A Grammar of Colloquial Chinese, as Exhibited in the Shanghai Dialect, by J. Edkins.

i. mandarin tones. 北音
Tones	Nan-King	Pe-king	Hó-nan K‘ai-fung	Sz-ch’uen
Upper First,	上平	l, e,	u, e, or u, q, f,	u, q, e,	u, e,
Second,	上	l, s, r,	l, q, r,	l, q, r,	q, f,
Third,	去	q, f,	l, q, f,	l, q, f,	l, s, r,
Fourth,	入	sh,	u, e, l, q, r, l, q, f, &c.	u, q, e, l, q, r, l, q, r,	l, q, e, or l, q, f,
Lower first,	下平	l, q, r,	l, q, r,	u, q, r,	l, q, e, or l, q, f

ii. kiang-nan and cheh-kiang. 南音
	Tones	Sú-cheú	Sháng-hái	Ning-pó
Upper Series	First,	上平	u, q, f,	u, q, f,	u, q, f,
Second,	上上	u, e,	u, e,	u, s, r,
Third,	上去	u, s, r,	u, q, r,	u, e,
Fourth,	上入	u, sh,	u, sh,	u, sh,
Lower Series	First,	下平	l, q, r,	l, e,	l, s, c, q, f,
Second,	下上	l, q, f,	l, s, r,	l, s, r,
Third,	下去	l, s, r,	l, q, r,	l, s, r, or e,
Fourth,	下入	l, sh,	l, sh,	l, sh,

iii. fuh-kien.
Tones	Amoy and Cháng-cheú
Upper,	first,	u, e,
do.	second,	u, q, f,
do.	third,	l, f,
do.	fouth.	u, sh, f,
Lower,	first,	l, q, r,
do.	second,	u, q, f,
do.	third,	l, e,
do.	fouth.	u, sh, f,

12. Nán-king is here placed among those that belong to the 北音 or Northern Mandarin division. A native author [1] says, that this city and two others 淮陽 Hwái yáng and 徐海 Sü hái use the northern pronunciation.

The large Dictionaries are uniform in the adoption of the pronunciation in our (ii.) division, as their basis of spelling. They usually speak of only four tones, distinguishing the upper from the lower by the initial letter. This is also the universal practice among the educated class vivâ voce. They do not speak of 帝 ti‘ emperor and 地 di‘ earth, as different in tone, the one the upper third tone, the other the lower, but as different in the alphabetical form tí, dí.

The division into eight tones is preferable for a foreign reader, because (1) there is a difference in elevation of voice, 帝 tí‘ being at an interval of a fourth in the musical scale more or less, higher than 地 dí‘. (2) Although the third and fourth tones, upper and lower, are deflected at Sháng-hái in a similar way, so that they may be regarded as the same tones, this is not the case with the first and second, which differ decidedly in character.

The fourth tone in the 北音 Póh yun, class (i.) is in the Northern provinces, long in quantity. The words included under it are distributed among the other tones, and must be learnt separately, in order that they may be correctly pronounced; e.g. of words written chúh, some such as 竹, 竺, 燭 are at K’ai-fóng-fú in the upper first tone, while 軸, 祝, 昨 are in the lower first tone.[2]

[1] Vide 李氐音鑑. The author was a native of Peking.

