Erhua
Encyclopedia
Erhua; also called erhuayin refers to a phonological process that adds r-coloring or the "ér" (儿) sound (transcribed in IPA as ɻ) to syllables in spoken Mandarin Chinese. It is most common in the speech varieties of North China, especially in the Beijing dialect
, as a diminutive
suffix for nouns, though some dialects also use it for other grammatical purposes. The Standard Chinese
spoken in government-produced educational and examination recordings features erhua to some extent, as in 哪儿 (nǎr) ("where"), 一点儿 (yìdiǎnr) ("a little"), or 好玩儿 (hǎowánr) ("fun"). Colloquial speech in many northern dialects has more extensive erhua than the standardized language. Southwestern Mandarin dialects also have Erhua, for example, the dialect in Chongqing
and Chengdu
. By contrast, many Southern Chinese who speak non-Mandarin dialects may have difficulty pronouncing the sound or may simply find it distasteful, and for whatever reason usually avoid words with Erhua when speaking Standard Chinese, replacing the above examples with 哪里 (nǎlǐ), 一点 (yìdiǎn), or 好玩 (hǎowán).
Only a small number of words in standardized Mandarin, such as 二 "two" and 耳 "ear", have r-colored vowels that do not result from the erhua process. All of the non-erhua r-colored syllables are pronounced ɑɻ with no initial consonant. All other instances of r-colored vowels are a result of erhua applying to originally non-r-colored syllables.
The following chart shows how the finals from the above chart are affected by the addition of this suffix:
The behavior of retroflexed finals provides some evidence for the phonemic analysis of main vowels. The fact that jɛn and [ɥɛn] become [jɑɻ] and [ɥɑɻ] confirms their analysis as /ian/ and /yan/ (rather than /iən/ and /yən/), and the differing behavior of [ɨ] and [i] suggests that these should not be merged (contrary to Pinyin). The behavior of [ə] and [ɤ], however, is problematic, since it suggests that they should not be merged, contrary to most analyses. (An alternative, consistent with retroflex behavior, would be to merge [ə] and [ɨ] as a single /ə/ phoneme, and maintain [ɤ] as a separate phoneme occurring only in a single /ɤ/ final. Some evidence for this comes from standard Beijing pronunciation, where [ə] and [ɨ] are simple vowels but /ɤ/ is actually a diphthong [ɯʌ].)
Wu Chinese, a similar phenomenon occurs with the word 儿. Instead of a rhotic ending, such erhua in Wu is in the form of nasals, such as [n]~[ɲ]~[ŋ].
For example, the word 麻将, Mahjong
is actually 麻雀儿, in the form of erhua. The word 雀 [tsiaʔ] tsiah, with the word 儿 [ŋ] ng, becomes the word 将 [tsiaŋ] tsiang, in other words mu tsiah 麻雀 becomes mu tsiang 麻将, a shortened form of mu tsiah ng 麻雀儿.
Such Erhua is especially common in Hangzhou dialect
.
Beijing dialect
Beijing dialect, or Pekingese , is the dialect of Mandarin spoken in the urban area of Beijing, China. It is the phonological basis of Standard Chinese, which is used by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China , and Singapore....
, as a diminutive
Diminutive
In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
suffix for nouns, though some dialects also use it for other grammatical purposes. The Standard Chinese
Standard Chinese
Standard Chinese, or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
spoken in government-produced educational and examination recordings features erhua to some extent, as in 哪儿 (nǎr) ("where"), 一点儿 (yìdiǎnr) ("a little"), or 好玩儿 (hǎowánr) ("fun"). Colloquial speech in many northern dialects has more extensive erhua than the standardized language. Southwestern Mandarin dialects also have Erhua, for example, the dialect in Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
and Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
. By contrast, many Southern Chinese who speak non-Mandarin dialects may have difficulty pronouncing the sound or may simply find it distasteful, and for whatever reason usually avoid words with Erhua when speaking Standard Chinese, replacing the above examples with 哪里 (nǎlǐ), 一点 (yìdiǎn), or 好玩 (hǎowán).
Only a small number of words in standardized Mandarin, such as 二 "two" and 耳 "ear", have r-colored vowels that do not result from the erhua process. All of the non-erhua r-colored syllables are pronounced ɑɻ with no initial consonant. All other instances of r-colored vowels are a result of erhua applying to originally non-r-colored syllables.
Rules
The basic rules controlling the surface pronunciation of erhua are as follows:- Coda [i] and [n] are deleted.
- Coda [ŋ] is deleted, but the syllable becomes nasalizedNasal vowelA nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the velum so that air escapes both through nose as well as the mouth. By contrast, oral vowels are ordinary vowels without this nasalisation...
. - Main vowels [i] and [y] become glides and have a [ə] added, which is rhoticized to [əɻ].
- Certain vowels are changed: [a] becomes [ɑ]; [e] and [ɨ] become [ə]; [ɛ] in the finals [jɛn] and [ɥɛn] becomes [ɑ] (but remains [ɛ] in the final [jɛ]).
