Cantonese is a Useful Tool for Chinese Buddhist Sutra Study

[Alphone]

Most Chinese Buddhist Sutras, especially the Mahayana and Vajrayana Sutras, were translated into Chinese during Tang (唐) and Song (宋) Dynasty. The Chinese pronunciation in these two dynasties are very different from the modern official Chinese pronunciation ( a.k.a. Mandarin ), but similar to Cantonese pronunciation.

For example, Sanskrit ‘Manjusri’ is transliterated to Chinese ‘文殊師利’, which pronounces ‘Wen-Shoo-Shi-Li ‘ in Mandarin, and pronounces ‘Man-Siu-See-Ley’ in Cantonese.

We can do a syllable-to-syllable comparison here :

[Sanskrit] Man -> [Chinese character] 文 -> [Cantonese] Man -> [Mandarin] Wen
[Sanskrit] Ju -> [Chinese character] 殊 -> [Cantonese] Siu -> [Mandarin] Shoo
[Sanskrit] S -> [Chinese character] 師 -> [Cantonese] See -> [Mandarin] Shi
[Sanskrit] Ri -> [Chinese character] 利 -> [Cantonese] Ley -> [Mandarin] Li

From the above comparison, we can see that the Cantonese pronunciation is closer to the Sanskrit pronunciation than Mandarin. Especially the starting syllable, ‘Man’ in Sanskrit was transliterated to the Chinese character ‘文’, which pronounces ‘Man’ in Cantonese ( same consonant & vowel as the Sanskrit ), and pronounces ‘Wen’ in Mandarin ( both the consonant & vowel are very different from the Sanskrit ). So if you know only the Mandarin pronunciation, you would be confused why the Sanskrit ‘Manjusri’ is transliterated that way.

Another example, Sanskrit ‘Namo’ is transliterated into Chinese as ‘南無’, which pronounces ‘Nam-Mo’ in Cantonese, and ‘Nan-Woo’ in Mandarin. Here is a syllable-to-syllable comparison :

[Sanskrit] Nam -> [Chinese character] 南 -> [Cantonese] Nam -> [Mandarin] Nan
[Sanskrit] mo -> [Chinese character] 無 -> [Cantonese] Mo -> [Mandarin] Woo

Apparently the Cantonese pronunciation of ‘南無’ is very similar, almost identical to the original Sanskrit pronunciation, while the Mandarin pronunciation is very different, especially the second syllable.

More examples :

Sanskrit ‘Kasaya’ is transliterated to ‘袈裟’, which pronounces ‘Ka-Sa’ in Cantonese, and ‘Jia-Sha’ in Mandarin. The first syllable in the Mandarin pronunciation is very different from the Sanskrit pronunciation.

Sanskrit ‘Kundali’ is transliterated to ‘軍荼利’, which pronounces ‘Kun-Toe-Ley’ in Cantonese, and ‘Jiun-Too-Li’ in Mandarin.

Sanskrit ‘Mahesvara’ is transliterated to ‘摩醯首羅’, which pronounces ‘Mo-Hey-Sau-Lo’ in Cantonese, and ‘Muo-See-Shou-Luo’ in Mandarin. The second syllable - ‘he’ in Sanskrit, is transliterated to the Chinese character ‘醯’, which pronounces ‘Hey’ in Cantonese, and ‘See’ in Mandarin.

Sanskrit ‘Bhagavan’ is transliterated to ‘薄伽梵’, which pronounces ‘Bok-Ga-Fan’ in Cantonese, and ‘Buo-Jia-Fan’ in Mandarin. The second syllable in the Mandarin pronunciation is very different from the original Sanskrit pronunciation.

There are still a lot more examples like these.

Aside from individual Sanskrit words or names, let’s also look at the transliterations of Buddhist Mantra / Dharani :

“Namo skritva imam” - This is a phrase extracted from the Sanskrit version of Great Compassion Dharani. It is transliterated into Chinese as ‘南無悉吉利埵伊蒙’. Here is a syllable-to-syllable comparison :

[Sanskrit] Nam -> [Chinese character] 南 -> [Cantonese] Nam -> [Mandarin] Nan
[Sanskrit] mo -> [Chinese character] 無 -> [Cantonese] Mo -> [Mandarin] Woo
[Sanskrit] S -> [Chinese character] 悉 -> [Cantonese] Sik -> [Mandarin] See
[Sanskrit] K -> [Chinese character] 吉 -> [Cantonese] Kʌd -> [Mandarin] Jee
[Sanskrit] Ri -> [Chinese character] 利 -> [Cantonese] Ley -> [Mandarin] Lee
[Sanskrit] Tva -> [Chinese character] 埵 -> [Cantonese] Do -> [Mandarin] Duo
[Sanskrit] I -> [Chinese character] 伊 -> [Cantonese] Yee -> [Mandarin] Yee
[Sanskrit] Mam -> [Chinese character] 蒙 -> [Cantonese] Mong -> [Mandarin] Meng

From the above comparison, we can see that (approximately) each Cantonese syllable shares a same consonant with its corresponding Sanskrit syllable, so if we recite the phrase in Cantonese quickly, the resulting sound would be similar to the original Sanskrit sound.