[2] The analogy between the Chinese tones and the Greek accents probably led the Catholic Missionaries to call the former accentus. The distinction between accent and quantity which existed in Greek, has been found also in Sanscrit in the Vedas. (Vide Bopp’s Sanscrit Grammar, section 80.) In both, there were three accents, acute, grave and circumflex. The grave is described as the negation of the acute and to be understood where that mark is not written. The acute was a rising in tone; while the circumflex is said to have raised and depressed the tone on the same syllable. (Vide Valpy’s, Greek Grammar.) Taking accent and quantity together, we obtain four distinctions of sound, which is the nominal number of tones in Chinese. The fundamental difference in the structure of polysyllabic and monosyllabic languages prevents the analogy from being carried far; the tones in one case being fixed to syllables, and in the other to words. But when it is remembered that those two branches of the great Indo-European stem are among the most ancient of languages, not much later in origin than the Chinese itself, and one of them its geographical neighbour, the fact of these delicate differences of sound existing till now in that language, becomes interesting as throwing light on some of the most precious remains of the literature of the past. Grammarians would not speak with such hesitation, as they do, when describing these peculiar intonations of the civilized races of the old world, if they had heard and could discriminate the Chinese tones. Late speculations on the change in language-forming power that has taken place in modern times, have referred to the gradual diminution of inflexions in new languages, and to other circumstances, as instances of it. From these has been argued the decay of a certain faculty once possessed by the human race. The limited use of accents fixed to words in newly-formed languages, may be viewed as another illustration of it. Clearly-marked alphabetical differences, as now preferred to those nicer distinctions of sounds, which perhaps were familiar alike to the most cultivated branches of the Great Arian family, and to the ancient and modern Chinese. It may be added that the use of many of the Hebrew accents is but imperfectly known in modern times.

Section 3. On the Shanghai tones.

The vowel marks employed in this work are repeated here, that the eye of the reader may be familiarized with them:—

The accents denote long vowels, and a symbol is never used for more than one sound. This is the principle of the orthography usually called Sir W. Jones’ system. It was proposed by the Hon. J. R. Morrison in 1836, in the Chinese Repository, (vol, 5, page 22), for application to the Chinese language. For this part of China, modifications are needed in the details, and hence the differences in the system here adopted, from that described by the writer of that article, and in Williams’ Chinese Vocabulary, etc.

The sound eu is something like the French eu in douleur, or the common short English u as in bun prolonged ’or the corresponding mandarin sound eú as in 口 ’k’eú, Premare uses eou, and Klaproth eu; from them we have borrowed it. In the lengthened form, it is a diphthong eú or uú, as in English cloud. The shorter form eu has no exact English equivalent.

[1] In an Essay on the Hok-kien tones by the Rev. S. Dyer of Malacca, descriptions of them with a musical notation are given. Tables of examples for groups of two like those we now give, but without the Chinese characters, are annexed.

14. The upper first tone. This is the common quick falling sound, usually given in. English pronunciation, to any monosyllable when standing alone, and spoken with emphasis.

That it may be readily compared with the other tones, by such as have a native assistant at hand, some examples are here given of the same alphabetical sound, varied according to the four upper tones.

In the fourth word of each series, the vowels change, í into i, and ú into ó. The Chinese regard them as different only in tone; to a foreign ear, the difference is one both of time, as the syllables are long and short, and of vowels sound, as the long i becomes short i, and long u becomes long o.

15. As examples of combination, take first those which have the upper first tone in the penultimate, (p, s, k, j, in roman type, represent the four upper tones in their order; in italic type, the lower).

Tones.	Place of the Accent.
p.p.	今朝	kiun tsau, to-day,	ult.
	相公	siáng kóng, sir, husband,	„
	工夫	kúng fú, work,	pen.
	當中	tong tsóng, in the middle,	ult.
p.s.	天頂	t’íen ting, the zenith,	„
	多少	tú sau, how many?	„
	恩主	un tsû, benefactor,	„
p.k.	眞正	tsun tsung, truly,	„
	相信	siang sing, believe, be fond of,	„
	聲氣	sáng kí, (c’h) sound of voice,	pen.
p.j.	中國	tsúng kóh, China,	„
	彎曲	wan k’ióh, (c’h) winding, crooked,	ult.
p.p.	中原	tsóng niön, China,	„
	天堂	t’íen dong, heaven,	„
	差人	ts’á niun, a messenger,	pen.
p.s.	天理	t’íen lí, heavenly reason,	ult.
	裝滿	tsong mén, to pack full,	„
	新米	sing mí, new rice,	pen.
p.k.	天地	t’íen dí, heaven and earth,	ult.
	天亮	t’íen liáng, daybreak,	„
	鄕下	h’iáng au, in the country,	pen.
p.j.	風俗	fóng zóh, custom,	ult.
	新閘	sing zah, village near Shanghai,	„

Obs. In this table, the tone preserves its natural character throughout, but when followed by the quick rising tones, as in p, k, and p, k, or by the short tones, or by a word hurried over without emphasis on account of its unimportance, it is heard with a more distinct accent than in other cases. When the accent is upon the other word, this tone needs to have the voice rest upon it for a time, to prevent its becoming the third tone.

