Taiwanese [which may be limited to when it’s preceded by “zh” in Mandarin or “j/ch” in Taiwanese] [ㄜ->ㄧㄊ]

Tones: Fourth tone in Mandarin changes to fourth tone (low stopped – ˨˩ʔ (21) [Tainan] or mid-stopped – ˧˨ʔ (32) [Taipei] in Taiwanese [4->4]

個

“g” in Mandarin disappears [which may be limited when followed by “e” (ㄜ) in Mandarin] [ㄍ->_]

“e” in Mandarin turns into “e” (sounds like ei ㄟ in Mandarin) in Taiwanese [May be limited to when it’s preceded by a “g” in Mandarin, and has no final] [ㄜ->ㄟ]

Tones: neutral tone in Mandarin changes to fifth tone (rising – ˨˦ (25) [Tainan] or ˩˦ to ˨˦ (14~24) [Taipei]) in Taiwanese [5->5]

人

“r” in Mandarin turns into “l” in Taiwanese [may be limited to when followed by “en” in Mandarin or “ang” in Taiwanese] [ㄖ->ㄌ] *Note* I’ve also head 人 is pronounced “jîn” in different contexts

“en” in Mandarin turns into “ang” in Taiwanese [may be limited to when preceded by “r” in Mandarin and “l” in Taiwanese] [ㄣ->ㄤ]

Tones: Second tone in Mandarin turns into fifth tone (rising – ˨˦ (25) [Tainan] or ˩˦ to ˨˦ (14~24) [Taipei]) in Taiwanese [2->5]

我

“w” in Mandarin turns into “g” or “gu” in Taiwanese [may be limited to when followed by “o” (ㄛ) or “oa” (ㄨㄚ) in Taiwanese] [ㄨ (initial) -> ㄍㄨ/ㄍ]

“o” in Mandarin turns into “oa” in Taiwanese [may be limited to when preceded by a w in Mandarin or a “g” in Taiwanese] [(ㄨ)ㄛ->ㄨㄚ]

Tones: Third tones in Mandarin change to second tone (high-falling – ˥˧ (53) [Tainan] or falling – ˥˩ (51)[Taipei]) in Taiwanese [3->2]

熟

“sh” in Mandarin changes to “s” (sounds like sh) in Taiwanese [limited to followed by “ou” in Mandarin or “ek” in Taiwanese] [ㄕ->ㄕ]

“ou” in Mandarin changes into “ek” in Taiwanese [limited to following “sh” in Mandarin] [ㄡ->ㄧㄎ]

Tones: Second tone in Mandarin turns into eighth tone (high stopped –˥ʔ (5) [Tainan] or high stopped – ˦ʔ (4) [Taipei]) in Taiwanese [2->8]

似

“s” in Mandarin changes to “s” in Taiwanese [may limit to preceding “i” in Mandarin or “ai” in Taiwanese] [ㄙ->ㄙ]

“i” in Mandarin changes to “ai” in Taiwanese [may limit to following “s” and “sh”] [~(i)->ㄞ]

Fourth tone in Mandarin turns into seventh tone (mid – ˨ (22) [Tainan] or mid- ˧ (33) [Taipei]) in Taiwanese [4->7]

我相信 góa siang-sìn/siong-sìn – I believe

我(see above)

相

“x” (ㄒ) in Mandarin turns into “s” (sh) in Taiwanese [which may be limited to when followed by “i” with nasal final] [ㄒ->ㄒ]

“iang” in Mandarin remains as “iang” in Taiwanese [may limit to following “x”] [ㄧㄤ->ㄧㄤ]

or “iang” in Mandarin turns into “iong” in Taiwanese [may limit to following “x”] [ㄧㄤ->ㄩㄥ]

Tones: First tone in Mandarin turns into first tone (high – ˦ (44) [Tainan] or high – ˥ (55) [Taipei]) in Taiwanese [1->1]

信

“x” (ㄒ) in Mandarin turns into “s” (sh) in Taiwanese [which may be limited to when followed by “i” with nasal final] [ㄒ->ㄒ]

“in” turns into “in” in Taiwanese (sound the same) [ㄧㄣ->ㄧㄣ]

Tones: Fourth tone in Mandarin turns into third tone (low – ˩ (11) [Tainan] or low-falling – ˧˩ to ˨˩ (31~21) [Taipei]) [4->3]

白癡 pe̍h-chhi – Idiot

白

“b” in Mandarin turns into “p” in Taiwanese (though may be the same sound) [may limit to preceding “ai”] [ㄅ->ㄅ]

“ai” in Mandarin turns into “eh” (sounds like “ei” ㄟ) [may limit to following “b”] [ㄞ->ㄟ]

