Wednesday, August 26, 2015

如何讀懂滿文?廣定遠先生錄製的滿文教學導言 How to Read Manchu? An Introduction from Guang Dingyuan

一直覺得這段滿文導言短片拍得氣勢磅礡、資訊性十足,可是這支台灣影片只有中文,不能讓世界各地的觀眾一同欣賞。所以我私下為這支影片加了英文字幕,希望有助推廣大眾對滿文的認識。
I have always thought that this video is great in evoking passion and is full of information. However, this video in Chinese cannot reach an international audience without English subtitles. Therefore, I privately put up English translations and subtitles so that this promotional video can attract more attention from the public.

這次是我第一次為影片套字幕,水平之低請大家見諒,有問題可以留言給我。
This is my first time putting up subtitles for videos. Please forgive me for the unprofessional quality and leave me comments if you have doubts on certain points.

為了方便因為各種原因而無法打開影片的各位,以下是影片中的中、英文文本,影片原檔放在最後。
For those who cannot open the video below, this is the Chinese script and my English translation. The video is at the end of this post.

本節目(單元)獲教育部終身學習經費補助

滿語文是我國滿族的語言文字。西元1599年,清太祖努爾哈齊命大臣額爾德尼跟噶蓋在女真語基礎上,仿蒙古字形創製滿文。初期的滿文在字母右旁沒有圈跟點,使用不便。西元1633年,皇太極命學者達海添加圈點,將滿文字型結構、語音拼讀、語法規則等予以規範合理科學化,沿用了三百多年,到清朝末年仍利用滿文與列強簽訂條約,滿文是清代國語,國語騎射是基本國策。國語作為官方首要使用文字,地位在漢文之上,為保持弘揚民族特色,對諸子貝勒、宗室子弟及旗下屬人推行滿文教學,培養了很多在中國史上前所未有的英明能幹的帝王。為貫徹中央政令,對各地駐防旗營官兵以軍令施行滿文教學以鞏固政權。

滿文是拼音文字,與六書漢文大不相同,漢人又一向重夷夏之防,種族成見很深,覺得滿文「晦澀難通」「文意齟齬」,不慣學習也不容易學好,只有想做官的人心裡才會感到重要性。到西元1911年,清末宣統皇帝宣佈退位,辛亥民國後,漢人反滿情緒高漲,滿文進入黑暗時期,約有半個世紀滿文被視為死文字。西元1956年,家父廣祿先生在台灣大學開課教授滿文,開我國大學史的創舉,滿文也獲得重見天日。有趣的是,西元1687年,康熙大帝頒「全台首學」台南孔子文廟的滿文下馬碑,三百年後,滿文在台灣重生,若康熙地下有知,也覺奇蹟。

目前在國內外,從事滿文研究的學者,都可以說是出自廣祿先生門下,外國人習慣學習拼音文字,西方傳教士和仰慕中國文化的學者、研究古典文學、文化思想,覺得透過滿文遠比漢文容易,十分重視滿文,把滿文四書五經等帶回歐洲,並出版了許多滿文書籍,引起了東方研究的興趣。目前世界上有23個國家在研究,但滿文滿語逐漸在消亡,聯合國教科文組織列為"瀕危語言",有志之士大聲疾呼拯救。

我曾於開放次年到黑龍江三家子村實地考察,青少年聽得懂老輩講的滿語,但老年人說的只是一些日常用語,好像漢人說滿語,失去本族口音了。語言是人類無形資產,比之任何有形資產更為珍貴長久,語言文化價值是任何東西都不能取代的。語言是思維工具,也是人們認識世界的工具,一種語言的消失,也是人類賴以發展思想基因的消失。美國媒體紐約時報有鑑於此,以巨大篇幅報導滿族語文的消失危機。

台北故宮博物院珍藏浩如瀚海的滿文珍貴資料吸引各國學者,對世界民族文化寶庫的「瑰寶」,但反觀我們的政府,對文化的搶救意識,遠遠不如搶救瀕臨滅絶動植物的作為,未見採取搶救措施,只見文化寶藏淪為商業活動,令有志之士深感不解。