The tone which is the same as this in the Amoy dialect, undergoes a regular change, in combinations such as those in this table. When standing first of two words, it becomes an upper quick rising tone. Thus though a tone be identical when pronounced alone in two dialects, it does not follow that its laws of combination are also the same. For much important information on the Hok-kien tones, and the laws of combination in that dialect, the writer is indebted to Rev. J. Stronach of Amoy.

16. Examples of the upper first tone in the antepenultimate or when first in a group of three.

Obs. i. In the example standing last but two, if 經 is accented, it preserves its proper character, but if, as is often the case, 三 is accented, 經 becomes even and falls in pitch.

Obs. ii. The accent often varies between the first and the last syllable. In regard to position, it is the latter that should receive it. But in reference to tone, that now under illustration admitting emphasis freely, overbears the accent of position.

17. Examples of upper first tone standing last in a combination of two or three.

Tones.	Accent.
p.p.p.	蘇州人	Sú-tseu niun, a Sú-cheú man,	ult.
p.s.p.	天主堂	t’íen-tsû dong, Roman Catholic Chapel,	„
p.k.k.	挑過去	t’iau kú-k’í, carry it past,	ant.
p.j.k.	當得住	tong tuh-dzû, able to stand against,	„
p.p.p.	朝辰頭	tsau-zun deu, in the morning,	„
p.s.k.	千里鏡	ts’íen-lí kiung, telescope,	ult.
p.k.p.	三字經	san-zz’ kiung, the Three Character Classic,	„
p.j.k.	追勿上	tsûi veh-zong, cannot overtake him,	ant.
p.s.s.	多好狗	tú-hau keu, a number of dogs,	„

Tones.	Accent.
p.p.	當心	tong sing, take care,	pen.
	燒香	sau h’iáng, burn incense,	ult.
s.p.	祖宗	tsú tsóng, ancestors,	pen.
	頂多	ting tú, greatest number of,	„
	講書	kong sû, explain books,	„
	水晶	sz tsing, rock crystal,	ult.
k.p.	貴庚	kwé káng, your honourable age?	„
	放心	fong sing, be content,	„
j.p.	插花	ts’ah hwó, insert flowers,	„
	忒多	t’uk tú, too many,	„
p.p.	明朝	ming tsau, to-morrow,	pen.
	良心	liáng sing, good heart, conscience,	„
k.p.p.	啥晨光	sá zun-kwong, what time,	ant.
s.p.	母親	mú ts’ing, mother,	ult.
	老兄	lau hiúng, venerated brother,	„
k.p.	地方	tí fong, a place,	„
	念經	nian kiung, chant sacred books,	„
j.p.	逆風	niuh fóng, contrary wind,	„

Obs. In the groups p.p., s.p., and p.p. in this table, the tone of the last word falls and becomes even. In such cases, the initial consonants remain unaffected. Thus, 工夫 kúng fú cannot become kúng vú, though, fú falls in key. The same change may sometimes be observed after the third and fourth tones.

Obs. i. There is a secondary accent on some other syllable in groups of three, which sometimes predominates over the other. We have not attempted to record more than one. E.g. 讀 the antepenultimate of the last example is often heard with a decided accent.

Obs. ii. An inspection of these tables will shew that the first tone attracts the accent to itself in many instances, and that through rapidity of pronunciation, or from the accent being placed on the word before, it tends to fall in key and become even.

19. The upper second tone. It is a high even tone without deflection, and forms a principal element in producing that curious singing effect in many dialects, which the foreigner notices in first listening to Chinese pronunciation.

Obs. i. The last syllable, when preceded by a word in the upper first tone, is usually heard to fall in key, as in the first two of the above examples.

