Page:Chinese Local Dialects Reduced to Writing- An Outline of the System Adopted for Romanizing the Dialect of Amoy (IA jstor-592283).pdf/4

Rh For several of the local dialects there are native tonic dictionaries, in which a system of initials and finals, with the addition of marks to distinguish the tones, answers the purpose of a complete alphabetic system for writing the pronunciation of characters, or even words in the spoken language for which there are no corresponding characters. In the tonic dictionaries referred to, the alphabetic system is only used to exhibit the pronunciation of words or characters; but at Fuhchau teachers have been found, who, with a few suggestions, have readily written out whole books with the initials and finals as a perfect alphabetic system for the local dialect. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John have in this way been prepared in manuscript, and phrasebooks have been written in the same style. A little study enables a person to read these books with the same readiness as any alphabetic language. In the system found at Fuhchau there are the following fifteen initials:


 * L
 * P
 * K
 * K'
 * T
 * P'
 * T'
 * Ch
 * N
 * S
 * M
 * Ng
 * Ch'
 * H
 * H

and thirty-three finals:


 * ung
 * ua
 * iong
 * iu
 * ang
 * ai
 * a
 * ing
 * uang
 * ò
 * ü
 * ue
 * u
 * eng
 * uong
 * ui
 * ieu
 * üng
 * ong
 * i
 * ëng
 * au
 * uò
 * è
 * üò
 * ie
 * iang
 * oi
 * ë
 * ieng
 * ia
 * uai
 * eu

The pronunciation above the characters is designed to indicate their power as alphabetic signs; while the pronunciation below gives the names or the pronunciation of the characters when standing alone. These, with well known marks for the eight tones, suffice for writing accurately any