西元1973年廣祿先生逝世,滿文教學走入民間,由廣定遠接棒,如今也有30多年。私人力量有限,但也教出很多人才,在國內外從事研究工作、教學,為解決長久以來滿文印刷,研究成功全國首部滿文電腦,引起國內外研究滿文電腦風潮。由於台灣會說滿語的人鳳毛麟角,在義美高志明先生鼓勵下,錄製純正原味原音的滿語教學。但是光靠民間有限的力量是不夠的,仍需政府決心誠意的支助,如此,我們才能夠集智集力,打造台灣多元文化發展的成功。

This program was sponsored by Department of Lifelong Education, Ministry of Education, Taiwan

Manchu is the language of the Manchu people in China/Taiwan. In 1599, Qing Taizu, Nurhaci, ordered his ministers, Erdeni and Gagai, to use the structure of Jurchen language and make use of Mongolian alphabets to create Manchu. Early Manchu had no circles and dots on the right-hand side of the alphabets. It was not convenient to use. In 1633, Emperor Huang Taiji ordered scholar Dahai to add circles and dots and to make Manchu's word structure, phonetics and grammar rules more rational and scientific. Manchu has been used for over 300 years. Until the end of Qing Dynasty, Manchu was still employed in treaties signed with foreign powers. Manchu was the national language of Qing Dynasty. Manchu language, Riding and Archery was the basic national policy. National language, being the primary language used by officials, was placed above Chinese. In order to maintain and enhance the ethnic features among Manchu nobility and bannermen, Manchu education was implemented. This has nurtured many great emperors unprecedented in Chinese history. In order to thoroughly execute the national policy, soldiers in all banner garrisons were required to learn Manchu by military orders as a way to strengthen the Manchu regime.

Manchu is an alphabetic writing which is very different from Chinese. As Han Chinese had been against the barbarians for a long time, their prejudice against other ethnicities was significant. Han Chinese found that Manchu was difficult to understand and to use, it was also hard to form a study habit and to master, only those who wanted to become an officer realized its importance. Until 1911, Emperor Xuantong (Puyi) announced his abdication, after the 1911 Revolution and the establishment of Republic of China, Han Chinese's anti-Manchu emotions was elated. Dark Age of Manchu study began and it has lasted for about half a century. Manchu was considered a dead language. In 1956, My father, Guang Lu, started to teach Manchu in universities in Taiwan. This opened a path in university history and Manchu was revived. What interesting is that in 1687, Emperor Kangxi issued a Manchu "dismounting stele" in Tainan Confucius Temple, 300 years later, Manchu was revived in Taiwan. If Emperor Kangxi were able to know, he would also feel miraculous. 

Right now, in Taiwan or abroad, scholars who work on Manchu studies are all students of Guang Lu, as one could tell. Foreigners were used to learn alphabetic writing. Missionaries from the West and scholars who admired Chinese culture and who studied classic literature, Chinese culture and ideology found that it was easier using Manchu, rather than Chinese, as a medium. They thus considered Manchu very important. They brought Manchu Four Books and Five Classics back to Europe. They also published many Manchu books. This led to interests in oriental studies. Today, there are 23 countries working on Manchu but Manchu is wilting. It has been listed by UNESCO as "endangered language". Passionate individuals call for attention and help. 

I once, in 1979, went to Sunjiazi Village in Heilongjiang to do a field research. The youth there understood the spoken Manchu of their elders. However, what the elders said was just common expressions. It was like Han Chinese speaking Manchu, there was no Manchu accent. Language is mankind's intangible asset and is more long-lasting than any other tangible assets. The cultural value of language is not to be replaced by anything. Language is a thinking tool, as well as a tool for people to understand the world. The extinction of a language is the disappearance of a gene to develop thoughts. Upon this, U.S. media The New York Times, with a long passage, reported the danger of extinction of Manchu. 

National Palace Museum of Taipei keeps thousands and thousands of valuable Manchu documents. These documents attract scholars from different places, they are the real treasure of world national culture. Our government, in contrast, pays far less attention to rescue our culture than to rescue endangered animals and plants. We see no measures of rescue from the government, what we see is just that our treasure has become part of commercial activities. This has confused passionate individuals. 

In 1973, Guang Lu passed away. Manchu education has walked into people's life and was passed to Guang Dingyuan/me and there have been some thirty years. Private institutions' power is limited but we do produce some talented people. They engage in scholarly work, lectures. In order to solve the problem of printing in Manchu, they succeeded in creating first Manchu computing. This started a trend in the study on Manchu computing. Since there are only a handful Taiwanese who can speak Manchu. Encouraged by I-Mei's Gao Zhiming, I have recorded a Manchu lecture with real Manchu accent. However, efforts made only by individuals is not enough. Government's whole-hearted support is required. With this, can we gather talented people to successfully create Taiwan's development on multiculturalism.

