<p>The [q]/[k] sound came from the glottal stop [ʔ] which must be placed between「地」and「位」when speaking the word. Contrary to its conventional phonetic notation,「位」actually has a glottal plosive consonant before the vowel. So 'te-ui' is actually read as [te11ʔui22] rather than [te11ui22] without separation between the two letters. The difference is similar to that between "come in" [k<sup>h</sup>amʔin] and "comin'" [k<sup>h</sup>amin]. Because this guy is singing, it is easy for the glottal stop to corrupt into an uvular [q] or a velar [k] plosive. (Having a full glottal stop in the middle of a phrase will spoil the legato. )</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-25T10:52:59.497Z
Does this glottal stop appear every time there is a hiatus, only on this word, or somewhere between these two extremes?
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-25T12:04:42.623Z
Generally speaking, it happens to every word without an initial（零聲母）. Some examples are: 有 [ʔu33]、友 [ʔiu52]、學[ʔoʔ52]. This is because words beginning with a vowel need a glottal stop before them to avoid being slurred in speech. (Same goes for English as well. )
Sati
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-25T00:29:38.720Z
2017-09-25T05:57:11.353Z
2017-09-25T05:57:11.353Z
Sati
<p>In the Hokkien song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9BZ5GuIwhk" rel="nofollow noreferrer">男人的汗</a> (Min title 查埔人的汗, lyrics <a href="http://michelegorini.blogspot.it/2017/08/all-chinese-songs-i-have-met.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>, there is the following line:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>人生行到遮 地位亲像山</p>
</blockquote>

<p>It should sound:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Lin-sing kiann kau tsia &nbsp;&nbsp; te-ui tshin-tshiunn suann</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Instead, in the video, both at 00:31-00:38 and at 2:04-2:10, it sounds:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Lin-sing kiann kau tsia &nbsp;&nbsp; tek-ui/te-kui tshin-tshiunn suann</p>
</blockquote>

<p>First thing that comes to mind is to fix it as 地塊, but that would be <code>te-khuai</code>, and no <code>a</code> is heard, nor any aspiration. So I tried browsing <a href="https://twblg.dict.edu.tw" rel="nofollow noreferrer">my reference</a> for characters read <code>kui</code>, and found the following:</p>

<ol>
<li>關 | kuinn</li>
<li>刮 | kuih</li>
<li>規 | kui</li>
<li>歸 | kui</li>
<li>胿 | kui</li>
<li>龜 | kui</li>
<li>機 | kui</li>
<li>圭 | kui</li>
<li>鬼 | kúi</li>
<li>癸 | kúi</li>
<li>幾 | kúi</li>
<li>軌 | kúi</li>
<li>詭 | kúi</li>
<li>貴 | kuì</li>
<li>癸 | kuí</li>
<li>季 | kuì</li>
<li>挂 | kuì</li>
<li>劌 | ku`</li>
<li>瑰 | kuì</li>
<li>桂 | kuì</li>
<li>季 | kuì</li>
<li>膭 | kuī</li>
<li>櫃 | kuī</li>
<li>跪 | kuī</li>
<li>饋 | kuī</li>
<li>葵 | kuî</li>
</ol>

<p>Could any of these be the right character here? If so, which? Otherwise, how can I explain this <code>tek-ui/te-kui</code> which should be <code>te-ui</code>?</p>

<meaning><topolect><hokkien>
地位 sounds like tek-ui or te-kui: singer's mistake or lyrics should be different?
# 地位 sounds like tek-ui or te-kui: singer's mistake or lyrics should be different?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-09-24)

In the Hokkien song [男人的汗](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9BZ5GuIwhk) (Min title 查埔人的汗, lyrics [here](http://michelegorini.blogspot.it/2017/08/all-chinese-songs-i-have-met.html), there is the following line:

> 人生行到遮 地位亲像山

It should sound:

> Lin-sing kiann kau tsia    te-ui tshin-tshiunn suann

Instead, in the video, both at 00:31-00:38 and at 2:04-2:10, it sounds:

> Lin-sing kiann kau tsia    tek-ui/te-kui tshin-tshiunn suann

First thing that comes to mind is to fix it as 地塊, but that would be `te-khuai`, and no `a` is heard, nor any aspiration. So I tried browsing [my reference](https://twblg.dict.edu.tw) for characters read `kui`, and found the following:

1. 關 | kuinn
2. 刮 | kuih
3. 規 | kui
4. 歸 | kui
5. 胿 | kui
6. 龜 | kui
7. 機 | kui
8. 圭 | kui
9. 鬼 | kúi
10. 癸 | kúi
11. 幾 | kúi
12. 軌 | kúi
13. 詭 | kúi
14. 貴 | kuì
15. 癸 | kuí
16. 季 | kuì
17. 挂 | kuì
18. 劌 | ku`
19. 瑰 | kuì
20. 桂 | kuì
21. 季 | kuì
22. 膭 | kuī
23. 櫃 | kuī
24. 跪 | kuī
25. 饋 | kuī
26. 葵 | kuî

Could any of these be the right character here? If so, which? Otherwise, how can I explain this `tek-ui/te-kui` which should be `te-ui`?

**Tags:** meaning, topolect, hokkien


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-09-25. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

The [q]/[k] sound came from the glottal stop [ʔ] which must be placed between「地」and「位」when speaking the word. Contrary to its conventional phonetic notation,「位」actually has a glottal plosive consonant before the vowel. So 'te-ui' is actually read as [te11ʔui22] rather than [te11ui22] without separation between the two letters. The difference is similar to that between "come in" [khamʔin] and "comin'" [khamin]. Because this guy is singing, it is easy for the glottal stop to corrupt into an uvular [q] or a velar [k] plosive. (Having a full glottal stop in the middle of a phrase will spoil the legato. )

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Does this glottal stop appear every time there is a hiatus, only on this word, or somewhere between these two extremes?  
> **username_1**: Generally speaking, it happens to every word without an initial（零聲母）. Some examples are: 有 [ʔu33]、友 [ʔiu52]、學[ʔoʔ52]. This is because words beginning with a vowel need a glottal stop before them to avoid being slurred in speech. (Same goes for English as well. )  

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