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Lesson 5 - Syllable structure in English and
Chinese
Words are made up of syllables; the center of a
syllable is a vowel, e.g.,
/aɪ/ as
in "I"; or
/maɪ/ as in "my". One of the differences
between Cantonese and English is the structure of a
syllable. English has far more consonants around the
central vowels than Chinese.
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English
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Cantonese
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screamed
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/skriːmd/(CCCVCC)
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country |
/gwok/( )(CCVC)
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grasps
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/grɑːsps/(CCVCCC)
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language |
/mahn/( )(CVC)
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asked
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/ɑːskt/(VCCC)
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good |
/hóu/( )(CV)
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grumbled
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/grʌmbəld/(CCVCCVCC)
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house |
/ūk/( )(VC)
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Consonant values
Final consonants have different values in different
languages. Compare the final consonants in these
words:
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in the English word "but" and the
Cantonese word for a pen "bāt" (
 )
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in the English word "lock" and the
Cantonese for fall down/get down "lohk" (
 )
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in the English word “cup” and the
Cantonese for class as in 1st year class "
yāt
nɪ̀hn kāp"(
 )
As soon as we understand the difference in the way
the final sound is pronounced in each language, it
is easy to understand why Cantonese speakers may not
hear English endings, so do not say them and then do
not write them.
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HKUST
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Center for Language Education