Daighi tongiong pingim

Daī-ghî tōng-iōng pīng-im (Taiwanese phonetic transcription system, abbr: DT; Chinese: 臺語通用拼音) is an orthography in the Latin alphabet for Taiwanese Hokkien based upon Tongyong Pinyin. Up to the present, DT is one kind of orthographies for the Taiwanese language in general. It is able to use the Latin alphabet to indicate the proper variation of pitch with nine diacritic symbols.

Phonology

Consonants

			Dental	Alveolo-palatal	Bilabial	Alveolar	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless	unaspiration			b	d	g	-h/ ' ([ʔ])
		aspiration			p	t	k
	voiced	unaspiration			bh		gh
Affricate	voiceless	unaspiration	z	zi
		aspiration	c	ci
	voiced	unaspiration		r
Fricative	voiceless	unaspiration	s	si
		aspiration						h
Nasal	voiced	unaspiration			m	n	ng
Lateral	voiced	unaspiration				l

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Close-mid	e		or(2)
Mid		or(1)
Open-mid			o
Open	a

DT in its present form has 17 initials, 18 finals and 8 tones.

Tone number

Taiwanese is a tonal language, so the pitch (tone) of a spoken word affects its meaning, same as the written words. However, in non-tonal languages, a word's pitch constantly conveys emotion but often does not influence its meaning. In Taiwanese, which has nine tones and two extra tones, neutral tone and nasal vowel.

DT tone number
1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	Neutral	Nasal
a	à	â	ā(p/t/k/h)	ă	à	ā	a(p/t/k/h)	á	å	aⁿ/ann

Tone definition

Schema of the tone sandhi rules in Taiwanese.

Tone marks

Tones are expressed by diacritics; checked syllables (i.e. those ending with glottal stops) are followed by the letter h. Where diacritics are not technically available, e.g. on some parts of the internet, tone alphabet may be used instead.

1. a (1st tone; yinping)
2. à (2nd tone; yingshang)
3. â (3rd tone; yinqu)
4. ā(ptkh) (4th tone; yinru)
5. ă (5th tone; yangping)
6. ä (6th tone; yangshang)
7. ā (7th tone; yangqu)
8. a(ptkh) (8th tone; yangru)
9. á (9th tone; high rising)
10. å(aj) (neutral tone)
11. aⁿ(ann) (nasal vowel)

Examples for these tones: ciūⁿ (elephant), bâ (leopard), bhè (horse), di (pig), zŭa (snake), āh (duck), lok (deer). And, a neutral tone, sometimes indicated by å(aj) in DT, has no specific contour; its pitch always depends on the tones of the preceding syllables. Taiwanese speakers refer to this tone as the "neutral tone" (Chinese: 輕聲).

Tone sandhi

Tone sandhi or chain shift by circulation, as the tones are encoded by appending and modifying spellings with attention to the rules of the DT system. The basic tone has no modification and tone mark. Generally speaking, the basic tone means the 7th tone (mid even tone; yangqu).

Morphology

A DT word, like an English word, can be formed by only one syllable or several syllables, with the two syllables being the general typicality. Each syllable in DT follows among one of the six underlying patterns:

Alphabet

The DT alphabet adopts the Latin alphabet of 19 letters, 4 digraphs, and 6 diacritics to express the basic sounds of Taiwanese:

dt capital letter	A	B	Bh	C	D	E	G	Gh	H	I	K	L	M	N	Ng	O	Or	P	R	S	T	U	Z
dt lower case	a	b	bh	c	d	e	g	gh	h	i	k	l	m	n	ng	o	or	p	r	s	t	u	z

