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Zhuyin Information

Proto-Sinaitic alphabet 19 c. BCE

Meroitic 3 c. BCE Ogham 4 c. CE Hangul 1443 Zhuyin (Bopomofo) 1913 Complete writing systems genealogy This box:

Zhuyin Fuhao, often abbreviated zhuyin and colloquially called bopomofo,[1] was introduced in the 1910s as the first official phonetic system for transcribing Chinese, especially Mandarin.

Consisting of 37 characters and 4 tone marks, it transcribes all possible sounds in Mandarin. Despite being phased out on mainland China in the 1950s, this system is still widely used as an educational tool and Chinese computer input method in Taiwan.

Contents

Name

Zhuyin is often called bopomofo whose name is derived from the first four letters of the system (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ) and occasionally used to refer to pinyin in mainland China. In official documents, it is occasionally called the "Mandarin Phonetic Symbols I" (國語注音符號第一式), abbreviated as the "MPS I" (注音一式).

In English translations, the system is often called either Chu-yin or the Mandarin Phonetic Symbols.[2][3] A romanized version of bopomofo, released in 1984, is called MPS II.

History

Main article: Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation#Phonetic symbols

The Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation, led by Woo Tsin-hang from 1912 to 1913, created a system called Guóyīn Zìmǔ (國音字母 "National Pronunciation Letters") or Zhùyīn Zìmǔ (註音字母 or 注音字母 "Sound-annotating Letters")[2] which is based on Zhang Binglin's shorthands.

A draft was released on July 11, 1913, by the Republic of China National Ministry of Education, but it was not officially proclaimed until November 23, 1928.[2] zhùyīn zìmǔ was renamed zhùyīn fúhào in April 1930.

The symbols were initially called Zhùyīn Zìmǔ ("Phonetic Alphabet"); later they were also called Guóyīn Zìmǔ ("National Phonetic Alphabet"). The fear that they might be considered an alphabetic system of writing independent of characters led to their being renamed Zhùyīn Fúhàoin 1930 ("Phonetic Symbols").[4]

After 1949, bopomofo was superseded by the pinyin system promulgated by the People's Republic of China, but its use is retained in the Republic of China on Taiwan.

Taiwan's Education Ministry has attempted for many years to phase out the use of zhuyin in favor of a system based on Latin characters such as Hanyu Pinyin, which has been the only legal standard since 2009. However, this transition has been extremely slow due to the resistance to the new system throughout the society.

Modern use

Bopomofo remains the predominate phonetic system in teaching reading and writing in elementary school in Taiwan. It is also one of the most popular ways to enter Chinese characters into computers and look up characters in a dictionary in Taiwan.

In grade one, Chinese characters in textbooks are often annotated with bopomofo as students take ten weeks to learn them. As elementary education progresses, the use of bopomofo is gradually reduced.

In teaching Mandarin, Taiwan institutions and some overseas community still uses bopomofo as a learning tool, however pinyin has gained significant popularity in recent decades. Current Chinese Braille is also based on Bopomofo.

Besides transcribing Chinese, bopomofo is also used as the primary writing system for a few aboriginal languages of Taiwan, such as Atayal,[5] Seediq,[6] Paiwan,[7] or Tao.[8] It is sometimes used to annotate Minnanese, a widely spoken Chinese dialect in Taiwan, however romanized Pe̍h-ōe-jī is more common in use.

Etymology

The zhuyin letters were created by Zhang Binglin, and mainly taken from "regularized" forms of ancient Chinese characters, the modern readings of which contain the sound that each letter represents.