On the other hand, the Mandarin syllables do not always agree with their Sanskrit counterparts on the consonants they use, so if we recite the phrase in Mandarin quickly, the resulting sound would be very different from the original Sanskrit sound.

Another example, “Namo Bhagavate Bhaisajya guru” - This is a fragment extracted from Medicine Buddha Dharani. It is transliterated to ‘南謨薄伽伐帝鞞殺社窶嚕’. Here is a syllable-to-syllable comparison :

[Sanskrit] Nam -> [Chinese character] 南 -> [Cantonese] Nam -> [Mandarin] Nan
[Sanskrit] mo -> [Chinese character] 謨 -> [Cantonese] Mo -> [Mandarin] Mo
[Sanskrit] Bha -> [Chinese character] 薄 -> [Cantonese] Bok -> [Mandarin] Buo
[Sanskrit] Ga -> [Chinese character] 伽 -> [Cantonese] Ga -> [Mandarin] Jia
[Sanskrit] Va (*) -> [Chinese character] 伐 -> [Cantonese] Fad -> [Mandarin] Fa
[Sanskrit] Te -> [Chinese character] 帝 -> [Cantonese] Tai -> [Mandarin] Dee
[Sanskrit] Bhai (*) -> [Chinese character] 鞞 -> [Cantonese] Bei -> [Mandarin] Bing / Pi
[Sanskrit] Sa -> [Chinese character] 殺 -> [Cantonese] Sʌd -> [Mandarin] Sha
[Sanskrit] Jya -> [Chinese character] 社 -> [Cantonese] Se -> [Mandarin] She
[Sanskrit] Gu -> [Chinese character] 窶 -> [Cantonese] Geoi -> [Mandarin] Ju
[Sanskrit] Ru -> [Chinese character] 嚕 -> [Cantonese] Lou -> [Mandarin] Lu

(* The ‘Va’ in Sanskrit can be pronounced like ‘Fa’ or ‘Ba’. )

(* The ‘Bhai’ in the Sanskrit Dharani can be written & pronounced as ‘Bhei’. )

In the above comparison table, almost every Cantonese syllable agrees with its Sanskrit counterpart on the consonant they use, but for the Mandarin syllables, this is not the case.

So generally speaking, when you encounter a transliteration in a Chinese Buddhist sutra, whether it is a term, a name, or a fragment from a Dharani / Mantra, if you read it in Cantonese rather than in Mandarin, the resulting sound would be more accurate.

[Alphone]

Some people are interested in ancient Chinese culture ( e.g. ancient Chinese religions, poems, etc. ) so they want to learn Chinese, but the official narrative only tells them to learn Mandarin, and most Chinese teaching institutions teach only Mandarin. They prefer not to tell the learners that southern Chinese languages ( so-called ‘dialects’ ) are closer to ancient Chinese and can help them better understand ancient Chinese culture. For example, one would never understand the phonological beauty of ancient Chinese literature if he knew only Mandarin.

[Alphone]

Similarity between Cantonese and Japanese Kanji Pronunciation


Cantonese and the Japanese Kanji system both preserve ancient Chinese pronunciation, as well as some important ancient Chinese features not inherited by the modern official Chinese, a.k.a. Mandarin. By comparative study of Cantonese and Japanese Kanji pronunciation, we can better understand ancient Chinese, and further more, better understand ancient Chinese literature and culture.

For example, a double-character word - ‘目的’, is pronounced ‘Mok Dek’ in Cantonese, and ‘Moku Deki’ in Japanese. Here is a comparative table :

[Chinese character] 目 -> [Cantonese] Mok -> [Japanese] Moku
[Chinese character] 的 -> [Cantonese] Dek -> [Japanese] Deki

The Cantonese pronunciation of ‘目’ is ‘Mok’, the ending ‘k’ is called a Checked Tone or an Entering Tone (入聲). This is an ancient Chinese feature preserved in Cantonese but lost in Mandarin.