Word structure

1. (Syllable onset: prefix consonant) + (Syllable rime: (head: interface tone/vowel) + (mid: vowel) + tone number)
2. (Syllable onset: prefix consonant) + (Syllable rime: (head/mid: vowel) + tone number)
3. (Syllable onset: prefix consonant) + (Syllable rime: (head: interface tone/vowel) + (mid: vowel) + tone number + (tail: postfix consonant))
4. (Syllable onset: prefix consonant) + (Syllable rime: (head: interface tone/vowel) + (mid: vowel) + tone number + (tail: rear nasal vowel))
5. (Syllable onset: prefix consonant) + (Syllable rime: (head/mid: vowel) + tone number + (tail: postfix consonant))
6. (Syllable onset: prefix consonant) + (Syllable rime: (head/mid: vowel) + tone number + (tail: rear nasal vowel))

〈Basic word structure〉
Syllable onset (prefix consonant)	Tone number
	Syllable rime
	Interface tone/vowel	postfix tone(vowel + postfix consonant) + rear nasal vowel
	Head	mid	tail

Initials

bh, z, c, gh, h, r, g, k, l, m, n, ng, b, p, s, d, t

Note that unlike their typical interpretation in modern English language, bh and gh are voiced and unaspirated, whereas b, g, and d are plain unvoiced. p, k, and t are unvoiced and aspirated, corresponding closer to b, g, and d in English. This choice of notation may be attributed to the European origin of the first scholars to promote romanization. It is consistent with the use of h's in the Legge romanization and the use of the diacritic ⟨ʰ⟩ in the International Phonetic Alphabet to signal consonantal aspiration.

Finals

• Vowels: a, i, u, e, or, o
• Diphthongs: ai, au, ia, iu, io, ui, ua, ue
• Triphthongs: iau, uai
• Nasals: m, n, ng

The nasals m, n, and ng can be appended to any of the vowels and some of the diphthongs. In addition, m and ng can function as independent syllables by themselves.

The stops h, g, b and d can appear as the last letter in a syllable, in which case they are pronounced as unreleased stops. (The final h in DT stands for a glottal stop.)

Delimiting symbols

All syllables in each word are normally separated by the dash (-) mark. Generally, syllables follow after the dash which must undergo tone sandhi.

DT examples

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

DT	English
Lēn-hâ-gōk sê-gāi rīn-kūan sūan-ghěn Dê 1 diău Lāng-lăng seⁿ-låi zû-iŭ, zāi zūn-ghiăm gāh kuăn-lī siòng it-lip bīng-dìng. In hù-iù li-sîng gāh liōng-sim, lî-ciaⁿ ìng-gai i hiānn-dī gūan-hē ē zīng-sĭn hō-siōng dùi-dāi.	Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 1 All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Greeting of Voyager Golden Record

DT	English	Audio file: Voyager Golden Record
Tài-kong bīng-iù, lin hòr! Lin ziâ-bà bhē! Û-ĭng, dôr-lăi ghun-zia zē òr.	Friends of space, how are you all! Have you eaten yet? Drop in on us if you have time.	Taiwanese(Amoy; Min nan; Formosan) sound record of voyager 1

Comparison of orthographies

The different orthographies are compared as the following table.