Origin of zhuyin symbols
Zhuyin Pinyin Origin
b From 勹, the ancient form and current top portion of 包 bāo
p From 攵, the combining form of 攴
m From 冂, the archaic character and current radical 冖
f From 匚 fāng
d From the archaic form of 刀 dāo. Compare the bamboo form .
t From the upside-down 子 seen at the top of 充
n From /𠄎, ancient form of 乃 nǎi
l From the archaic form of 力
g From the obsolete character 巜 guì/kuài" 'river'
k From the archaic character 丂 kǎo
h From the archaic character and current radical 厂 hàn
j From the archaic character 丩 jiū
q From the archaic character ㄑ quǎn, graphic root of the character 巛 chuān (modern 川)
x From 丅, a ancient form of 下 xià.
zh From /㞢, archaic form of 之 zhī.
ch From the character and radical 彳 chì
sh From the character 尸 shī
r Modified from the seal script form of 日
z From the archaic character and current radical 卩 jié, dialectically zié
c Variant of 七 qī, dialectically ciī. Compare semi-cursive form and seal-script .
s From the archaic character 厶 sī, which was later replaced by its compound 私 sī.
i, y From 一
u, w From 㐅, ancient form of 五 wǔ.
ü, yu From the ancient character 凵 qū, which remains as a radical
a From 丫
o From the obsolete character 𠀀 hē, inhalation, the reverse of 丂 kǎo, which is preserved as a phonetic in the compound 可 kě.[9]
e Derived from its allophone in Standard Mandarin, ㄛ o
e From 也 yě. Compare the Warring States bamboo form
ai From 𠀅 hài, bronze form of 亥.
ei From 乁 yí, an obsolete character meaning 移 "to move".
ao From 幺 yāo
ou From 又 yòu
an From the obsolete character ㄢ hàn "to bloom", preserved as a phonetic in the compound 犯 fàn
en From 乚 yǐn
ang From 尢 wāng
eng From 厶, an obsolete form of 厷 gōng
er From 儿, the bottom portion of 兒 ér used as a cursive form
i (, and inverted ㄓ) Perhaps 市, in addition to ㄓ. It is the minimal vowel of ㄓ, ㄔ, ㄕ, ㄖ, ㄗ, ㄘ, ㄙ that is spelled "ih" in Tongyong Pinyin and Wade-Giles and "i" in pinyin.

The zhuyin characters are represented in typographic fonts as if drawn with an ink brush (as in Regular Script). They are encoded in Unicode in the bopomofo block, in the range U+3105 ... U+312D.

Writing

Stroke order

Bopomofo is written in the same stroke order rule as Chinese characters. Note that ㄖ is written with three strokes, unlike the character from which it is derived (日, Hanyu Pinyin: rì), which has four strokes.

Tonal marks

Tone bopomofo Pinyin
1 none ¯
2 ˊ ´
3 ˇ ˇ
4 ˋ ˋ
short ˙ none

The tone marks and Hanyu Pinyin are alike, except that in Bopomofo, the first tone is denoted with no marker and the neutral tone is with a dot. In Pinyin, the dot is omitted for neutral tone, and there is a dash (¯) for the first tone.

Align

Unlike bopomofo, Hanyu Pinyin does not align well with the hanzi characters in books whose texts are printed vertically, making bopomofo better suited for annotating the pronunciation of vertically oriented Chinese text.

Bopomofo, when used in conjunction with Chinese characters, are typically placed to the right of the Chinese character vertically or to the top of the Chinese character in a horizontal print.

Below is an example for the word "bottle" (pinyin: píngzi):

ㄆ – ㄥˊ
˙ ㄗ
or
ㄆㄧㄥˊ ㄗ˙

Comparison

Bopomofo and pinyin are based on the same Mandarin pronunciations, hence there is a 1-to-1 correspondence between the two systems. In the table below, the 'bopomofo' and 'pinyin' columns show equivalency.

【】represents the form used in combination with other letters.

A comparison between pinyin and bopomofo for Standard Mandarin can also be done by comparing the transcription of various syllables at Comparison of Chinese Phonetic Systems.

