then rising again, as in a strongly marked interrogation in English, e.g., "You?"
The 4th and 8th tones are only used in syllables ending in h, k, p and t. Both of these tones are short, sharp, and almost explosive. Words ending in the above-mentioned letters which have no accent, are 4th tone, the 8th tone being indicated by a vertical accent, which is intended to suggest the peculiar upward jerk of this tone. The 4th tone on the other hand is a falling tone, so that when the two tones are pronounced one after the other the 4th tone sounds as if it were pitched much lower than the 8th.
When words are grouped together in sentences, great changes occur in tho pronunciation of the tones, which can only properly be learnt by ear. As a rough rule, however, it may he said that in a combination of two syllables, the second usually retains its primary tone, and the following changes take place in the first of the two syllables.
| first | tone | becomes | third |
| second | ,, | ,, | first |
| third | ,, | ,, | second |
| fourth | ,, | ,, | eigth |
| fifth | ,, | ,, | third |
| seventh | ,, | ,, | third |
| eigth | ,, | ,, | fourth |
The orthographical signs in the romanised Chinese are the nasal sign n, which shows that the syllable which it follows must be pronounced through the nose; the inverted full point following the letter o, thus on which gives the sound of aw in "law," "saw"; and the hyphen, which is used to join together those words which are pronounced together without pausing, like the syllables of a polysyllabic word.
English. |
Malay. |
Hok-kien. |
Hak-ka. |
Character. |
| A | satu; s- | chit | yit chak | 一 |
| Able, to be | boleh | ōe; ē | nén | 能 |
| About (concerning) | deri-hal; fasal | tāi-chi | kòng-lùn; s̀-vù | 務事, 涉干 |