Vowels

IPA

a

ap

at

ak

aʔ

ã

ɔ

ɔk

ɔ̃

ə

o

e

ẽ

i

ɪɛn

iŋ

Pe̍h-ōe-jī

a

ap

at

ak

ah

aⁿ

o͘

ok

oⁿ

o

o

e

eⁿ

i

ian

eng

Revised TLPA

a

ap

at

ak

ah

aN

oo

ok

ooN

o

o

e

eN

i

ian

ing

TLPA

a

ap

at

ak

ah

ann

oo

ok

oonn

o

o

e

enn

i

ian

ing

BP

a

ap

at

ak

ah

na

oo

ok

noo

o

o

e

ne

i

ian

ing

MLT

a

ab/ap

ad/at

ag/ak

aq/ah

va

o

og/ok

vo

ø

ø

e

ve

i

ien

eng

DT

a

āp/ap

āt/at

āk/ak

āh/ah

ann/aⁿ

o

ok

onn/oⁿ

or

or

e

enn/eⁿ

i

ian/en

ing

Taiwanese kana

アア

アプ

アツ

アク

アア

アア

オオ

オク

オオ

オオ

ヲヲ

エエ

エエ

イイ

イエヌ

イエン

Extended bopomofo

ㄚ

ㄚㆴ

ㄚㆵ

ㄚㆶ

ㄚㆷ

ㆩ

ㆦ

ㆦㆶ

ㆧ

ㄜ

ㄛ

ㆤ

ㆥ

ㄧ

ㄧㄢ

ㄧㄥ

Tâi-lô

a

ap

at

ak

ah

ann

oo͘

ok

onn

o

o

e

enn

i

ian

ing

Example (traditional Chinese)

亞 洲

壓 力

警 察

沃 水

牛 肉

三 十

烏 色

中 國

澳 洲

澳 洲

下 晡

醫 學

鉛 筆

英 國

Example (simplified Chinese)

亚 洲

压 力

警 察

沃 水

牛 肉

三 十

烏 色

中 国

澳 洲

澳 洲

下 晡

医 学

铅 笔

英 国

Vowels

IPA

ɪk

ĩ

ai

aĩ

au

am

ɔm

m̩

ɔŋ

ŋ̍

u

ua

ue

uai

uan

ɨ

(i)ũ

Pe̍h-ōe-jī

ek

iⁿ

ai

aiⁿ

au

am

om

m

ong

ng

u

oa

oe

oai

oan

i

(i)uⁿ

Revised TLPA

ik

iN

ai

aiN

au

am

om

m

ong

ng

u

ua

ue

uai

uan

ir

(i)uN

TLPA

ik

inn

ai

ainn

au

am

om

m

ong

ng

u

ua

ue

uai

uan

ir

(i)unn

BP

ik

ni

ai

nai

au

am

om

m

ong

ng

u

ua

ue

uai

uan

i

n(i)u

MLT

eg/ek

vi

ai

vai

au

am

om

m

ong

ng

u

oa

oe

oai

oan

i

v(i)u

DT

ik

inn/iⁿ

ai

ainn/aiⁿ

au

am

om

m

ong

ng

u

ua

ue

uai

uan

i

(i)unn/uⁿ

Taiwanese kana

イエク

イイ

アイ

アイ

アウ

アム

オム

ム

オン

ン

ウウ

ヲア

ヲエ

ヲアイ

ヲアヌ

ウウ

ウウ

Extended bopomofo

ㄧㆶ

ㆪ

ㄞ

ㆮ

ㆯ

ㆰ

ㆱ

ㆬ

ㆲ

ㆭ

ㄨ

ㄨㄚ

ㄨㆤ

ㄨㄞ

ㄨㄢ

ㆨ

ㆫ

Tâi-lô

ik

inn

ai

ainn

au

am

om

m

ong

ng

u

ua

ue

uai

uan

i

iunn

Example (traditional Chinese)

翻 譯

病 院

愛 情

歐 洲

暗 時

阿 姆

王 梨

黃 色

有 無

歌 曲

講 話

奇 怪

人 員

豬 肉

舀 水

Example (simplified Chinese)