Bopomofo vs. Pinyin
Initials
Bopomofo Hanyu Pinyin Tongyong Pinyin[10] Wade-Giles Example (Bopomofo, Pinyin)
b b p 八 (ㄅㄚ, bā)
p p p' 杷 (ㄆㄚˊ, pá)
m m m 馬 (ㄇㄚˇ, mǎ)
f f f 法 (ㄈㄚˇ, fǎ)
d d t 地 (ㄉㄧˋ, dì)
t t t' 提 (ㄊㄧˊ, tí)
n n n 你 (ㄋㄧˇ, nǐ)
l l l 利 (ㄌㄧˋ, lì)
g g k 告 (ㄍㄠˋ, gào)
k k k' 考 (ㄎㄠˇ, kǎo)
h h h 好 (ㄏㄠˇ, hǎo)
j j ch 叫 (ㄐㄧㄠˋ, jiào)
q c ch' 巧 (ㄑㄧㄠˇ, qiǎo)
x s hs 小 (ㄒㄧㄠˇ, xiǎo)
zhi 【zh】 jhih 【jh】 chih 【ch】 主 (ㄓㄨˇ, zhǔ)
chi 【ch】 chih 【ch】 ch'ih 【ch'】 出 (ㄔㄨ, chū)
shi 【sh】 shih 【sh】 shih 【sh】 束 (ㄕㄨˋ, shù)
ri 【r】 rih 【r】 jih 【j】 入 (ㄖㄨˋ, rù)
zi 【z】 zih 【z】 tzû 【ts】 在 (ㄗㄞˋ, zài)
ci 【c】 cih 【c】 tz'û 【ts'】 才 (ㄘㄞˊ, cái)
si 【s】 sih 【s】 ssû 【s】 塞 (ㄙㄞ, sāi)
Finals
Bopomofo Hanyu Pinyin Tongyong Pinyin Wade-Giles Example(Bopomofo, Hanyu)
a a a 大 (ㄉㄚˋ, dà)
o o o 多 (ㄉㄨㄛ, duō)
e e e 得 (ㄉㄜˊ, dé)
ê e eh 爹 (ㄉㄧㄝ, diē)
ai ai ai 晒 (ㄕㄞˋ, shài)
ei ei ei 誰 (ㄕㄟˊ, shéi)
ao ao ao 少 (ㄕㄠˇ, shǎo)
ou ou ou 收 (ㄕㄡ, shōu)
an an an 山 (ㄕㄢ, shān)
en en en 申 (ㄕㄣ, shēn)
ang ang ang 上 (ㄕㄤˋ, shàng)
eng eng eng 生 (ㄕㄥ, shēng)
er er erh 而 (ㄦˊ, ér)
yi 【i】 yi 【i】 yi 【i】 逆 (ㄋㄧˋ, nì)
yin 【in】 yin 【in】 yin 【in】 音 (ㄧㄣ, yīn)
ying 【ing】 ying 【ing】 ying 【ing】 英 (ㄧㄥ, yīng)
wu 【u】 wu 【u】 wu 【u】 努 (ㄋㄨˇ, nǔ)
wen 【un】 wun 【un】 wen 【un】 文 (ㄨㄣˊ, wén)
weng 【ong】 wong 【ong】 ng 【ung】 翁 (ㄨㄥ, wēng)
yu 【u, ü】 yu 【u, yu】 yü 【ü】 女 (ㄋㄩˇ, nǚ)
yun 【un】 yun 【un, yun】 yün 【ün】 韻 (ㄩㄣˋ, yūn)
yong 【iong】 yong yung 【iung】 永 (ㄩㄥˇ, yǒng)

Another comparison table

Vowels a, e, o, i
IPA ɑ ɔ ɤ ɛ ɑʊ ɤʊ an ən ɑŋ ɤŋ ɑɻ ʊŋ i iɤʊ iɛn in
Pinyin a o e e ai ei ao ou an en ang eng er ong yi ye you yan yin ying
Tongyong Pinyin a o e e ai ei ao ou an en ang eng er ong yi ye you yan yin ying
Wade-Giles a o o/ê eh ai ei ao ou an ên ang êng êrh ung i yeh yu yen yin ying
Zhuyin ㄨㄥ ㄧㄝ ㄧㄡ ㄧㄢ ㄧㄣ ㄧㄥ
example (也) (黑) (冷) (中)
Vowels u, y
IPA u ueɪ uaɪ uan uən uʊn uɤŋ uʊŋ y yɛn yn iʊŋ
Pinyin wu wo wei wai wan wen weng yu yue yuan yun yong
Tongyong Pinyin wu wo wei wai wan wun wong yu yue yuan yun yong
Wade-Giles wu wo wei wai wan wên wêng yüeh yüan yün yung
Zhuyin ㄨㄛ ㄨㄟ ㄨㄞ ㄨㄢ ㄨㄣ ㄨㄥ ㄩㄝ ㄩㄢ ㄩㄣ ㄩㄥ
example
Non-sibilant consonants
IPA p m fɤŋ fʊŋ tiou tuei ny ly kɤɻ
Pinyin b p m feng diu dui t ger k he
Tongyong Pinyin b p m fong diou duei t nyu lyu ger k he
Wade-Giles p p' m fêng tiu tui t' kêrh k' ho
Zhuyin ㄈㄥ ㄉㄧㄡ ㄉㄨㄟ ㄋㄩ ㄌㄩ ㄍㄜㄦ ㄏㄜ
example 歌儿
Sibilant consonants
IPA tɕiɛn tɕiʊŋ tɕʰin ɕyɛn ʈʂɤ ʈʂɨ ʈʂʰɤ ʈʂʰɨ ʂɤ ʂɨ ʐɤ ʐɨ tsɤ tsuɔ tsɨ tsʰɤ tsʰɨ
Pinyin jian jiong qin xuan zhe zhi che chi she shi re ri ze zuo zi ce ci se si
Tongyong Pinyin jian jyong cin syuan jhe jhih che chih she shih re rih ze zuo zih ce cih se sih
Wade-Giles chien chiung ch'in hsüan chê chih ch'ê ch'ih shê shih jih tsê tso tzŭ ts'ê tz'ŭ szŭ
Zhuyin ㄐㄧㄢ ㄐㄩㄥ ㄑㄧㄣ ㄒㄩㄢ ㄓㄜ ㄔㄜ ㄕㄜ ㄖㄜ ㄗㄜ ㄗㄨㄛ ㄘㄜ ㄙㄜ
example
Tones
IPA ma˥˥ ma˧˥ ma˨˩˦ ma˥˩ ma
Pinyin ma
Tongyong Pinyin ma
Wade-Giles ma1 ma2 ma3 ma4 ma0
Zhuyin ㄇㄚ ㄇㄚˊ ㄇㄚˇ ㄇㄚˋ ㄇㄚ・
example (traditional/simplfied) 媽/妈 麻/麻 馬/马 罵/骂 嗎/吗
Table showing Bopomofo in Gwoyeu Romatzyh.

