Proper Cantonese pronunciation
Starting in the 1980s, proper Cantonese pronunciation has been much promoted in Hong Kong, with the scholar Richard Ho as its iconic campaigner. The very idea of "proper" pronunciation of Cantonese Chinese is controversial, since the concept of labeling native speakers' usage and speech in terms of correctness is not generally supported by academic linguistics. Law et al. point out that the phrase "lazy sounds", most commonly discussed in relation to phonetic changes in Hong Kong Cantonese, implies that the speaker is "unwilling to put forth sufficient effort to articulate the standard pronunciation".
Origins and influences
The promotion of "proper" Cantonese Chinese pronunciation is partly a reaction to so-called "lazy sounds" adopted by the younger generations. These "lazy" pronunciation variants, or sound changes include:- merge of initial n- and l-, for example, pronouncing 男 as 藍
- merge of initial ng- and dark-toned null/glottal onsets, for example, pronouncing 愛 as ngoi3
- loss of initial ng- on light-toned words, for example, pronouncing 我 as o5
- omission of the labialization -w- of gw- or kw-, for example, pronouncing 國 as 角
- confusing the final consonants -k and -t, for example, pronouncing 塞 as 失.
- confusing the final consonants -n and -ng, for example, pronouncing 冷 as 懶
- confusing the syllabic consonants m and ng, for example, pronouncing 吳 as 唔
| Context | Sound change or phonetic variation | Examples | Origins |
| Syllable-initial position | 1. > | 男 "boy" > | First appeared in speech in the early 1940s when it was found that there was a new pronunciation for original syllable-initial . This became increasingly common in the 1970s. |
| Syllable-initial position | 2. > ∅- | 牛 "cow" > | H.N. Cheung discovered that can be added in syllable-initial positions preceding syllable-initial vowels in standard Cantonese. This became overused and preferred for words which originally had either syllable-initial or syllable-initial ∅- until at least the early 1970s. |
| Syllable-initial position | 3. ∅- > | 屋 "house" > | See entry above. |
| Before /ɔ/ | 4. > OR > | 果 "fruit" > | This phenomenon of the disappearing process of labialization in a syllable-initial environment and preceding the vowel was first mentioned and studied by H.N. Cheung in the 1970s. |
| Individual syllable | 5. Syllabic > | 五 "five" > | Syllabic was suggested to have originated from the syllable , while was found in colloquial forms of dialects. This change remained intact in the first half of the twentieth century. |
| Syllable-final position | 6. > | 香 "banana" > | First appeared in R.S. Bauer's 1979 study presenting the discovery of alveolarization in syllable-final that becomes . The phenomenon of alveolarization started to grow in the 1950s. |
| Syllable-final position | 7. > | 乾 "dry" > | The phenomenon of velarization was only found in the 1970s. |
| Syllable-final position | 8. > | 腳 "foot" > | See entry 6 above. |
| Syllable-final position | 9. > | 渴 "thirsty" > | See entry 7 above. |
To, Mcleod and Cheung delve deeper into these sound changes in contemporary Hong Kong Cantonese, and focus in particular on the four syllable-final consonants: , , , and . After conducting original research on the pronunciation of words containing these syllable-final phonetic changes, To et al. argue that syllable-final environment sound changes occur due to the tongue position at the preceding vowel, as it opts for maximum ease. Thus, their argument attests for two process: alveolarization and velarization.
The following table shows the environments where the processes of alveolarization and velarization tend to occur:
| Sound change | Environment | Description |
| > and > | / ___# | Alveolarization is facilitated by a preceding mid-front/central vowel. |
| > and > | / ɔ___# | Velarization may occur when preceded by mid-back vowel . |
| and | / ___# | The originally attested syllable-final velar consonants are not alveolarized when preceded by the high, front, lax vowel and the near-close near-back rounded vowel . |
Alveolarization tends to occur when there is a preceding mid-front or central vowel, and velarization tends to occur when the attested preceding mid-back vowel is present. The last example in table 2 indicates that the attested sequence doesn’t change, as the position of the tongue for the high, lax, front vowel is already in close proximity to the position needed to make the velar consonants.
To et al.'s research presents that the process of co-articulation accounts for the birth of "lazy sounds". In Hong Kong Cantonese at present, alveolarization is a more popular phenomenon than velarization, and the syllable-final alveolar consonants and tend to be preserved even when the preceding vowels prompt a tongue position that is further back. An example would be “dry” . It is rare for people to pronounce this with a syllable-final , although it still occurs, as 7.1% of adults tested by To et al. do this.
This result is presented alongside a ranking of attested preceding vowels of the ~ pair that demonstrate the process of alveolarization, from least likely to have a succeeding 'alveolarized' consonant, to most likely: ʊ = ɪ > ɔ < ɛ < ɐ < a < œ. The vowels and share the same percentage of alveolarization, resulting in a 0.0% chance of sound change, while the highest ranking vowel, , resulted in a 37.5% chance of sound change.
TV and radio programs, including game shows, have been made to promote "proper pronunciation". The campaign has also influenced the local media. Some news reporters and masters of ceremonies in Hong Kong have adopted the "proper" pronunciations.
Arguments
The "proper" readings promoted by Richard Ho are based on the fanqie spelling of Guangyun, an ancient rime dictionary reflecting the sounds of Middle Chinese. Ho states that, Cantonese Chinese phonology being the descendant of the Guangyun system, there are highly regular correspondences between the sounds of Middle Chinese and those of modern Cantonese Chinese. He also holds that the "flat" and "sharp" tonal distinction in Middle Chinese is the most important feature from which modern Cantonese Chinese should not deviate, especially when reciting ancient literature. He allows exceptions in some cases of colloquial speech, but not in any cases in reading ancient literature.Ho's approach to pronunciation is prescriptive. For instance, talking about the "wrong" pronunciation of final consonants of the youth, he says:
He expresses his attitude towards sound changes, when talking about the gradual merge of and initials in Cantonese Chinese:
A major critic of Ho's approach is Wang Tingzhi. He calls Ho's prescriptive pronunciations "demonic". One of his concerns is that Cantonese Chinese comprises six historical strata, not just the one represented by the Guangyun.
Media
Ever since the arguments made around the correct way of pronouncing Chinese characters in Cantonese, different media companies in China have used their own interpretation of the correct pronunciations when broadcasting.Hong Kong TV stations
In 1981, Hong Kong TV stations followed the majority rule in terms of the correct pronunciation. At the time, the most common pronunciation for "Time" was to say the last character with the same pronunciation as the word "time rape" in China.The shocking effect from this was realized when kindergarten kids started talking about a show "The friends time" as "The friend's rape time" due to slightly different pronunciations. After that incident, the TV stations started to realize the importance of the correct way of pronouncing characters to avoid misinterpretations.
Effects on Cantonese pronunciation
Changes in pronunciation in Hong Kong's Cantonese pronunciation have affected the Cantonese spoken in other regions, including Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces.Variations in Cantonese pronunciation across different regions are still a major topic of discussion. Some are seen as too informal while others are seen as having other flaws.