<ol>
<li><p>I like your use of <code>飛揚</code> here. While it is comical or cultural to use an otherwise unrelated word to signify an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_Mandarin#Elision" rel="nofollow noreferrer">elision</a> – e.g., consider <code>醬子</code> in place of <code>這樣子</code> in Taiwanese Mandarin internet slang – if you are looking for an answer of more academic rigour, IPA should be used, not Chinese characters or <em>pinyin</em>. (Because after elision, what you spell may not always be orthographic.)</p>
</li>
<li><p>In Taiwanese Mandarin, <a href="http://www.concentric-linguistics.url.tw/upload/articlesfs161402111125124738.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chung (2006:77)</a> notices function words (虛詞) tend to get deemphasised via elision. <code>非常</code> is an intensifier (somewhat functional), so the following elision can be observed:</p>
<p><code>非常 fēi cháng /feɪ˥˥ ʈʂʰɑŋ˧˥/ → [feɪ˥˥ ɑŋ˧˥] or [feɪ˥˥ hɑŋ˧˥]</code></p>
<p>Notice how usually the initial of the second syllable tends to get dropped in quick speech.</p>
<p>Your including a voiced palatal approximant <code>[j]</code> between the two syllables (i.e., <code>[feɪ˥˥ jɑŋ˧˥]</code>, which just so happens to be the pronunciation of <code>飛揚 fēiyáng</code>) is permissible, perhaps serving as a 'glide' between <code>ɪ</code> and <code>ɑ</code>.</p>
</li>
<li><p>The following is an example where there are no Chinese characters or <em>pinyin</em> that can properly describe the elision of <code>今天</code>:</p>
<p><code>今天 jīn tiān /tɕɪn˥˥ tʰjɛn˥˥/ → [tɕɪ‿ɛn˥˥]</code></p>
<p>While there is <code>雞 jī /tɕi˥˥/</code>, when pronouncing <em>i</em> in the <em>pinyin</em> <em>ji</em>, your mouth is more closed and your tongue is more front than when pronouncing <em>i</em> in <em>jin</em>. This subtlety can only be reflected using IPA. Whereas obviously there is no <code>/ɛn/</code> as a syllable in Mandarin.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>References</strong></p>
<p>Chung, Karen Steffen. &quot;Contraction and Backgrounding in Taiwan Mandarin.&quot; Concentric: Studies in Linguistics, vol. 32.1, 2006, pp. 69-88.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-03T15:27:01.863Z
Thank+1. I wasn’t particularly looking for an answer of academic rigor, but I can understand your explanation. I have noticed the people who pronounce 非常 like that also tend to pronounce 他/她/它 [tʰɑ] like [hɑ]. I guess it’s another symptom of the same phenomenon.
tuo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-03T14:46:50.980Z
2021-05-11T00:57:26.340Z
2021-05-11T00:57:26.340Z
L Parker
<p>I listen to podcasts from Taiwan for listening practice and I think I hear the word 非常 [fēichánɡ] often pronounced like 飛揚 [fēiyánɡ] in them. Am I hearing it right or am I confusing it with some other word? If the word is indeed pronounced that way sometimes (perhaps in casual speech?), is it a common phenomenon or a regional thing?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-03T14:41:51.990Z
Any links to examples?
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-03T15:25:30.997Z
Similar to the Cantonese, Some of the Taiwanese people have a heavy local accent because the Taiwanese (閩南語) lacking certain sounds that involve controlling the muscle of the tongue.
r13
<pronunciation><taiwan>
Strange pronunciation of 非常
# Strange pronunciation of 非常

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-05-03)

I listen to podcasts from Taiwan for listening practice and I think I hear the word 非常 [fēichánɡ] often pronounced like 飛揚 [fēiyánɡ] in them. Am I hearing it right or am I confusing it with some other word? If the word is indeed pronounced that way sometimes (perhaps in casual speech?), is it a common phenomenon or a regional thing?

**Tags:** pronunciation, taiwan

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Any links to examples?  
> **username_2**: Similar to the Cantonese, Some of the Taiwanese people have a heavy local accent because the Taiwanese (閩南語) lacking certain sounds that involve controlling the muscle of the tongue.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2021-05-03. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

1. I like your use of `飛揚` here. While it is comical or cultural to use an otherwise unrelated word to signify an [elision](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_Mandarin#Elision) – e.g., consider `醬子` in place of `這樣子` in Taiwanese Mandarin internet slang – if you are looking for an answer of more academic rigour, IPA should be used, not Chinese characters or *pinyin*. (Because after elision, what you spell may not always be orthographic.)
2. In Taiwanese Mandarin, [Chung (2006:77)](http://www.concentric-linguistics.url.tw/upload/articlesfs161402111125124738.pdf) notices function words (虛詞) tend to get deemphasised via elision. `非常` is an intensifier (somewhat functional), so the following elision can be observed:

   `非常 fēi cháng /feɪ˥˥ ʈʂʰɑŋ˧˥/ → [feɪ˥˥ ɑŋ˧˥] or [feɪ˥˥ hɑŋ˧˥]`

   Notice how usually the initial of the second syllable tends to get dropped in quick speech.

   Your including a voiced palatal approximant `[j]` between the two syllables (i.e., `[feɪ˥˥ jɑŋ˧˥]`, which just so happens to be the pronunciation of `飛揚 fēiyáng`) is permissible, perhaps serving as a 'glide' between `ɪ` and `ɑ`.
3. The following is an example where there are no Chinese characters or *pinyin* that can properly describe the elision of `今天`:

   `今天 jīn tiān /tɕɪn˥˥ tʰjɛn˥˥/ → [tɕɪ‿ɛn˥˥]`

   While there is `雞 jī /tɕi˥˥/`, when pronouncing *i* in the *pinyin* *ji*, your mouth is more closed and your tongue is more front than when pronouncing *i* in *jin*. This subtlety can only be reflected using IPA. Whereas obviously there is no `/ɛn/` as a syllable in Mandarin.

**References**

Chung, Karen Steffen. "Contraction and Backgrounding in Taiwan Mandarin." Concentric: Studies in Linguistics, vol. 32.1, 2006, pp. 69-88.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank+1. I wasn’t particularly looking for an answer of academic rigor, but I can understand your explanation. I have noticed the people who pronounce 非常 like that also tend to pronounce 他/她/它 [tʰɑ] like [hɑ]. I guess it’s another symptom of the same phenomenon.  

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