Tones.	Accent.
p.s.	恩典	un tíen, favour,	pen.
	酗酒	h’iúng tsieu, intoxicated,	„
s.s.	滾水	kwun sz, boiling water,	pen.
	頂好	ting hau, the best possible,	„
k.s.	救火	kieú hú, save from fire,	ult.
	要緊	yau kiun, important,	„
j.s.	作主	tsok tsû, to be master,	„
	出首	ts’eh seu, accuser,	„
p.s.	門口	mun k’eu, door-way,	„
	財主	dzé tsû, rich man,	„
s.s.	勉强	míen k’iáng, by compulsion, (c‘h)	„
	耳𦖋	ní tú, ears,	„
k.s.	面孔	míen k’óng, face,	„
j.s.	折手	zeh seu, maimed hand,	„
	曆本	lih pun, almanac,	„
p.j.s.	燒熱水	sau nyih sz, prepare hot water,	„
p.k.s.	唔要緊	m yau kiun, not important,	ant.
j.j.s.	勿缺少	veh k’iöh sau, not deficient, (c‘h)	ult.
j.j.s.	實骨子	seh kweh tsz, in reality,	pen.

Obs. ii. In some examples, the tone under illustration often changes into a quick falling tone, as in 救火 kieu‘ ’hú, pronounced kieu‘ hú, and 勉强 pronounced míen‘ k’iáng.

Tones.	Accent.
s.p.p.	請先生	ts’ing síen-sáng, engage a teacher,	ant.
s.s.p.	考舉人	k’au kü-niun, be examined for Master of Arts decree,	pen.
s.s.k.	手低下	seu tí-au, under (my) control,	ant.
s.j.k.	打磕瞌	táng k’eh-ts’óng, nod the head when sleeping,	ult.
s.p.p.	火輪船	hú-lun zén, steamer,	„
s.k.k.	土地廟	t’ú-dí miau, temple of the Lares arvales,	„
s.j.s.	考勿起	k’au-veh-k’í, cannot venture to be examined,	„

Obs. For purposes of accentuation 下, 打, and 勿 in the above examples may be called enclitics or proclitics. As such they leave the emphasis to rest on the significant words.

Obs. The accent is usually on the last word, and it is especially marked when that word is in the first or third tone. When the penultimate assumes the accent, it frequently changes to the upper rising tone, but this is apparently nothing more than an occasional irregularity, produced by rapid pronunciation. Native assistants generally deny the existence of these and all such changes; but on having their attention drawn more closely to the subject, they admit that there are exceptional cases.

Obs. i. The penultimate is heard higher in key than the others. The last falls, but retains the principal accent more or less distinctly.

Obs. ii. The secondary accent is usually on the first word, except in the example 做好日, where the penultimate word changes into an upper rising tone, and receives the accent.

Obs. ii. When the last word is one of less significance than the others, it frequently loses the accent.

Tones.	Accent.
s.p.	小干	siau kûn, a boy,	ult.
	喜歡	h’í hwén, glad,	„
j.s.s.	白滾水	páh kwun-sz, simply boiling water (weak tea),	„
	打窵	táng tiau, shoot birds,	„
	水手	sz seu, sailors,	„
s.k.	寶貝	pau pé, precious,	„
	請教	ts’ing kiau, will you inform me?	„
	小菜	siau ts’é, vegetables,	„
s.j.	可惜	k’ó sih, alas!	pen.
	曉得	h’iau tuh, understand,	„
	打鐵	táng t’ih, work in iron,	ult.
s.p.	水牛	sz nieu, water buffalo,	„
	保全	pau dzíen, preserve,	„
	水桐	sz dóng, water bucket,	„
s.s.	苦惱	k’ú nau, unfortunate,	„
	倒滿	tau mén, pour full,	„
s.k.	胆大	tan dú, courageous,	„
	體面	t’í míen, respectable,	„
	請坐	ts’ing zú, please sit down,	„
s.j.	搶奪	ts’iáng döh, rob and plunder,	„
	寶石	pau záh, precious stone,	„