Other languages

Zhuyin is used to write several varieties of Chinese, as well as some Formosan languages.[citation needed]

Three letters formerly used in non-standard dialects of Mandarin are now also used to write other Chinese languages. Some bopomofo fonts do not contain these letters; see External links for PDF pictures.

Char Pinyin
v
ng
ny

In addition, diacritics were used to create new letters for Min-nan and Hakka.

Extended bopomofo
Char Pinyin Char Pinyin Char Pinyin Char Pinyin
ㆠ() bb* ㆦ() oo [ɔ] ㆬ() syllabic m ㆲ() ong
ㆡ() zz* ㆧ() onn [õ] ㆭ() syllabic ng ㆳ() innn
ㆢ() jj* ㆨ() ir [ɨ] ㆮ() ainn [aĩ] ㆴ() Final p
ㆣ() gg* ㆩ() ann [ã] ㆯ() aunn [aũ] ㆵ() Final t
ㆤ() ee [e] ㆪ() inn [ĩ] ㆰ() am ㆶ() Final k
ㆥ() enn [ẽ] ㆫ() unn [ũ] ㆱ() om ㆷ() Final h [ʔ]
Tones
Char Tone Value Unicode
˪ (└) Chao number "11", depicts 低平"low, level tone" (陰去聲 "upper departing") in Taiwanese Minnan U+02EA
˫ (├) Chao number "33", depicts 平"mid, level tone" (陽去聲 "lower departing") in Taiwanese Minnan U+02EB

Computer uses

Input method

Another example of a bopomofo keypad for Taiwan.

Bopomofo can be used as an input method for Chinese characters. It is one of the few input methods that can be found on most modern personal computers without the user having to download or install any additional software. It is also one of the few input methods that can be used for inputting Chinese characters on certain cell phones.

A typical keyboard layout for bopomofo on computers.

Unicode

Bopomofo Unicode.org chart (PDF)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+310x
U+311x
U+312x
Bopomofo Extended[1] Unicode.org chart (PDF)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+31Ax
U+31Bx
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 6.0

See also

Look up bopomofo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

This article uses bare URLs in its references. Please use proper citations containing each referenced work's title, author, date, and source, so that the article remains verifiable in the future. may be available. are available for formatting. (October 2010)
  1. ^ In Chinese, "bo", "po", "mo" and "fo" are the first four of the conventional ordering of available syllables. As a result, the four syllables together have been used to indicate various phonetic systems. For Chinese speakers who were first introduced to the Zhuyin system, "bopomofo" means zhuyin fuhao. For those who first encountered a different system, such as hanyu pinyin, "bopomofo" usually means that system first encountered.
  2. ^ a b c The Republic of China government, Government Information Office. "Taiwan Yearbook 2006: The People & Languages". http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/02PeopleandLanguage.htm.
  3. ^ Taiwan Headlines. "Taiwan Headlines: Society News: New Taiwanese dictionary unveiled". Government Information Office, Republic of China (Taiwan). http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=85286&ctNode=10.
  4. ^ John DeFrancis. The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy. Honolulu, HI, USA: University of Hawaii Press, 1984. p. 242.
  5. ^ www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-atayal.html
  6. ^ www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-sediq.html
  7. ^ www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-paiwan.html
  8. ^ www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-yami.html
  9. ^ "Unihan data for U+ 20000". http://www.unicode.org/cgi-bin/GetUnihanData.pl?codepoint=20000.
  10. ^ Tongyong Pinyin is being phased out of use.

External links

This article uses bare URLs in its references. Please use proper citations containing each referenced work's title, author, date, and source, so that the article remains verifiable in the future. may be available. are available for formatting. (October 2010)
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