Hokkien transcription systems

[Aurelio]

Dear all:

Is anybody aware of a romanisation system for Hokkien that would be compatible with pinyin (the Hanyu pinyin variety)? As Hokkien has , [g k kh] where Mandarin (and Cantonese) have only [p] [ph] and [k] [kh], most romanization systems will use something like (b p ph) or (b p p') - (if they distinguish between and [p] at all). Now, if you have Mandarin and Hokkien on the same page you're bound to mess up

I have seen people on the web trying to use (q) and (v) for (g) and (b), but that collides both with both the use of "q" in Hanyu pinyin and the real "v" sound in Cantonese.

Not too long ago I found that the People's Republic introduced a pinyin-compatible system for Cantonese (in the 60s). One should think there's something like that for Hokkien, too, but I have not been able to find out anything so far. Any input?

Best regards,
Aurelio

[Dylan Sung]

Hi Aurelio,

There was a 1960's romanisation of the Chaozhou dialect, and others for Cantonese, Hakka and Hainanese.

The following is for the Chaozhou dialect:

http://www.sungwh.freeserve.co.uk/flux/chaozhou.htm

Is this what you are looking for?

Cheers,
Dyl.

[Aurelio]

Dylan:

Yes, that's exactly what I was looking for! Thanks a lot. Using bh and gh is actually quite a clever idea ... Do you have an idea of how extensively this system has been used?

Regards,
Aurelio

[Dylan Sung]

Aurelio,

Unfortuantely, I do not. I have a couple of mainland dictionaries which employ this method of romanisation for pronunciation only, since they are Chinese-Chinese character dictionaries. I think I mention them in my webpage above. I bought them both in Hong Kong.

Cheers,
Dyl.

[Sim Lee]

Aurelio,

This is a quote taken from http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5- ... pt03-1.htm (sorry about the unprintable characters).

It looks like exactly what you want actually.

Cheers,
Sim.

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In December 1996, the Educational Reform Council ±Ш|§ﭲ©e­󷼬 led by Dr. Lee Yuan-tseh Â§í¶¯í·­íµ²í°²ecommended that the government adopt a new romanization systemTongyong Pinyin ³qÂ¥Î«í½·íµ¬ chiefly devised by Dr. B.C. Yu §E§B¬u of Academia Sinica ¤¤¥¡¬㨳°|. According to Dr. Yu, Tongyong Pinyin can be used to romanize not only Mandarin Chinese but also local languages in Taiwan, including Southern Fujianese and Hakka, and it is "compatible" with the Hanyu Pinyin º~»yÂ«í½·íµ system promoted by the Chinese mainland. At a time when Hanyu Pinyin has become internationally accepted, Tongyong Pinyin represents a conscious effort to promote a romanization system suited to Taiwan's culture and society (see Appendix VIII to find a comparison table of the most common romanization systems and the MPS).

[Dylan Sung]

Hi folks,

Perhaps you should read Dan Jacobson's site,

http://jidanni.org/lang/pinyin/index_en.html


Cheers,
Dyl.

[Aurelio]

Should add that I meant Hakka and not Cantonese having a real 'v'-sound ... Hope that's not too far off the mark (no clue of how to pronounce Hakka).

Regards,
Aurelio

[Henning]

There are many systems, I haven't counted them. In Taiwan, many people use either the traditional system devised by missionaries (known as "Church Romanization") or the TLPA system promoted by the Ministry of Education.

Why should a Romanization system for Hokkien be compatible with Hanyu Pinyin?

Henning

[Dylan Sung]

Aurelio,

Actually, Hakka does have a v sound. For instance,

vai1 jealous
vai4 spread/sprinkle
van2 to return something
van4 10,000
vet5 to gouge
vin2 dizzy
von3 bowl
von4 to change
vong2 king
vong2 yellow
vong4 prosperous
vong4 blood
vu1 black
vuk5 house

etc

Dyl.

[Aurelio]

Hi Dylan:

Thanks! Is vu1 the same character as Mandarin hei?

Regards,
Aurelio