Tones.	Accent.
p.s.p.	齊祖宗	tsá tsú-tsóng, sacrifice to ancestors,	ult.
s.s.k.	比比看	pí-pí k’ön, compare them,	„
k.s.j.	做好日	tsú hau-nyih, keep a wedding,	pen.
j.s.p.	一本頭	ih-pun deu, just one volume,	ult.
p.s.p.	秦如皇	dzing sz wong, the emperor who burnt the books,	„
k.s.j.	字紙簏	zz-tsz lóh, written-paper basket,	„
j.s.p.	踛起來	lók k’í-lé, stand up,	„

Tones.	Accent.
k. p.	意思	í sz, object, idea,	pen.
	看書	k’ön sû, to read,	ult.
	種花	tsóng hwó, plant cotton or flowers,	„
k.s.	放火	fong hú, set on fire,	pen.
	禁止	kiung tsz, forbid,	„
k.k.	富貴	fú kwé, rich and honourable,	ult.
	教訓	kiau h’iün, instruct,	„
k.j.	愛惜	é sih, love and pity,	„
	過歇	kú h’ih, at present,	„
k.p.	算盤	sûn bén, Chinese abacus,	„
	教門	kiau mun, form of instruction,	„
k.s.	怕冷	p’ó láng, afraid of cold,	„
	快馬	k’wá mó, a swift horse,	„
k.k.	對面	dé míen, the opposite,	ult.
	算命	sûn ming, to calculate destiny,	„
k.j.	氣力	k’í lih, strength,	pen.
	做賊	tsú zuh, be a thief,	ult.

Tones.	Accent.
k.p.s.	照規矩	tsau kwé-kü, follow the custom,	pen.
k.s.k.	種小菜	tsóng siau-ts’é, plant vegetables,	„
k.k.k.	世界上	sz-ká long, in the world,	ult.
k.j.p.	派出來	p’á ts’eh-lé, place in divisions,	ant.
k.p.k.	啥時候	sá zz-eu, what time?,	„
k.p.p.	做成功	tsú zung-kóng, to complete,	ult.
k.s.s	敬父母	kiung ’vú-mú, reverence parents,	„
k.j.k.	帶勿動	tá veh-dóng, cannot carry,	ant.

Tones.	Accent.
p.k.	生意	sáng í, trade,	pen.
	東喊	tóng han, eastwards,	„
	爽快	song k’wá, in good health,	„
s.k.	寫信	siá sing, write a letter,	ult.
	打算	táng sûh, consider, plan,	pen.
k.k.	正派	tsung p’á, correct conduct,	ult.
	做戲	tsú h’í, act a play,	„
j.k.	得意	tuh í, obtain one’s wishes,	„
	失信	seh sing, be unfaithful,	„
p.k.	皇帝	wong tí, emperor,	„
	回信	wé sing, letter in answer,	„
s.k.	禮拜	lí pá, worship,	„
	馬掛	mo kwó jacket,	„
k.k.	造化	’zau hwó, fortunately, to create,	„
	地界	tí ká, boundary of land,	„
	罪過	zé kú, sin, an impropriety,	pen.
k.j.k.	看勿見	k’ön veh-kíen, do not see,	ant.
p.j.k.	搖勿過	yau veh-kú, cannot row past,	„
j.k.k.	勿要怕	veh-yau p’ó, do not fear,	pen.
j.j.k.	勿適意	veh suh-í, not in health,	ult.
s.s.k	冷小菜	láng siau ts’é, cold vegetables,	„

Tones.	Accent.
p.k.p.	担過來	tan kú-lé, bring it over,	ant.
s.k.k.	寫信去	siá-sing k’í, send a letter,	„
k.k.s.	細細哩	sí-sí lí, accurately,	„
j.k.k.	忒過分	t’uk kú-vun, excessive,	ult.
p.k.j.	難過歇	nan kú-h’ih, at present,	„
s.k.k.	理性上	lí-sing long, according to reason,	ant.
k.k.p.	右半爿	yeu pén ban, right-hand side,	ult.
j.k.j.	勿見得	veh kíen tuh, it is not likely,	pen.

28. The upper fourth tone. This tone is a short syllable, high and bent upwards. It has k final after the vowels á, ó, o, u, after other vowels k is not heard.

Words of the fourth tone naturally short, are here in a position unfavourable for the accent. Even the few cases of exception marked, do not take it exclusively on the penultimate.