**影片不屬於我,我只做了英文翻譯讓多些人可以觀看。按字幕鍵打開英文字幕。
I do not own this video. I translated this video so as more people can watch it. Click "CC"/ subtitles button to open the English subtitles.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

如何讀懂滿文?第五講︰母音"o" How to Read Manchu? Fifth Lesson: Vowel "o"

今講是關於第四個母音"o",想看另外三個母音,母音"a"母音"e"母音"i"的朋友可點擊此︰母音"a"、母音"e"和母音"i"。
Today's lesson is about the forth vowel, "o". For those who want to go back to the lesson on other vowels, please click the following: vowel "a", vowel "e" and vowel "i".

以下是滿語母音"o"和它在不同位置時的寫法。
Below is vowel "o" and how it looks like in different positions within a word.









從上圖看到母音"o" 除了在作為語末出現時有兩種寫法外,其餘位置時只有一種寫法。
From the above image, we can see that vowel "o" has two variants at the end of a word. Otherwise, there is only one written form at other positions.

語頭形(左是楷書體、右是羅馬字)︰
Word-initial (Left being the regular script, right the Romanized form):













語中形︰
Word-middle:















**有時我們會遇到母音"o"連寫,如以下︰
Sometimes we will come across double vowel "o" like the following:














語末形有兩種寫法︰
Word-end has two variants:














母音"o"的語末形通常會以第一種寫法出現,而第二種寫法僅於書寫單字配子音b, p, k, g, h 時出現,請參考下表︰
Usually vowel "o" ends with the first writing variant. The second variant only happens in single syllable word with consonants b, p, k, g, and h. See below for reference:













從上圖看到,第二種寫法只能作為單字出現、並配搭子音b, p, k, g, h。
From the above, we know the second variant can only appear in a single word and follow consonants b, p, k, g and h.

讀音方面,母音"o"像普通話韻母的「o」。
For pronunciation, vowel "o" sounds like "o" in "orange".

不知不覺,母音方面我們已學了四個了,之後會學的母音"u"和"ū"跟母音"o"相當相似,繼續努力!
Without much hardship, we've already learned four vowels. In next lessons, we will learn vowel "u" and vowel "ū" which look much like vowel "o". Keep learning and you will be able to read some Manchu soon!

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

如何讀懂滿文?第四講︰母音"i" How to Read Manchu? Forth Lesson: Vowel "i"

今講是關於第三個母音"i",想看另外兩個母音,母音"a"和母音"e"的朋友可點擊此處︰母音"a"母音"e"
Today's lesson is about the third vowel, "i". For those who want to go back to the lesson on vowel "a" and vowel "e", please click the following: vowel "a", vowel "e".

以下是滿語母音"i"和它在不同位置時的寫法。
Below is the vowel "i" and how it looks like in different positions within a word.










複習:單獨形是它單獨表現時的寫法,語頭形是它作為字首時的寫法,語中形就是字中間時而語末形就是字尾。
Revision: The first row is the Romanized form, the second how it looks like when it is on its own; the third when it is placed as word-initial; the forth when it is in the middle and the last when it is at the end of a word.

上兩講我都沒有特別解釋單獨形,因為單獨形顧名思義就是它單獨出現時的寫法,但今次母音"i"有點特別,它有兩個寫法。
I have not explained the "by itself" form in the last two lessons as the use of it has been shown by its name. However, today's vowel "i" is different as it has two variants.

上圖中旁邊寫著"1"的是第一種寫法,寫著"2"的則是第二種。
From the above image, the one with number "1" written beside is first form while the one with number "2" is the second form.

兩個寫法非常不一樣。
The two variants looks greatly different.

第一個寫法是作為人稱代名詞第三人稱單數的「他」或「她」及表記漢字音時使用。
The first variant is used to present the personal pronouns "he" and "she" as well as other Chinese phonemes.

第二種寫法則是作為表示所屬權時使用。例如︰「滿洲國之源」中的「之」。
The second variant is a possessive form. For example, the "'s" in "Manzhou's Origin".

