文言文(粵音)

Classical Chinese (Cantonese pedagogical)

Sinitic (Yue, Cantonese pedagogical reading of Literary Chinese) · historical / hidden variety

FamilySinitic (Yue, Cantonese pedagogical reading of Literary Chinese) SpeakersActive pedagogical use (Hong Kong secondary school 文言文 curriculum, ~7M; overseas Cantonese-medium Chinese schools) ScriptChinese characters (Traditional) CountriesHong Kong, Macau, Guangdong, Cantonese diaspora (San Francisco, Vancouver, London, Sydney, Toronto) Official inHong Kong secondary school Chinese curriculum (中國語文 paper) Vitalityextinct ISO 639-3lzh

Classroom Classical Chinese with Cantonese pedagogical reading (文言文 粵音 wén yán wén Jyutping: man4 jin4 man4 jyut6 jam1) is the standard Cantonese reading of Literary Chinese (文言文) as taught in Hong Kong, Macau, and overseas Cantonese-medium Chinese schools. Distinct from: (1) zh_han / zh_tang (reconstructed Old/Middle Chinese pronunciations used for historical-linguistic study, not pedagogy); (2) zh_song (Mandarin school-pronunciation of Classical Chinese, despite the "Song" name); (3) ja_kanbun (Japanese kun-yomi rendering); and (4) Vietnamese hán văn or Korean hanmun readings. The Cantonese 文言 reading is the canonical Sinitic pedagogical reading tradition outside Mandarin and preserves more Middle Chinese-derived phonological distinctions than Mandarin: full set of six tones reflecting Middle Chinese tone categories, retained stop finals -k/-t/-p (lost in Mandarin), nasal -m (merged with -n in Mandarin). Used to read Classical poetry (Tang shi, Song ci), Confucian texts (四書五經), and Tang prose (古文) in Hong Kong secondary school 中國語文 curriculum.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Classical Chinese (Cantonese pedagogical)

Water

/sɵy˧˥/

Fire

/fɔ˧˥/

Sun

/jɐt˨/

Moon

/jyt˨/

Mother

/mou˩˧/

Father

/fu˨/

Eat

/sɪk˨/

Drink

/jɐm˧˥/

Love

/ɔi˧/

Heart

/sɐm˥/

Tree

/mʊk˨/

House

/ʊk˥/

Dog

/hyn˧˥/

Cat

/mau˥/

Hand

/sɐu˧˥/

Eye

/mʊk˨/

Hello

萬福

/man˨ fʊk˥/

Thank you

/tsɛ˨/

One

/jɐt˥/

Good

/sin˨/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Sinitic (Yue, Cantonese pedagogical reading of Literary Chinese) languages

Meaning Classical Chinese (Cantonese pedagogical)Zhongshan YueCantoneseDongguan YueGaozhou YueNanning YuePinghua
Water /sɵy˧˥/ /sɵy˧˥/ /sɵy˧˥/ /sui˧˥/ /sɵi˧˥/ /ɬɵy˧˥/ /ɬui˦˨/
Fire /fɔ˧˥/ /fɔ˧˥/ /fɔː˧˥/ /fɔ˧˥/ /fɔ˧˥/ /fɔ˧˥/ /fu˦˨/
Sun /jɐt˨/ 日頭 /jɐt˨ tʰɐu˨˩/ 日頭 /jɐt˨ tʰɐu˨˩/ 日头 /jɐt˨˨tʰɐu˨˩/ 日头 /jɐt˨tʰɐu˧˧/ 日头 /jɐt˨tʰɐu˨˩/ 日头 /ŋit˨tʰɐu˦˦/
Moon /jyt˨/ 月光 /jyt˨ kwɔŋ˥˧/ 月光 /jyːt˨ kʷɔːŋ˥/ 月光 /jyt˨kʷɔŋ˥˥/ 月光 /jyt˨kwɔŋ˥˥/ 月光 /ŋyt˨kʷɔŋ˥˥/ 月光 /ŋyt˨kwɔŋ˦˦/
Mother /mou˩˧/ 老母 /lou˩˧ mou˩˧/ 媽媽 /maː˥maː˥/ 阿妈 /a˧˧ma˥˥/ 妈妈 /maː˥˥maː˥˥/ 老妈 /lau˧˩ma˥˥/ 阿妈 /a˦˦ma˦˦/
Father /fu˨/ 老豆 /lou˩˧ tɐu˨/ 爸爸 /paː˨˩paː˥/ 阿爸 /a˧˧pa˥˥/ 爸爸 /paː˨˩paː˨˩/ 老窦 /lau˧˩tɐu˨˨/ 阿爸 /a˦˦pa˦˦/
Eat /sɪk˨/ /sɪk˨/ /sɪk˨/ /sɪk˨/ /sɪk˨˨/ /ɬɪk˨/ /sɐk˨/
Drink /jɐm˧˥/ /jɐm˧˥/ /jɐm˧˥/ /jɐm˧˥/ /jɐm˧˥/ /jɐm˧˥/ /ʔɐm˦˨/
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