Lesson One: Identity and IntroductionAll important vocabulary words under each bullet point are in bold in red with a link to its translation and pronunciation in both forms of written Chinese, Toisanese, and Cantonese.
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Handout Links:
- Agenda and Learning Toisanese
- Basic Greetings
Table of Contents:
1- Agenda and Schedule
2- What's in a Name?
3- Phonetics
4- Cantonese and Code-switching
5- Conventions
6- Question & Answer Session
7- Basic Greetings
8- Practice Session
1- Agenda and Schedule
The goals of the class curriculum as well as its depth and how it will be disseminated over time are explained
 Toisanese is a unique language and an exclusive one. It is spoken in many countries including China, the United States, Canada, Peru, Vietnam, and Indonesia to name a few. Even trying to understand it is an attempt few make and is an opportunity to broaden your understanding of Chinese and a unique dialect that few get.
This class is unique and at the moment, is the only one of its kind that undertakes an understanding of a dialect that is spoken by millions around the world. Being in this class even once means you are taking part in something that has not been done anywhere else.
Class will meet weekly at 1:30 PM from the first class' date. There will be question and answer sessions as well as practice sessions in every class to help you although you are urged to try practicing Toisanese outside of class as well. Handouts will be given daily with additional resources available online.
2- What's In a Name?
Significance of Toisan (台山) the noun, its different spellings, forms, and pronunciations are shown in detail briefly to audience
There are currently at least 6 known spellings of Toisan and Toisanese in English depending on the phonetic method and the dialect of the original word in Chinese. You may know or spell Toisanese as one of the following:
- Taishan/Taishanese
- Toishan/Toishanese
- Toy Shan/Toy Shan
- Toishan/Toishanese
- Toisan/Toisanese
- Hoisan/Hoisanese
While Taishan/Taishanese is the official translation based on Mandarin in mainland China, it is too easily confused with a mountain of the same name not located near Toisan. Toishan/Toishanese is another form of the official Mandarin translation.
Toy Shan is an older spelling and is rarely used while Hoi Shan or Hoisan/Hoisanese is the actual translation directly from the dialect, but is not always understood as such even by some Toisanese speakers.
For the intents and purposes of this class, we will be using the Toisan/Toisanese to refer to the city and dialect respectively as it is the most commonly used in the United States by both Cantonese and Toisanese speakers.
3- Phonetics
System of English symbols used to signify Toisanese sounds is briefly revealed and reinforced with examples to show both vowels and consonants
For those who already know Cantonese and Mandarin, it will be relieving to know that Toisanese has much less tones and sounds to learn. This is especially helpful for those who do not know Chinese as the learning curve for Toisanese is much easier compared to the more stylized Cantonese or Mandarin dialects.
In fact, because Toisanese has a simpler set of vowels much like English, this class will use the phonetic symbol that some students will remember was last used to learn English in school. This phonetic system is given a brief description in the handout and below but practice is what will help students gain the most understanding of it. Keep in mind that this phonetic system is not based on professional linguistic standards and is ad hoc. Please feel free to use whatever shorthand or phonetics you wish that helps you remember the sounds. This is as much a learning experience for the instructor as it is for you.
Developed mainly for experienced English or Cantonese speakers to ease into the transition of learning Toisanese, the notation system can be simplified as follows:
Long Vowel Sounds: (4 of 12)
Ā, Ē, Ī, Ū;(macron)
Short Vowel Sounds: (3 of 12)
Ĭ, Ŏ, Ŭ;(breve)
Other Vowel Sounds: (5 of 12)
ə (schwa), AU, EA, OO, OI
Cantonese-only Sounds:
Í (accent mark), IE, Ü (umlaut)
Consonants and digraphs retain their sounds from English and Cantonese except as noted below:
XLC (voiceless lateral fricative)
NG (Toisanese equivalent of gn sound in Cantonese
A . between two words indicates that they are part of the same phrase in both English and Chinese but are separate monosyllabic words in Chinese.
A - indicates a particle which is usually not written but is part of the spoken style of Toisanese and Cantonese.
4- Cantonese and Code-switching
Code-switching is explained as well as the primary differences in conversion between the two dialects in verbal and formal aspects.
A similarity between Cantonese and Toisanese will be readily apparent to the student and this is not coincidence. While linguists and historians alike are trying to uncover the truth, we do know that Toisanese was and is still considered a rural derivation of the Cantonese or Yue linguistic family for the past several centuries although many sounds seem to drive from other languages that predate Cantonese.
Cantonese and Toisanese share so many similar sounds that the consonants will almost always be spoken the same with a few exceptions noted below. It is the vowels that the difference is most observable and one that will be discussed here.
