Gabriel just posted a comment on ‘Hello again!’ about a comprehensive Chaoshan dictionary. I have made several serious attempts to study Chaoshanhua, and in the last attempt actually made good progress, until I found I couldn’t satisfactorally split my language learning time between two languages so decided to learn to write Mandarin.
What stopped me the other times is that no one knows the tones of Chaoshanhua these days, they just speak it. What kept me going the last time is a book and tape set that I found in one of the Xinhua bookshops. There’s no point in me telling you which one, even if I could remember, because they won’t order anything in for you, you just have to go with what’s on the bookshelves at the time. But you can get them to check if they have it if you speak really nicely.
It’ll be in the audio section. Chao zhou hua yi yue tong (??????). Chaoshanhua, Mandarin and English. Forgotten the price. The units start off simple, unlike the vcd book I have, and the tones are pinned reasonably accurately – and the tapes let you hear them, so you can learn to differentiate, although friends can only tell you if you’re right or wrong, not How.
I also have a Chaoshanhua dictionary! A student gave it to me when I told him I was learning. Chaoshan 18 Tone Dictionary. (Chaoshan shibayin zidian ???????) 18 tones? Have I translated that wrong? It has about 8, right?
Interestingly, there are spaces under many of pinyin sounds – for the reader to add their own? It’s from Chaoshanhua to Mandarin. 30rmb.
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Hehe…Thank you for this article and I am quite interested that you would like to learn ChaoShanHua. During my university time in Shenzhen, I was told that ChaoShanHua is one of the most difficult dialect in China (I’m not sure about that, even if there are many dialects in the autonomous areas in China).
Language Acquisition is something mysterious and there are also many theories and studies of that area. However, it is difficult to explain the process of language acquitision by merely a small child. Sometimes people may even forget their native language when passing down into another speech community.
There are three main dialects in Guangdong Province: Cantonese, Kejia Dialect and Chaoshan Dialect, while the number of Cantonese speakers outnumbers the other two, there are still a considerable speakers of Kejia Dialect and Chaoshan Dialect.
There are eight tones in Chaoshan Dialect mainly (not 18 tones). It is quite true that just a small amout of people know the tones and people just speak it.
Language is a kind of inherent heritage of God to our human beings, I think. This is why we’ve got so many and diverse languages in our world. Still, the English language is the most powerful one in the world, due to the spread and the colonial history of Britain. Nowadays the US becomes the giant in the world and this is why the English language can still keep the dominant status.
Just my comments, and it seems to be off the track…
yep, i am that kind of people who don’t know the eight tones! and I’m assure that the people around me don’t know as well!
???????,?????????????tones???????8?tones,is right?
????????18 tones???????
?????????
We dont really care about the 8 tones things.. we just open our mouth and it will automatically produce the sound and tone we want… I guess its upbringing thing… however I cannot and have difficulties in pronouncing the number 5 in Teochew… ngor ???
I have a question, if you would be so kind to answer me I would be greatful…
Is Chaoshan dialect another name for Chaozhou dialect?
It’s the same basically. Chaoshan (??) is the combination of Chaozhou (??) and Shantou (??). To my understanding, Chaozhou’s got longer history and it’s well known aboard even many years ago. Shantou (??) became well-known only in the last 20 years. But do correct me if I’m wrong.