語頭形(左是楷書體、右是羅馬字):
Word-initial (Left being the regular script, right the Romanized form):














語中形有三種寫法︰
Word-middle has three variants:











第一種和第二種寫法上的不同只是書寫習慣有異、其用法無異,它們緊接母音。而第三種寫法緊接子音,請參考下圖。
The first and second variants differ only because of different writing habit. There is no difference in the usage. They follow a vowel while the third variant follows a consonant. Please see the below.














語末形︰
Word-end:














母音"i"的語末形有兩種寫法,樣子一樣、只是大小不同。除了緊接子音b, p, k , g, h時將母音"i"縮小寫外,其餘情況一律使用第一種寫法。
Vowel "i" has two variants which look the same but differ in size. Vowel "i" is written in a small form when it follows consonants b, p, k, g, h. Otherwise, it is written in the first form.

看下圖對比︰
See the following image for comparison:












母音"i"讀音像普通話的韻母「i」。
Vowel "i" sounds like "ee" in English.

今講不難對吧!我們已經掌握了三個母音、差三個就完全掌握滿語母音了!
This lesson is not hard, right? We have already mastered three vowels and there are only three left before having mastered all the vowels of Manchu!

Friday, August 14, 2015

如何讀懂滿文?第三講:母音"e" How to Read Manchu? Third Lesson: Vowel "e"

繼上一講後,大家對滿語發音應該也有了點認識吧!點擊此查看上文
After the last lesson, I think you would have had some basic knowledge about how Manchu sounds like. Click here to return to the last lesson.

今講是關於第二個母音"e",點擊此查看母音"a"教學
This lesson is about the second vowel, "e". Click here to return to the lesson on vowel "a".

以下是滿語母音"e"和它在不同位置時的寫法。
Below is the vowel "e" and how it looks like in different positions within a word.

楷書體
Regular script









草書體
In handwriting









複習:單獨形是它單獨表現時的寫法,語頭形是它作為字首時的寫法,語中形就是字中間時而語末形就是字尾。
Revision: The first row is the Romanized form, the second how it looks like when it is on its own; the third when it is placed as word-initial; the forth when it is in the middle and the last when it is at the end of a word.

我們用幾個字來學習吧!
Let's learn with the help of a few words!

語頭形(左是楷書體、右是草書體,中間是羅馬字):
Word-initial (Left being the regular script, right the other form while the middle is the Romanized form):

主、君
lord










語中形:
In the middle:

台、織機                               主、君                                
rack, loom                         master, lord                                       









請留意圈起的語中形
Please pay attention to the circled














你們有沒有留意到母音"a"的語中形和母音"e"的其中一個語中形很相似呢?沒錯、兩者是一樣的。
Have you discovered that the middle form of vowel "a" is similar to one of the middle forms of vowel "e"? You're right, they look the same.

如是者、到底我們可以如何分辨?
So, how can we distinguish these two?

可能會有點難,但我會儘努力說得容易理解一點。我在梳理的時候又重新學習一次了。
It may be difficult but I will try my best to explain. I also revise my Manchu while doing this.



從上圖我們看到"te"和"de"的樣子只是多了一點。而"ke"、"ge"和"he"的分別就是無圈點、有點和有圈。而"te"和"ta"的分別在於穿頭和不穿頭,"ke"和"ka"就多了一橫。
From the above we can see that "te" and "de" look almost the same, the difference is the added dot in "de". And the difference between "ke", "ge" and "he" is "without dot or circle", "with dot" and "with circle". The difference between "te" and "ta" is "through" and "not-through" (sorry, I really don't know how to say, please refer to the image above) while "ke" and ""ka" differ by an additional vertical stroke).

圈點的出現是由於1599年時以蒙古文為基礎時創製的滿文無圈點(稱老滿文),在表達上稍有不足,後來為了改善老滿文,加了十個字頭和圈點(稱新滿文)。在無圈點前,"te"和"de"、"ke"、 "ge"和 "he"是分不開的。
The addition of dots and circles was to improve the original Manchu script (script without dots and circles) created upon the Mongolian script. The later script, also with the addition of ten graphemes, was called script with dots and circles. Before the addition of dots and circles, one can hardly distinguish between "te" and "de", "ke", "ge"and "he".











母音"e"的語中形(無點)是接t, d, k, g, h 這五個子音的,有點的則接其餘子音。
The word-middle form (without dot) of vowel "e" is to follow consonants "t", "d", "k", "g" and "h", the form with dot follows the other consonants.