Vowel Conversion Chart
| Toisanese Vowel |
Example in Toisanese |
English Translation |
Cantonese Equivalent |
Example in Cantonese |
Chinese Translation |
| Ā |
FĀ |
lung |
ā |
fā |
肺 |
| Ē |
DĒ |
Chinese character |
ē |
jē |
德 |
| NGĒN |
Person |
ŭ |
Yŭn |
人 |
| Ī |
GĪ |
Chicken |
í |
gí |
雞/鸡 |
| Ĭ |
JĬNG |
center |
ŭ |
jŭng |
中 |
| Ŏ |
MŎN |
noodles |
ē |
mēn |
麵/面 |
| Ū |
GŪ |
old |
ow |
gow |
古 |
| Ŭ |
SŬN |
mountain |
ŏ |
sŏn |
山 |
| WŬN |
bowl |
oo |
woon |
碗 |
| AU |
HAU |
good |
ō |
hō |
好 |
| EA |
|
|
|
|
|
| OI |
NGOI |
I |
aw |
gnaw |
我 |
| BOI |
cup |
ui |
Bui |
杯 |
OO |
GNOOT |
month |
ü |
yüt |
月 |
Toisanese has the distinction of being possibly the only Chinese dialect to have a voiceless lateral fricative. Used for words such as new, three, four, and week in Toisanese, this sound is sometimes represented as ɬ or lh by linguists. For the purpose of translating as closely to the actual sound as possible, this will be represented by XLC in the class.
Those who know Toisanese speakers will often hear them doing something called code-switching. This is simply a term that means someone who switches between two similar dialects, Toisanese and Cantonese in this case. For those who know Chinese and a little Toisanese, there is nothing to be ashamed of if you find yourself slipping in and out of Toisanese as it happens all the time - even to its native speakers.
5- Conventions
Important details such as the Siyi group of dialects, the function of particles, the informal basis of Toisanese, and its now very global and assimilatory nature are provided
Toisanese is spoken by millions of Chinese at their home village, in the United States, in Vietnam, and across the world in many enclaves. Due to the extent and rate at which the dialect has spread across the globe, Toisanese has taken on some small variations in pronunciation and vocabulary.
Now, there are more Toisanese out in the world than in Toisan proper!
Koi-sē sī.gī yū aw-nŭ hoi.sŭn gnēn chŭt-gŭk vŭn pŏn-bā hoi.sŭn-lŭ!
Ye-gŏ Toi.sŏn yŭn hī chŭt bēn dē gawk-gŏ jŭn daw-gaw hī Toi.sŏn yŭp-bēn.
In fact, Toisanese is part of a group of dialects that are very similar to each other called Siyi (四邑). This is because Taishan County lies closely to three other counties whose dialects share a phonetic system so close to Toisanese that the term is interchangeable for the Siyi group of dialects. Other villages that speak Toisanese or a related dialect are Enhing, Kaiping, and Xinhui.
I (am) learning Toisanese.
GNOI (HĪ) HŬK-GĒN HOI.SŬN.WŎ.
Ngoi (HĪ) hŏk-gŭn hoi.sŏn.wŏ.
我學台山話.
我学台山话.
With all this in mind, you might hear words pronounced differently than the Toisanese you have heard growing up or from other speakers. The pronunciation for words given in the class are by no means the official one but the most common one found in research. Please feel free to mention different or alternate pronunciations for words in the class.
6- Question & Answer Session
Students ask instructors more in-depth queries into the subject matter just reviewed as well as anything they want to ask about class.
7- Basic Greetings (Salutations)
Useful and opening greetings in Toisanese are given in a quick overview to the class to begin the immersion in the dialect.
As you will soon notice, Toisanese is a much more informal dialect because of its rural background filled with as much slang as Cantonese, if not more. This means that there are many variants to any given greeting or commonly used phrase, some you've heard and some you haven't. All of them are acceptable but are dependent on the social situation, much like the different ways we greet each other in English. The phrases given here in the handout are the shorter informal versions of the more formal ones.
Click here to go directly to the handout
The Salutations section will be given an overview today and even from these seemingly basic sayings, you can get an idea of Chinese's grammar structure and how Toisanese really sounds. While we will only be practicing this section today, you are encouraged to look through the other greetings sections as a preview of what you will be learning in the coming weeks.
8- Practice Session
The greetings are practiced among the class for the first time as they begin to see the dialect in action and in use
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Vocabulary
| English Word |
Toisanese Word |
Cantonese Word |
Traditional Chinese |
Simplified Chinese |
| Toisan |
HOI.SŬN |
toy.sŏn |
台山 |
台山 |
| Toisanese |
HOI.SŬN.Wŏ |
toy.sŏn.wŏ |
台山話 |
台山话 |
| Siyi |
XLCĀ.YŬP |
sā.YŏP |
四邑 |
四邑 |
| Cantonese |
GŬNG.ŬNg.WŎ |
gŭng.dŭng.wŏ |
廣東話 |
广东话 |
| Three |
XLCŎM |
sŏm |
三 |
三 |
| Four |
XLCĀ |
sā |
四 |
四 |
| I |
GNOI |
Ngaw |
我 |
我 |
| learn |
HŬK |
hŏk |
學 |
学 |
| learning |
HŬK-GĔN |
hŏk-gŭn |
學 |
学 |
|
