係 with rising intonation?

[chrisp]

I was watching a film (Love on Delivery, Stephen Chow) and I could have sworn one of the characters pronounces 係 with a rising intonation, possibly as "hai5" instead of "hai6", in order to indicate a question.

The character concerned is a martial arts instructor, and one of his pupils is telling him how awesome she thinks he is, and I'm sure his response is 係 with a distinct rising intonation (the translation in the English subtitles is "really?"). I listened to the line a few times and I'm convinced he pronounces it with a rising tone.

However, I was under the impression that a rising intonation is never used in Cantonese (or any Chinese/tonal languages) to indicate a question/seeking of confirmation. So is this not a completely rigid rule? Is it sometimes possible to use a rising intonation to indicate a question in Cantonese?

Interested to hear what people have to say!

[davoosh]

While it is true that tones are generally consistent, in certain circumstances they can change slightly - this usually only happens for special effect (like when the word is exaggerated, as it is in this case) and is likely to be understood from context.

[chestnut818]

I asked a few friends in Guangzhou, they said, 係 is like 是 in Mandarin, such as we say :是这样啦，in Cantonese is 係甘樣嘎啦.It can be use alone like:"係? "with a rising intonation, same as in Mandarin： "是吗？"

Besides, it's common to use a rising intonation to indicate a question in Cantonese ..

one thing to add...my friend said If 係 is pronounce "hai1"...it's a dirty word.....

[chrisp]

Thanks for your responses, very helpful! So can you always use a rising tone to indicate a question in Cantonese, as a general rule? Or only in certain circumstances?

[davoosh]

I would say that this is very situational and limited in usage, I'd advise against messing with tones (unless you feel confident enough) as you don't want to end up saying something potentially rude or wrong! It's never wrong to pronounce a word with the right tone.

[chrisp]

Sound advice, thanks! I'm definitely nowhere near the stage yet where I'd be comfortable experimenting; I'm still just getting to grips with the basics!

[skylee]

my friend said if 係 is pronouce as in Madarin "xi" without a tone...it's a dirty word.....

What dirty word?

[chrisp]

I have also been warned about pronouncing "hai" using the wrong tone, namely the first tone!

[yeut]

14画

門 + 6

to lose lost item; (Cant.) vagina (vulg.)

hai1

閪

I have also been warned about pronouncing "hai" using the wrong tone, namely the first tone!

[skylee]

I know that very well. But chestnut818 mentioned "xi" without a tone, not "hai".

[chestnut818]

seems I made a mistake, it should be hai1, the first tone..I asked again..I will edit my post, thank u skylee!