Jyutping facts for kids

Jyutping is a special system that helps people write down the sounds of the Cantonese language using the letters of the English alphabet. This system is called a romanization. It was created in 1993 by a group of language experts called the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK).

What is Romanization?

Romanization is like giving a language a new way to be written. Imagine you have a language that uses different symbols, like Chinese characters. Romanization helps you write those sounds using the letters you already know, like A, B, C. This makes it easier for people who don't know the original writing system to learn how to say words.

Why is Jyutping Important?

Jyutping is very helpful for learning Cantonese, especially for people who are not native speakers. It shows you exactly how to pronounce each word. It also helps people type Cantonese words on computers and phones, because it uses a standard keyboard.

How Jyutping Works

Jyutping uses a combination of letters to represent different sounds in Cantonese. For example, the sound "j" in Jyutping is like the "y" in "yes." It also uses numbers to show the different "tones" of Cantonese. Cantonese is a tonal language, which means the way you say a word (the pitch of your voice) can change its meaning. Jyutping has six different tones, and each one is shown with a number from 1 to 6 after the word.

Who Created Jyutping?

The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) developed Jyutping. They are a group of experts who study languages, especially Cantonese. They created Jyutping to be a clear and consistent way to write Cantonese sounds. Before Jyutping, there were other systems, but Jyutping became very popular because it is very accurate and easy to understand.

When Was Jyutping Made?

Jyutping was officially introduced in 1993. Since then, it has been used in many places, including schools, dictionaries, and language learning materials. It helps people around the world connect with the Cantonese language and culture.

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