不肯定明不明?來測試一下吧!
Not sure you understand the above or not? Let's do a test!

下圖是母音"e"還是母音"a"呢?
For the following image, is it vowel "e" or vowel "a"?











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.
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.
答案是母音"e"。因為上圖有點、母音"a"是無點的。
The answer is vowel "e". The reason is that there is a dot. Vowel"a" has no dot.

好,那如果給個無點的字你呢?母音"e"都可以無點,你得靠之前學過的分辨法了。
So, what if I give you one with no dots? Since the middle form of vowel "e" can also be dotless, you have to recall what you have learned above.













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答案是母音"e"。因為字首的子音"t"是穿的。
The answer is vowel "e". The reason is that the script of the consonant "t" is "through".

關於母音"e"的兩種語中形的教學就暫告一段落,如有問題,留言問我吧,我會儘量解釋的!
This is the end for the lesson on the middle-form of vowel "e". For any questions, leave a comment. I will try my best to explain.

語末形:
Word-end:




















和母音"a"語末形樣子一樣的兩個寫法是用來接母音"a"不能連接的五個子音
The two word-end forms which look the same with those of vowel "a" are
used to connect the five consonants which vowel "a" cannot link





























母音"e"讀音像普通話、國語的「兒」。
Vowel "e" sounds like the "er" in "father".

寫完這講後明白為甚麼有些做清朝歷史的教授一輩子都不學滿文,因為要掌握這門語言還真的挺吃力,我學的還只是皮毛。在看這個文章、在自學滿文的你一定要繼續努力,我也會盡最大努力寫清楚易懂一點!
After writing this lesson, I pretty understand why some professors of Qing history never study Manchu for their whole life. Manchu is not easy to learn and what I have learned is just the very basics. For those who are reading this and self-studying Manchu, you must give extra effort and I will try my very best to make it easier to understand!

能讀完這篇文章真不容易,感謝你!如對這篇文章有疑問,可以留言給我。
Thank you for reading the whole passage, it is not an easy read. If you have any questions, please leave a comment.


Thursday, August 6, 2015

如何讀懂滿文?滿文專家莊吉發老師親錄的《滿洲實錄》摘文 How to Read Manchu? A Recording of Manzhou Shilu (Veritable Records of Manchus) from Prof. Chuang Chi-fa

上星期四在台北國立故宮博物館圖書文獻館的我請了滿文大師莊吉發老師為我們朗讀一小段《滿洲實錄》中有關滿洲起源的故事,為了方便大家學習,我準備了該摘文的滿文原字(旁邊有其羅馬拼音表記)、漢字和我的英文翻譯。我知道我們才剛開始討論第一個母音,但先聽聽感受感受這個語言吧!
I was so lucky to have invited Prof Chuang Chi-fa to read a part of Manzhou Shilu (Veritable Records of Manchus) for me and he let me put it online for all Manchu learners. To facilitate your learning, I have prepared the original Manchu text below with the Romanized letters beside, the Chinese text and my English translation*.

*I am just trying my best to do an English translation for all parties who are interested in knowing what the story is about. Please inform me for mistakes and I beg your pardon for any confusion caused.

朗讀者簡介:
Introduction to the reader:

莊吉發(1936年生),台灣著名歷史學者,曾任故宮博物院研究員和專名學府教授,專長為滿文文獻研究,是台灣少數精通滿文的學者。
Chuang Chi-fa (born in 1936), eminent historian in Taiwan. Having worked as a researcher in National Palace Museum in Taipei and Professor in eminent universities, he excels in Manchu script research and is one of the few scholars who is fluent in Manchu.

為了方便閱讀,我將文本分了三部份。
To make an easier reading, I divided the text into three parts.

第一部份:
First Part:


漢字原文
Chinese script:

滿洲原起於長白山之東北布庫哩山下一泊名布勒瑚里初天降三仙女浴於泊長名恩古倫

英文翻譯:
English Translation:

The Manchus originated from a lake called Bulhuri down at the bottom of Bukuri Mountain north-east of Changbai Mountain. One day, there were three heavenly maidens bathing there and they were Enggulen,...