Tones: Second tone in Mandarin turns into eighth tone (high stopped –˥ʔ (5) [Tainan] or high stopped – ˦ʔ (4) [Taipei]) in Taiwanese [2->8]

痴

“ch” in Mandarin turns into “chh” (pronounced similar to q/ㄑ in Mandarin) in Taiwanese [may limit to preceding “i”] [ㄔ->ㄑ]

“i” (~) in Mandarin turns into “ih” in Taiwanese (sounds like ㄧ (i)) [may limit to following “ch” in Mandarin or “chh” in Taiwanese] [~(i)->ㄧ]

Tones: First tone in Mandarin turns into first tone (high – ˦ (44) [Tainan] or high – ˥ (55) [Taipei]) in Taiwanese [1->1]

流目屎 lâu-ba̍k-sái (流眼淚) – To cry

流

“l” in Mandarin remains “l” in Taiwanese [may limit to followed by “iu”] [ㄌ->ㄌ]

“iu” in Mandarin becomes “au” in Taiwanese [may limit to preceded by “l”] [ㄧㄡ->ㄠ]

Tones: Second tone in Mandarin turns into fifth tone (rising – ˨˦ (25) [Tainan] or ˩˦ to ˨˦ (14~24) [Taipei]) in Taiwanese [2->5]

目

“m” in Mandarin becomes “b” in Taiwanese [may be limited to preceding “u” in Mandarin or “ak” in Taiwanese] [ㄇ->ㄅ*nasal]

“u” in Mandarin becomes “ak” in Taiwanese [may be limited to following “m” in Mandarin or “(m)b” in Taiwanese] [ㄨ->ㄚㄎ]

Tones: Fourth tone in Mandarin becomes eighth tone (high stopped –˥ʔ (5) [Tainan] or high stopped – ˦ʔ (4) [Taipei]) in Taiwanese [4->8]

“sh” in Mandarin becomes “s” in Taiwanese [may be limited to preceding ~(i)] [ㄕ->ㄙ]

“i” in Mandarin becomes “ai” in Taiwanese [may be limited to following “sh” and “s”] [~(i)->ㄞ]

The list goes on, but I’ll save the two Taiwanese songs I know for later posts. Below are a list of theoretical rules for shifting between Mandarin and Taiwanese, most of which are obviously not the case, but I will improve upon it as I go along:

