The system was imposed by Japan at the time and used in a few dictionaries, as well as textbooks. TheTaiwanese–Japanese Dictionary, published in 1931–32, is an example.[1] It uses various signs anddiacritics to identify sounds that do not exist in Japanese. The system is chiefly built for theAmoy dialect ofHokkien spoken inTaiwan, with some consideration for theQuanzhou andZhangzhou dialects ofHokkien also spoken inTaiwan as well, which descendant speakers of all three of the historical major dialects of Hokkien thrived, developed, and intermixed inTaiwan for centuries producing modernTaiwanese Hokkien and its own specific regional dialects throughout the island (Formosa) and nearby smaller islands (e.g.Pescadores).
Through the system, the Office of theGovernor-General of Taiwan aimed to helpTaiwanese people learn the Japanese language, as well as helpJapanese people learn the Taiwanese language. Linguistically speaking, however, thesyllabary system was cumbersome for a language that hasphonology far more complicated than Japanese. After Japanese administration ended, the system soon became obsolete. Now, only a few scholars, such as those who study the aforementioned dictionary, learn Taiwanese kana.
The system underwent modification over time. This article is mainly about the last edition, used from roughly 1931.
Mapped sounds are mostly similar tokatakana in Japanese, with the kanaヤ,ユ,ヨ,ワ,ヰ, andヱ not used. Each syllable is written with two or three kana (with a few exceptions). Notable differences include:
There are six vowels in Taiwanese:ア[a],イ[i],ウ[u],エ[e],オ[ɔ],ヲ[o]. The pronunciations ofウ,オ, andヲ are different from Japanese (which are[ɯ],[o],and[(w)o] respectively.)
The vowelヲ is pronounced[u] in thediphthongsヲア[ua] andヲエ[ue], also their extensions such asヲァイ[uai],ヲァッ[uat̚]. In some dialectsヲ may be pronounced[o] or[ɤ].
In syllables with a single vowel, the kana for the vowel is repeated, like thelong vowels in Japanese. For example,カア[ka],キイ[ki],オオ[ɔ],ヲヲ[o].
The small kanaァ,ィ,ゥ,ェ,ォ,𛅦 are defined asshort vowels. They are used to represent the second vowel in the middle of a syllable, or a finalglottal stop. For example,キァウ[kiau],キェㇰ for[kiɪk̚],キァゥ[kiauʔ].
There are two optional vowel kana for the Choân-chiu accent (Quanzhou dialect):ウ[ɯ] andオ[ə]. For example,クウ[kɯ],オ[kə],クゥヌ[kɯn].
Theaspirated consonants[pʰ],[tʰ],[kʰ],[tsʰ]/[tɕʰ] are represented by adding an underdot to the kana. For example,ク̣ for[kʰu].
Finalnasal consonants are written asム[m],ヌ[n],ン[ŋ]. Note thatム,ヌ are pronounced[mu],[nu] when they are used as initials. For example,カヌ[kan],ヌヌ for[nun].
The syllabic consonant[ŋ̍] is spelt (u+)ン, for exampleクン [kŋ̍]. Note that[ŋ̍] without a preceding vowel is written as a singleン, notウン orンン.
The syllabic consonant[m̩] is spelt (u+)ム, for exampleフム[hm̩]. Note that[m̩] without a preceding vowel is written as a singleム, notウム orムム.
Initial[ŋ] is spelt as[ɡ] with a nasal tone sign. For example,ガア𚿰[ɡa˥˩],ガア𚿸[ŋa˥˩].
Final plosives (which haveno audible release) areㇷ゚[p̚],ッ[t̚],ㇰ[k̚], similar to the kana used inAinu.
Finalglottal stops[ʔ] are represented by the short-vowel small kana (ァ,ィ,ゥ,ェ,ォ,𛅦) at the end. For example,カァ[kaʔ],カゥ[kauʔ].
When a text iswritten vertically, these signs are written on the right side of letters. Taiwanese kana is only attested in vertical orientation, so it is unknown where the signs would be placed if it were written horizontally.
Initial consonants[m],[n],[ŋ] are always written with nasal vowel tone signs, whereas[b],[l],[ɡ] are always with oral vowels. Note that[ŋ] and[ɡ] share the same initial kana.
It also requires the use of thecombining overline andcombining dot below with kana to represent overlined and underdotted kana (like so:チ̅,ツ̣). Font support for these small kana and for sensible rendering of these uncommon combining sequences is in practice limited; overlines are simulated in the tables above using markup.
Ogawa Naoyoshi, ed. (1931–1932).臺日大辭典. 上卷 [Taiwanese-Japanese Dictionary] (in Japanese and Taiwanese Hokkien). Vol. 1. Taihoku: Governor-General of Taiwan.
Ogawa Naoyoshi, ed. (1931–1932).臺日大辭典. 下卷 [Taiwanese-Japanese Dictionary] (in Japanese and Taiwanese Hokkien). Vol. 2. Taihoku: Governor-General of Taiwan.
Ogawa Naoyoshi;Ang Ui-jin, eds. (1993) [1931–1932].臺日大辭典〈上卷〉 [Taiwanese-Japanese Dictionary]. 閩南語經典辭書彙編 (in Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese Hokkien). Vol. 1. 武陵.ISBN9573506211.
Ogawa Naoyoshi;Ang Ui-jin, eds. (1993) [1931–1932].臺日大辭典〈下卷〉 [Taiwanese-Japanese Dictionary]. 閩南語經典辭書彙編 (in Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese Hokkien). Vol. 2. 武陵.ISBN957350622X.
台語辭典(台日大辭典台語譯本)查詢 [Taiwanese Dictionary (translation of Taiwanese-Japanese Dictionary) search] (in Taiwanese Hokkien). Retrieved6 April 2016.
Chun-Hui Chen (June 2002).《訂正臺灣十五音字母詳解》 音系研究 [Phonetic study onThe revised guide of 15 Taiwanese letters](PDF) (Master's thesis) (in Chinese). National Sun Yat-sen University.