The following chart shows how the finals from the above chart are affected by the addition of this suffix:
| Nucleus | Coda (+rhotic) |
Medial | |||
| ∅ | i | u | y | ||
| a | ∅ | ɑɻ | jɑɻ | wɑɻ | |
| i | ɑɻ | wɑɻ | |||
| u | ɑʊɻ | jɑʊɻ | |||
| n | ɑɻ | jɑɻ | wɑɻ | ɥɑɻ | |
| ŋ | ɑ̃ɻ | jɑ̃ɻ | wɑ̃ɻ | ||
| ə | ∅ | ɤɻ | jɛɻ | wɔɻ | ɥœɻ |
| i | əɻ | wəɻ | |||
| u | oʊɻ | joʊɻ | |||
| n | əɻ | jəɻ | wəɻ | ɥəɻ | |
| ŋ | ə̃ɻ | jə̃ɻ | ʊ̃ɻ | jʊ̃ɻ | |
| ∅ | əɻ | jəɻ | uɻ | ɥəɻ | |
The behavior of retroflexed finals provides some evidence for the phonemic analysis of main vowels. The fact that jɛn and [ɥɛn] become [jɑɻ] and [ɥɑɻ] confirms their analysis as /ian/ and /yan/ (rather than /iən/ and /yən/), and the differing behavior of [ɨ] and [i] suggests that these should not be merged (contrary to Pinyin). The behavior of [ə] and [ɤ], however, is problematic, since it suggests that they should not be merged, contrary to most analyses. (An alternative, consistent with retroflex behavior, would be to merge [ə] and [ɨ] as a single /ə/ phoneme, and maintain [ɤ] as a separate phoneme occurring only in a single /ɤ/ final. Some evidence for this comes from standard Beijing pronunciation, where [ə] and [ɨ] are simple vowels but /ɤ/ is actually a diphthong [ɯʌ].)
Beijing dialect
Aside from its use as a diminutive, erhua in the Beijing dialect also serves to differentiate words; for example, 白面 (báimiàn "flour") and 白面儿 (báimiànr "heroin"). Additionally, some words may sound unnatural without rhotacization, as is the case with 花/花儿 (huā/huār "flower").Examples
See: Mandarin phonologyMandarin phonology
The phonology of Standard Chinese is reproduced below. Actual production varies widely among speakers, as people inadvertently introduce elements of their native dialects...
- 一瓶 (yìpíng) (one bottle) → 一瓶儿 (yìpíngr), pronounced [i˥˩pʰĩɻ˧˥]
- 公园 (gōngyuán) (public garden) → 公园儿 (gōngyuánr), pronounced [kʊŋ˥ɥɑɻ˧˥]
- 小孩 (xiǎohái) (small child) → 小孩儿 (xiǎoháir), pronounced [ɕjɑʊ̯˨˩xɑɻ˧˥]
- 事 (shì) (thing) → 事儿 (shìr), pronounced [ʂɚ˥˩]
In Non-Mandarin Sinitic languages
In some dialects of TaihuTaihu Wu dialects
Taihu Wu dialects , or Northern Wu dialects , are a group of Wu dialects spoken over much of southern part of Jiangsu province, including Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, the southern part of Nantong, Jingjiang and Danyang; the municipality of Shanghai; and the northern part of Zhejiang province, including...
Wu Chinese, a similar phenomenon occurs with the word 儿. Instead of a rhotic ending, such erhua in Wu is in the form of nasals, such as [n]~[ɲ]~[ŋ].
For example, the word 麻将, Mahjong
Mahjong
Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
is actually 麻雀儿, in the form of erhua. The word 雀 [tsiaʔ] tsiah, with the word 儿 [ŋ] ng, becomes the word 将 [tsiaŋ] tsiang, in other words mu tsiah 麻雀 becomes mu tsiang 麻将, a shortened form of mu tsiah ng 麻雀儿.
Such Erhua is especially common in Hangzhou dialect
Hangzhou dialect
The Hangzhou dialect, or Rhangzei Rhwa , is spoken in the city of Hangzhou and its immediate suburbs, but excluding areas further away from Hangzhou such as Xiāoshān and Yúháng . The number of speakers of the Hangzhou dialect has been estimated to be about 1.2 to 1.5 million...
.
- 麻雀 (mu tsiah) → 麻雀儿/麻将 麻雀兒/麻將 (mu tsiang)
- 囡 (noe) → 囡儿/囡兒 (noe ng)
- 虾/蝦 (ho) → 虾儿/蝦兒 (hoe)
External links
- Erhua pronunciation MP3 on MIT OpenCourseWareMIT OpenCourseWareMIT OpenCourseWare is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to put all of the educational materials from its undergraduate- and graduate-level courses online, partly free and openly available to anyone, anywhere. MIT OpenCourseWare is a large-scale, web-based publication of...
- blog discussion of functions of Erhua in meaning, with sound samples