[~(i)->ㄞ] preceding ㄙ 似 屎          
[~(i)->ㄧ] preceded by ㄔor ㄕ or ㄙ 痴 是 死        
[~i->ㄨ] before ㄙ 思            
[1->1]   相 痴 心 思 風 中 花
[1->8]   一            
[2->2]   啥            
[2->5]   人 流 頭 眠 無 情 叢
[2->8]   白 熟          
[3->2]   你 好 我 死 阮    
[3->4]   骨            
[4->3]   信 看          
[4->4]   這 物          
[4->7]   似 是 夢 夜 念    
[4->8]   目            
[5->5]   個            
[ㄅ->ㄅ] followed by ㄞ 白            
[ㄆ->ㄅ] before ㄤ 旁            
[ㄇ->ㄅ*nasal] followed by ㄨ,ㄧㄢ, ㄥ 目 眠 夢 面      
[ㄈ->ㄏ] followed by ㄥ 風            
[ㄉ->ㄉ] before ㄚ 大            
[ㄊ->ㄊ] followed by ㄡ 頭            
[ㄋ->ㄌ] followed by ㄧ, ㄧㄢ 你 念          
[ㄌ->ㄌ] followed by ㄧㄡ 流            
[ㄍ->_] followed by ㄜ 個            
[ㄍ->ㄍ] followed by ㄨ, ㄨㄚ 骨 瓜          
[ㄎ->ㄎ] followed by ㄢ 看            
[ㄏ->ㄏ] followed by ㄠ, ㄨㄚ 好 花          
[ㄐ->ㄎ] followed by ㄧㄠ 腳            
[ㄑ->ㄐ] followed by ㄧㄥ 情            
[ㄒ->ㄒ] followed by ㄧㄤ 相 西 心        
[ㄓ->ㄉ] followed by ㄨㄥ 中            
[ㄓ->ㄐ] followed by ㄜ 這            
[ㄓ->ㄗ] followd by ㄤ 莊            
[ㄔ->ㄑ] followed by ~ 痴            
[ㄕ->ㄕ] followed by ~(i), a 是 啥          
[ㄕ->ㄙ] followed by ~(i) 屎            
[ㄖ->ㄌ] followed by ㄣ 人            
[ㄖ->ㄍ] followed by ㄨㄢ 阮            
[ㄖ->ㄐ] followed by ㄣ 人            
[ㄘ->ㄗ] followed by ㄨㄥ 欉            
[ㄙ->ㄕ] followed by ~(i) 死            
[ㄙ->ㄙ] followed by ~ 似            
[ㄚ->ㄧㄚ(n)] preceded by ㄕ 啥            
[ㄚ->ㄨㄚ] before ㄉ 大            
[ㄛ->ㄨㄚ] preceded by ㄨ 我            
[ㄜ->ㄟ] preceded by ㄍ 個            
[ㄜ->ㄧㄊ] preceded by ㄓ 這            
[ㄞ->ㄟ(h)] preceded by ㄅ 白            
[ㄡ->ㄠ] preceded by ㄊ 頭            
[ㄡ->ㄧㄎ] preceded by ㄕ 熟            
[ㄢ->ㄨㄚ~n] preceded by ㄎ 看            
[ㄣ->ㄤ] preceded by ㄖ 人            
[ㄣ->ㄧㄣ] preceded by ㄖ 人            
[ㄤ->ㄧㄣ] after ㄆ 旁 莊          
[ㄥ->ㄤ] preceded by ㄇ 夢            
[ㄥ->ㄨㄥ] preceded by ㄈ 風            
[ㄧ->ㄐ] isolated ㄧ            
[ㄧ->ㄧ] preceded by ㄋ 你            
[ㄧ->ㄧㄊ] isolated 一            
[ㄧ->ㄨㄚ] isolated 倚            
[ㄧㄝ->ㄧㄚ] isolated 夜            
[ㄧㄠ->ㄚ] preceded by ㄐ 腳            
[ㄧㄡ->ㄠ] preceded by ㄌ 流            
[ㄧㄢ->ㄧㄣ] preceded by ㄇ 眠 面          
[ㄧㄣ->ㄧㄣ] preceded by ㄒ 信            
[ㄧㄤ->ㄧㄤ] preceded by ㄒ 相            
[ㄧㄤ->ㄩㄥ] preceded by ㄒ 相            
[ㄧㄥ->ㄧㄥ] preceded by ㄑ 情            
[ㄨ (initial) -> ㄍㄨ/ㄍ] followed by ㄛ 我            
[ㄨ->ㄚㄎ] preceded by ㄇ 目            
[ㄨ->ㄛ] isolated 無            
[ㄨ->ㄧ(h)] preceded by ㄨ(initial) 物            
[ㄨ->ㄨㄊ] preceded by ㄍ 骨            
[ㄨ(initial)->ㄅ] isolated 無            
[ㄨ(initial)->ㄇ] followed by ㄨ 物            
[ㄨㄚ->ㄨㄟ] preceded by ㄍ, ㄏ 瓜 花          
[ㄨㄢ->ㄨㄣ] preceded by ㄖ 阮            
[ㄨㄥ->ㄤ] preceded by ㄘ 欉            
[ㄨㄥ->ㄩㄥ] preceded by ㄓ 中          

余華之《活著》書評 A Review of To Live by Yu Hua

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余華的短片小說我念大學時就讀到幾篇了，讀到時候感覺很新鮮——尤其是〈現實一種〉這篇——人物跟敘事者對小說中的血腥行為保持客觀的距離、漠不關心的態度，似乎主角在害他弟弟時也沒有多留意就心被分到光線那邊去。讀了許多年的刻版式的課文的我突然感覺有了活力——原來中文也有不濫情的、現代主義小說。不過，看《活著》看到一半又有一點失望，余華在這個作品中的敘事形式很像寫實主義的那派「傷痕文學」或賽珍珠的《大地》，只是以平民的視野去敘事內戰、文化大革命時期的那段歷史。這當然不見得是不好看，只是我在念高中時看這類型的小說看膩了，例如《野天鵝》、《落葉歸根》等等。

然而到最後（死了很多人之後）又讓我想到史坦貝克之《憤怒的葡萄》悲觀的收場。只是余華似乎跟史坦貝克的意圖不同，到最後富貴還是以正面的態度繼續活著。他那樣地接受所謂的「天意」令人想到台灣新電影的風格，尤其是《戀戀風塵》。

This was an average but ultimately disappointing read from an author whose short stories promised something more. ‘A Kind of Reality’ had an interesting narrative style, completely unengaged from the tragedy that occurs in the story, To Live, however, seemed derivative of a lot of the scar literature I read as a teenager, like Wild Swans, Life and Death in Shanghai, and Falling leaves return to their roots. Not that these books were bad, it’s just that I expected a more interesting technique from Yu Hua than a more or less straightforward narrative, although Yu Hua distinguishes his story somewhat in being less critical of the Communist Party than other novels in the genre. The almost Job-like persistence of Fu Gui, despite the death of his entire family brought to mind the determinism of the New Taiwanese Film wave, particularly films like Dust in the Wind. Although I identify more with the outlook of Steinbeck at the end of Grapes of Wrath or Hemingway at the end of A Farewell to Arms.

