The reepresentation of Cantonese with Chinese characters
以汉字写粤语
By Kwan-hin Cheung and Robert S. Bauer
张群显 包睿舜 著
Abstract 摘要
Among Asia’s four major Chinese speech communities of the mainland of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, Hong Kong distinguishes itself by being predominantly Cantonese speaking in both formal and informal social domains. Here children have traditionally learned to read the standard, complex Chinese characters with their Cantonese pronunciations. A related phenomenon has been the spontaneous development of a nonstandardized, unofficial, and informal written counterpart of spoken Cantonese, which has now become widely used in Hong Kong newspapers, public notices, comic books, novels, play scripts, advertisements, graffiti, etc. This two-part monograph introduces written Cantonese in its Hong Kong context, delineates the conventions on which it is based, describes the authors’ recently completed research project in which a computerized database on the transcription of Cantonese with Chinese characters was compiled, and identifies some of the problems associated with the computer-processing of Cantonese.
The unique contribution of the monograph is that it has systematically brought together in one volume 1,095 different Cantonese characters; classified them in three appendices according to their availability in computerized Chinese character sets; listed their computer access codes in the regular Big-5 system and the Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set; Romanized their Cantonese pronunciation (including variant forms); glossed them in English; illustrated their usage; and cited the sources from which the characters have been taken. In addition, for the reader’s ease of reference the three appendices of Cantonese characters have been merged into two lexicons: Lexicon 1 has alphabetized all the Cantonese characters by their Romanized pronunciations; and Lexicon 2 has listed all the Cantonese characters by the traditional numbers of their radicals and stroke counts.
Chapter 章节
Abstract 摘要
1.1 Written Cantonese and the Hong Kong Community
1.2 Reasons for writing in Cantonese
1.3 systematic study of written Cantonese
1.4 Written representation of Cantonese linguistic items
1.5 Conventions of written Cantonese
1.6 Defining the Cantonese character
Abstract 摘要
2.1 Organization of the PolyU written Cantonese database
2.2 Chorphans — characterless morphosyllables
2.3 Cantonese-character Appendices 1, 2, and 3
2.4 Lexicons 1 and 2
2.5 Sources of Cantonese graphs
2.6 Tabooed Cantonese graphs
2.7 Phonetic transcription and phonetic variation
Abstract 摘要
3.1 Computer-processing Cantonese
3.2 Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set
3.3 Unicode 3.1
Abstract 摘要
First page of Old Testament Bible from a 1914 Cantonese translation produced by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Abstract 摘要
Panels from one page of a Hong Kong Cantonese adult comic book
Abstract 摘要
Abbreviations used in Appendices 1, 2, &3 and lexicons 1 & 2
Abstract 摘要
National conventions followed in Appendices 1, 2, & 3 and Lexicons 1 & 2
Abstract 摘要
Cantonese graphs in regular Big-5 system alphabetized by Jyut Ping (粤拼)and sorted secondarily by English gloss
Abstract 摘要
Cantonese graphs in Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set (HKSCS) alphabetized by Jyut Ping (粤拼)and sorted secondarily by English gloss(粤拼)and sorted secondarily by English gloss
Abstract 摘要
User-defined Cantonese graphs not found in either regular Big-5 system or HKSCS alphabetized by Jyut Ping (粤拼)and sorted secondarily by English gloss(粤拼)and sorted secondarily by English gloss
Abstract 摘要
Cantonese graphs from Appendices 1 (Big-5 b5), 2 (HKSCS ss), and 3 (User-defined ud) alphabetized by Jyut Ping (粤拼)and sorted secondarily by English gloss
Abstract 摘要
Cantonese graphs from Appendices 1 (Big-5 b5), 2 (HKSCS ss), and 3 (User-defined ud) listed by their radicals and stroke counts (部首笔画)and sorted secondarily by Jyut Ping (粤拼)
Abstract 摘要
Sources of Cantonese Graphs in Appendices 1, 2, & 3 and Lexicons 1 & 2