第二部份:
Second Part:


漢字原文
Chinese script:

次名正古倫三名佛庫倫浴畢上岸有神鵲銜一朱果置佛庫倫衣上色甚鮮妍佛庫倫愛之不忍釋手

英文翻譯:
English Translation:

Jenggulen and Fekulen, from eldest to youngest. After the bath, they left the water and started dressing. It was at that time a sacred magpie, Saksaha, dropped a fruit which was previously held in its mouth on Fekulen's clothes. The fruit was bright in color that she would not let go of it. ...

第三部份:
Third Part:



漢字原文
Chinese script:

遂銜口中甫著衣其果入腹中即感而成孕告二姊曰吾覺腹重不能同昇奈何

英文翻譯:
English Translation:

She put the fruit into her mouth and it went down to her stomach while she was getting dressed. Immediately she felt heavy (that she became pregnant) and she told her two sisters that, "I feel a heaviness in my belly and I just cannot rise up into the sky with you".


三仙女浴布勒瑚里泊
Bathing of the Three Heavenly Maidens in Lake Bulhuri






















佛庫倫生下的就是傳說中的女真人祖先、在清朝立國後被尊為清始祖的愛新覺羅.布庫哩雍順。
Fekulen later gave birth to the progenitor of the Jurchens and founder of Aisin Gioro, Bukūri Yongšon.

下面是整本漢字版《滿洲實錄》的連結。放心點擊,我開過沒有毒的。
Below is a link to a PDF file of a completed Manzhou Shilu (Veritable Records of Manchus), only in Chinese text. There is no virus, as far as I know.

中文《滿洲實錄》PDF檔

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

如何讀懂滿文?第二講︰母音“a” How to Read Manchu? Second Lesson: Vowel "a"

講解了滿文大概是甚麼後現在開始要講重點了,就是如何讀懂滿文文字,今天講的是滿文的母音"a"。
After knowing what Manchu is, it's time to move on to the most important thing: how to tackle with the Manchu text. Our lesson today is vowel "a".

國語騎射為旗人之根本,圖為當中的「射」
Archery is considered a very important Manchu tradition

















簡單說明一下,滿語有六個母音、十九個子音和十個外來子音(又稱特殊子音),為了不嚇壞大家,今天我只讓大家看看六個母音的大概模樣(只是看一下,這課只講母音"a"),其他的在往後的課裡才慢慢講。
Manchu has six vowels, nineteen consonants and ten loan consonants. In order not to scare you away from your learning, let's make it simple by just learning how the six vowels look like (though we will only talk about vowel "a" for today) and let the rest be explained in future lessons. 

以下是滿語的六個母音︰
Below is the six vowels of Manchu:

摘自河內良弘和清瀨義三郎則府合編的《滿洲語文語入門》第三頁
Taken from Kawachi Yoshihiro and Kiyose Gisaburo Norikura's Introduction to Literary Manchu, p.3
從上圖可以看到六個母音及它們在不同位置時的寫法,第一行就是母音"a",我們今天的重點,放大讓大家看清楚。
Form the above image, you can see how the six vowels look like and how they differ when they are in different parts of the word. The first row is our focus of today, vowel "a". you would find a larger image below:
楷書體
Regular script
行書體
Another form





















單獨形是它單獨表現時的寫法,語頭形是它作為字首時的寫法,語中形就是字中間時而語末形就是字尾。
The first row is the Romanized form, the second how it looks like when it is on its own; the third when it is placed as word-initial; the forth when it is in the middle and the last when it is at the end of a word.

這樣講很難理解,我們用幾個字來呈現吧!
Let's better explain it with the use of a few words.

語頭形(左是楷書體、右是行書體,中間是羅馬字)︰
Word-initial (Left being the regular script, right the other form while the middle is the Romanized form):

big, great













語中形︰
In the middle:

world












語末形︰
Word-end:
阿瑪                                               大
Father                                   big, great










語末形有兩種寫法,左邊第一種緊接子音b, p, k', g', h',右邊第二種緊接其餘子音。
The form for word-end has two variants. The left one follows consonants b, p, k', g' and h' while the right one follows the other consonants.

母音"a"讀音如粵語「呀」,普通話、國語的「阿」。
Vowel "a" sounds as "a" in "Father"。

清朝劇集中的「阿瑪」就是「爸爸」或「爹爹」的滿語了。
So the "Ama" in Qing dramas is "father" and "daddy" in Manchu language.

下一講我們繼續講下一個母音,"e"。
In next lesson, we will talk about vowel "e".