The Sound of a Falling Angel in the Night – Lolita Hu 夜裡天使墮落的聲音——胡晴舫

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Image Lolita Hu (胡晴舫) was born in Taipei and graduated from the Foreign Languages Department of National Taiwan University and went on to get her masters in the Theatre Department of The University of Wisconsin. In 1999 she moved to Hong Kong. She writes cultural criticism as well as short stories and essays. Her works have been published in the media in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. She currently lives in Tokyo.

Dim light is cast by the dragon-head-shaped wall lights, the pulse of electro shakes the entire space, comfy sofas divide the room into different nooks and crannies for people to drink in, pink nylon and muslin hang from the ceiling to the floor, prints of hundreds of bored faces are faintly discernible upon it. It could only be the hottest spot in Beijing this weekend.

Every three months a new nightclub appears in Beijing, and everybody trips over themselves to go there. The nightclub will normally be in a hutong, a dilapidated courtyard style house or a factory that’s about to be demolished. The same people every time scurry along to explore the new bar, they spout their cigarette smoke while telling you in lofty tones how the music in this new place is cool. After three months have passed, if it’s not that the style of the music has changed, or that the building which houses the club has suddenly been demolished by the city government, then it’s that it loses popularity for no particular reason whatsoever. Another bar opens, it’s also housed in an old factory, a hutong, or a traditional courtyard style house, wherever it may be, it always sounds incredibly cool.

Everyone vies with one another to be the first to spread the news. Then, at the new bar you meet the same familiar faces who recommended the old bar to you so enthusiastically.

When someone mentions the old bar, it’s as if they’re talking about a has-been celebrity. It’s so passé, they say. I don’t even know why it was so popular in the first place, it’s only logical that it’s become as out of fashion as it should have been in the first place.

It’s Friday night at 2am at the hottest bar of this couple of months, situated in the Sanlitun area. She has drunk quite a lot, but she’s still quite sober. She came with a friend who had a song twenty years ago which was popular throughout the whole of Beijing but who never followed it up with any other songs, when meeting a stranger he would always say “I’m so-and-so, do you want to buy me a drink?’. She would stand next to her friend, then not long after that she would ditch him, and sit down next to an immaculately dressed foreigner.

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‘The Blue Child’ by Egoyan Zheng 〈藍孩子的故事〉伊格言著

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ImageZheng Qianci (鄭千慈), whose pen name is Egoyan Zheng (伊格言）is a prominent science fiction writer and poet from Taiwan born in 1977. After dropping out of medical school, he completed his masters in Chinese Literature at Tamkang University. He’s won and been nominated for several literary prizes, including nominations for the Man Asian Literary Prize and the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. This is an extract from his science fiction novel The Dream Devourer (《噬夢人》）, which was published in 2010. This extract was first translated for eRenlai magazine in January 2011 by Conor Stuart (蕭辰宇`).

The Western limits of the Pacific Ocean. The island nation of Taiwan.

The North coast. The beach at sunset. Although one might call it sunset, given the low latitude, even in the midst of late Autumn, night never fell early. Although the sunlight had actually already long vanished beyond the horizon; there remained the sapphire curtain of night permeated with a milky glean hanging down from the edge of the heavens.

K walked alone away from the bright lights of the fish market beside the quay and wandered along the deserted beach, enjoying the stirring chill of the sea breeze after nightfall. In the distance, above the dark coastal highway, several blimps passed by from time to time at irregular intervals, more intermittent than frequent; one had to wait quite a while to catch sight of the circular beam of the searchlights passing by.

When there were no blimps passing, the vast space in the distance on the margins of his vision was a pitch black. Nearby the neon lights of a seaside amusement park glistened, the carousel with its colorful vaulted arches shone with an orange light in the midst of the pitch black surroundings. It was on appearance a popular scenic spot, in the day time it would most likely be teeming with tourists. Now though, even the majority of those that had loitered had already dispersed. The part of the beach K was standing on was a long way off from the fairground. He couldn’t hear any of the voices or the music. Or perhaps it was because the sea wind rose up to carry away the noise. However, in his line of sight, the fine strokes of sketched light stood out amongst the vast dark background, and the flowing multitude of people and things as they followed the revolutions of the vaulted axis, appeared at that instant to be so beautiful and unreal, like a ghostly gathering of the after images of light…

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