翻 译

病 院

爱 情

欧 洲

暗 时

阿 姆

王 梨

黄 色

有 无

歌 曲

讲 话

奇 怪

人 员

猪 肉

舀 水

Consonants

IPA

p

b

pʰ

m

t

tʰ

n

nŋ

l

k

ɡ

kʰ

h

tɕi

ʑi

tɕʰi

ɕi

ts

dz

tsʰ

s

Pe̍h-ōe-jī

p

b

ph

m

t

th

n

nng

l

k

g

kh

h

chi

ji

chhi

si

ch

j

chh

s

Revised TLPA

p

b

ph

m

t

th

n

nng

l

k

g

kh

h

zi

ji

ci

si

z

j

c

s

TLPA

p

b

ph

m

t

th

n

nng

l

k

g

kh

h

zi

ji

ci

si

z

j

c

s

BP

b

bb

p

bb

d

t

n

lng

l

g

gg

k

h

zi

li

ci

si

z

l

c

s

MLT

p

b

ph

m

t

th

n

nng

l

k

g

kh

h

ci

ji

chi

si

z

j

zh

s

DT

b

bh

p

m

d

t

n

nng

l

g

gh

k

h

zi

r

ci

si

z

r

c

s

Taiwanese kana

パア

バア

パ̣ア

マア

タア

タ̣ア

ナア

ヌン

ラア

カア

ガア

カ̣ア

ハア

チイ

ジイ

チ̣イ

シイ

サア

ザア

サ̣ア

サア

Extended bopomofo

ㄅ

ㆠ

ㄆ

ㄇ

ㄉ

ㄊ

ㄋ

ㄋㆭ

ㄌ

ㄍ

ㆣ

ㄎ

ㄏ

ㄐ

ㆢ

ㄑ

ㄒ

ㄗ

ㆡ

ㄘ

ㄙ

Tâi-lô

p

b

ph

m

t

th

n

nng

l

k

g

kh

h

tsi

ji

tshi

si

ts

j

tsh

s

Example (traditional Chinese)

報 紙

閩 南

普 通

請 問

豬 肉

普 通

過 年

雞 卵

樂 觀

價 值

牛 奶

客 廳

煩 惱

支 持

漢 字

支 持

是 否

報 紙

熱 天

參 加

司 法

Example (simplified Chinese)

报 纸

闽 南

普 通

请 问

猪 肉

普 通

过 年

鸡 卵

乐 观

价 值

牛 奶

客 厅

烦 恼

支 持

汉 字

支 持

是 否

报 纸

热 天

参 加

司 法

Tones

Tone name	Yin level 陰平(1)	Yin rising 陰上(2)	Yin departing 陰去(3)	Yin entering 陰入(4)	Yang level 陽平(5)	Yang rising 陽上(6)	Yang departing 陽去(7)	Yang entering 陽入(8)	High rising (9)	Neutral tone (0)
IPA	a˥	a˥˧	a˨˩	ap˩ at˩ ak˩ aʔ˩	a˧˥	a˥˧	a˧	ap˥ at˥ ak˥ aʔ˥	a˥˥	a˨
Pe̍h-ōe-jī	a	á	à	ap at ak ah	â	á	ā	a̍p a̍t a̍k a̍h		--a
Revised TLPA TLPA	a1	a2	a3	ap4 at4 ak4 ah4	a5	a2 (6=2)	a7	ap8 at8 ak8 ah8	a9	a0
BP	ā	ǎ	à	āp āt āk āh	á	ǎ	â	áp át ák áh
MLT	af	ar	ax	ab ad ag aq	aa	aar	a	ap at ak ah		~a
DT	a	à	â	āp āt āk āh	ǎ	à	ā	ap at ak ah	á	å
Taiwanese kana (normal vowels)	アア	アア	アア	アプ アツ アク アア	アア	アア	アア	アプ アツ アク アア
Taiwanese kana (nasal vowels)	アア	アア	アア	アプ アツ アク アア	アア	アア	アア	アプ アツ アク アア
Zhuyin	ㄚ	ㄚˋ	ㄚᒻ	ㄚㆴ ㄚㆵ ㄚㆶ ㄚㆷ	ㄚˊ	ㄚˋ	ㄚ⊦	ㄚㆴ̇ ㄚㆵ̇ ㄚㆶ̇ ㄚㆷ̇
Tâi-lô	a	á	à	ah	â	á	ā	a̍h
Example (traditional Chinese)	公司	報紙	興趣	血壓 警察 中國 牛肉	人員		草地	配合 法律 文學 歇熱	社子	進去
Example (simplified Chinese)	公司	报纸	兴趣	血压 警察 中国 牛肉	人员		草地	配合 法律 文学 歇热	社子	進去

• Note: The bopomofo extended characters in the zhuyin row require a UTF-8 font capable of displaying Unicode values 31A0–31B7 (ex. Code2000 true type font).