台灣閩南語聲調(1): 長平調 (Tones in Taiwanese Southern Min (1): long level tones)

台灣閩南語基本聲調
Basic Tones in Taiwanese Southern Min

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免責聲明：本站所提供之音檔，除非另外註明出處，係皆由站長參照音韻規律錄製而成，然站長既非嚴格定義下的母語人士、亦非台灣閩南語教師，故此處之音檔僅供學習參考之用。

Disclaimer:  The audio files provided on this site were made of and by me unless otherwise indicated. Nevertheless, I am not a native speaker of Taiwanese Southern Min in the strictest sense, nor am I a teacher of the language. The sound samples are meant for reference only.

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[概論]
台灣閩南語總共有八個常用的基本聲調類型，但若只考慮音調的高低起伏，則可以簡化歸結為五個聲調，包含三個平調、一個升調以及一個降調。換言之，只要能區辨三種平調，聲調問題也就能迎刃而解了。

[Intro]

In Taiwanese Southern Min, which is mutually intelligible to Amoy/Xiamenese (also known as Hokkien in South East Asia), there are eight commonly used basic tonal types. However, if we take only pitch level and transition into consideration, the number can be reduced to five, including three level tones, one rising tone, and one falling tone. So, once you've got the level tones covered, you’re already good to go with the remaining tones. (Well, sorta.)

[持平調]

持平調可以分為長平調與短平調。長平調分為低、中、高三個，分別可對應到Do, Re, Mi三個音高，用數字標記則為11, 22, 33。同樣地，短平調也分為低、中、高三個，分別可對應到Do, Re, Mi三個音高，用數字標記則為10, 20, 30。舉例而言，長低平調的11表示兩拍Do，而短低平調的10表示一拍Do和一拍休止符。由於短平調只出現在以/p/, /t/, /k/或喉塞音結尾的音節當中，而長平調只出現在其他的音節型態，兩者不致混淆，因此可化約為低、中、高持平調，並分別簡記為1, 2, 3。

[Level tones]
Level tones can be either long or short. There are three long level tones, low, mid, and high, which respectively correspond to Do, Re, and Mi note in pitch, and which are numerically notated as 11, 22, and 33 in that order. Likewise, there are also three short level tones, low, mid, and high, which respectively correspond to Do, Re, and Mi note in pitch, and which are numerically notated as 10, 20, and 30 in that order. For instance, the 11 notation for the long low level tone indicates two beats of the Do note while the 10 notation for the short one means one beat of the Do note and one beat of pause. Since short level tones only occur in syllables that end with /p/, /t/, /k/, or the glottal stop whereas long ones only occur elsewhere, no confusion between the two types would arise. So, we can simply talk about low, mid, and high level tones and notate them as 1, 2, and 3 respectively without bothering to make the long/short distinction. 

[升降調] 

好在台灣閩南語都各只有一個升調和降調，只要音高有上升或下降，即使沒有發出正確的音高，也不致有太大的問題。升調起於Do止於Re，可用數字標記為12。降調起於Mi止於Do，可用數字標記為31。

[Contour tones]
Luckily, there is only one rising tone and one falling tone. So, as long as you are raising or lowering your pitch, you won’t be outrageously misunderstood even if you are not reaching the target pitch height. The rising tone starts with the Do note and rises to the Re note, so it can be numerically notated as 12. The falling tone starts with the Mi note and falls all the way down to the Do note, so it can be numerically notated as 31.



[附註]
此處以台灣南部腔為描述對象，各地的實際發音可能因方言差異而有所不同。

[Note]
The description here is only applicable to the southern dialect. The actual pronunciation may vary from one place to another due to dialectal difference.


參考資料：

• 台灣閩南語羅馬字拼音方案及其發音學習網

Reference:

• Tutorial on Romanization and pronunciation of Taiwanese Southern Min (The website is in Mandarin)

URL: http://www.ntcu.edu.tw/tailo/default.htm

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