The Japanese pronunciation of ‘目’ is ‘Moku’, the second syllable ‘ku’ represents the Checked Tone ‘k’ in the ancient pronunciation of ‘目’.

Why does the Checked Tone ‘k’ in ancient Chinese become ‘ku’ in Japanese ?

Japanese uses Kana(仮名)s to simulate foreign language pronunciation. A Kana is either a vowel sound or a consonant+vowel sound ( except for ‘ん’ / ‘ン’ which pronounces ‘n’ ), there is no Kana for a single consonant ‘k’, so the only solution is to choose a Kana of [ ‘k’ + vowel ] pronunciation to simulate the consonant-only sound ‘k’. In this case, Kana ‘く’ / ‘ク’, which pronounces ‘ku’, is chosen.

For Chinese character ‘的’, the situation is similar.

The Cantonese pronunciation of ‘的’ is ‘Dek ’, the ending ‘k’ is a Checked Tone.

The Japanese pronunciation of ‘的’ is ‘Deki’, the second syllable ‘ki’ simulates the Checked Tone ‘k’.

If we say ‘目的’ in Japanese quickly, the vowel of the second syllable of each Kanji can be pronounced lightly or omitted, so it would sound like ‘Mok Dek’, exactly the same as the Cantonese pronunciation.

There are a lot more examples like this. Such as :

The Chinese character ‘僕’ is pronounced ‘Bok’ in Cantonese, and ‘Boku’ in Japanese. The second syllable in the Japanese pronunciation, ‘ku’, simulates the Checked Tone ‘k’.

‘國’ is pronounced ‘Gwok’ or ‘Gok’ in Cantonese, and ‘Goku’ in Japanese ( in terms spelled with ‘國’ such as ‘中國’, ‘外國’, ‘全國’, etc. ). ‘ku’, the second syllable in the Japanese pronunciation of ‘國’, simulates the Checked Tone ‘k’.

‘擊’ is pronounced ‘Gek’ in Cantonese, and ‘Geki’ in Japanese. The second syllable in the Japanese pronunciation, ‘ki’, simulates the Checked Tone ‘k’.

‘敵’ is pronounced ‘Dek’ in Cantonese, and ‘Deki’ in Japanese. The second syllable in the Japanese pronunciation, ‘ki’, simulates the Checked Tone ‘k’.

‘薩’ pronounces ‘Sat’ in Cantonese, and ‘Satsu’ in Japanese. The second syllable in the Japanese pronunciation, ‘tsu’, simulates the Checked Tone ‘t’.

‘易’ pronounces ‘Yek’ or ‘Yee’ in Cantonese, and ‘Eki’ in Japanese. The second syllable in the Japanese pronunciation, ‘ki’, simulates the Checked Tone ‘k’.

Besides, there are many Chinese characters whose pronunciation contain no Checked Tones, their Cantonese pronunciation are also similar to their Japanese Kanji pronunciation.

For example, ‘萬’ pronounces ‘Man’ in Cantonese, and ‘Man’ in Japanese, almost identical, just slightly different in tone.

‘解’ pronounces ‘Gai / Kai’ in Cantonese, and ‘Gai / Kai’ in Japanese, almost the same. ( The exact pronunciation is between ‘Gai’ and ‘Kai’, so it can be written as ‘Gai’ or ‘Kai’, but neither of them is 100% accurate. )

‘大’ pronounces ‘Dai’ in Cantonese, and ‘Dai’ in Japanese, exactly the same.

‘門’ pronounces ‘Moon’ in Cantonese, and ‘Mon’ in Japanese.

‘簡’ pronounces ‘Gan / Kan’ in Cantonese, and ‘Gan / Kan’ in Japanese.

‘單’ pronounces ‘Dan’ in Cantonese, and ‘Dan’ in Japanese.

Say ‘簡單’ in Japanese quickly, the sound is almost identical to the Cantonese pronunciation of ‘簡單’.

‘市’ pronounces ‘See’ in Cantonese, and ‘Shi’ in Japanese.

‘問’ pronounces ‘Mʌn’ in Cantonese, and ‘Mon’ in Japanese ( in terms like ‘問題’ ).

‘題’ pronounces ‘Tai’ in Cantonese, and ‘Dai’ in Japanese.

‘家’ pronounces ‘Ga’ in Cantonese, and ‘Ka’ in Japanese ( in terms like ‘家屋’ : Ka-Oku ).

‘話’ pronounces ‘Wa’ in Cantonese, and ‘Wa’ in Japanese ( On'yomi 音読み ).

‘世界’ pronounces ‘Sai Gai’ in Cantonese, and ‘Se-Gai’ in Japanese.