In the first two examples, the penultimate being in the upper first tone, the last word may be heard to fall in key.

Tones.	Accent.
j.p.	出身	ts’eh sun, rank or profession,	ult.
	發風	fah fóng, wind rising,	„
j.s.	爀顯	hok h’íen, lightning,	„
	出產	ts’eh ts’an, field productions,	„
j.k.	百姓	pák sing, people (hundred names,)	„
j.j.	法則	fah tsuh, method,	„
j.p.	出門	ts’eh mun, to go from home,	„
	客人	k’áh niun, stranger, guest,	pen.
	磕頭	k’eh deu, to make a prostration,	ult.
j.s.	瞎眼	hah ngan, blind eyes,	„
j.k.	識字	suh zz, able to read,	„
	質地	tseh dí, natural powers,	„
k.j.	濶狹	k’weh ah, width, (broad, narrow,)	pen.
	骨肉	kweh nióh, blood relations,	„

Tones.	Accent.
j.p.s.	忒伊兩	t’eh-í liáng, with him,	ult.
j.s.p.	縮轉來	sók tsén-lé, return,	„
j.k.j.	撥過歇	peh-kú-h’ih, given,	ant.
j.k.p.	跌下來	tih ’au-lé, fall down,	ult.
j.p.p.	織成功	tsuh zung-kóng, completely woven,	ult.
j.s.j.	搨顔色	t’ah gnan suh, paint on colours,	pen.
j.j.p.	角落頭	koh-loh deu, corner,	ult.

Tones.	Accent.
p.j.	天色	t’íen suh, weather,	pen.
	分別	fun pih, difference,	„
s.j.	手筆	seu pih, hand-writing,	ult.
	寶塔	pau t’ah, pagoda,	„
k.j.	算法	sûn fah, method of calculation,	„
j.j.	吃粥	k’íuk tsóh, eat rice water,	„
p.j.	頭髮	teu fah, hair,	pen.
	沉殺	dzun sah, be drowned,	„
s.j.	顔色	gnan suh, colour,	„
	五十	ng seh,[1] fifty,	„
k.j.	二十	ní seh twenty,	„
	吝嗇	ling sih parsimonious,	„
j.j.	沒殺	meh sah be drowned,	ult.
	立刻	lih k’uh immediately,	„
p.p.j.	骷髏骨	kú leu kweh scull,	„
p.p.j.	龍華塔	lúng hwó t’ah Lúng-hwá pagoda,	„

In those marked k, j, the first word is lengthened in pronunciation, and thus passes into the lower second tone.

Long vowels.		Short vowels.		Other vowels.
á	rather.	a	sang.	au	au Paul.
é	ray.	e	set.	eu	eu as in 頭 teu.
í	read.	i	sing.	ö	Göthe.
ó	road.	o	song.	ü	vertu.
ú	rude.	u	sung.	û	as in 書 sû.

aú	á, ú, combined.	Prolongation of au.
eú	cow.	Prolongation of eu.
ei	kine.	The Greek, ei.

瓜 kwó, melon.	鍾 tsúng, bell.
風 fóng, wind.	多 tú, many.
輕 k’iung, light.	飛 fí, to fly.

Tones.	Accent.
s.p.k.	小生意	siau sáng-í, small retail trade,	pen.
k.p.p.	雇工人	kú-kóng niun, workman,	„
j.p.k.	束腰帶	sóh-yan tá, waist-band,	„
p.p.k.	文昌殿	vun-ts’áng díen, temple of the patron of Literature,	„
s.p.p.	軟心腸	niön sing-dzáng, merciful heart,	ult.
k.p.j.	大英國	ta-yung kóh, England,	ant.
j.p.p.	讀書人	tók-sû niun, educated man,	ult.

Ex.	水 sz, water.	好 hau, good.
	火 hú, fire.	討 t’au, beg.
	許 hé, promise.	點 tíen, point (verb or subs.)

Ex.	葬 tsong, bury.	變 píen, change.	四 sz, four.
Ex.	寸 ts’un, inch.	姓 sing, family name.	店 tíen, shop.

Section 3. On the Shanghai tones.