88 ON THE AMOY COLLOQUIAL DIALECT. 



first and second of the Court dialect are identical with the corres- 

 ponding numbers in the Araoy. But the third tone of the Court 

 dialect is identical with the fifth of the Amoy ; the fourth of the former 

 with the eighth of the latter ; the fifth of the former with the third of 

 the latter. Thus the third and fifth tones of these two dialects have 

 interchanged modulations. 



While there is such a resemblance between these two distant dialects 

 (the Court and the Amoy), the neighbouring ones of Canton and Fuh 

 Chau are very unlike to each other and to the intermediate Amoy. 



A still more striking difference in intonation is to be found in the 

 two conterminous districts of Chang Chau and Tsiuen Chau. The 

 people of these two districts understand each other very well, the 

 words being for the most part identical. Yet of the seven tones used, 

 three are unlike in these adjoining districts. The first, second, third 

 and seventh tones are identical in the two. But the Chang Chau 

 fourth is identical with the Tsiuen Chau eighth, and the Chang Chau 

 fifth and eighth are wholly unknown to the Tsiuen Chau. Their fifth 



tone is not — P 



tt 



but — F- — r — , and the eighth not 



- — . Of course the Tsiuen Chau fourth is not known to 



them. A collection of all the various distinct modulations to be found 

 in the eighteen provinces of China would doubtless be of great interest. 



The difference in the modulation of the Fuh Chau, Amoy, Chang 

 Chau and Canton tones is so great that a practised ear can determine 

 which of these dialects is spoken on the deck of a vessel at such a dis- 

 tance that not a single articulation can be distinguished. 



But there are also composite tones. Thus, a tone usually undergoes 

 some modification when the word, of which it forms a constituent, is 

 united with another word, to form a compound word of two syllables. 

 Thus, " se " is " gauze " and " teng " is a lantern ; but a gauze lan- 



tern is not pronounced — P~P" — ^^^ ~ — P — I — ~' 



So, again, 



"teng cho," a "lantern stand," is not 



Se Teng. Se Teng. 



F^= but ~\~~\~ 



Teng cho. Teng cho. 



