11 thoughts on “Name the language”

  2. I don’t think its Korean, because the recording is of a language that is undoubtedly tonal, and Korean is not a tonal language.

  8. It’s definitely a Chinese dialect- My first impression is, in fact, Mandarin, perhaps Cantonese. Good choice, too, being that it is the start of the Chinese lunar new year festivities- The year of the Golden Pig. 🙂

    d.m.f.

  9. I think I heard huanying, huanying, 欢迎，欢迎, welcome, welcome, near the beginning. And the final -t sound on a couple of words makes me think it’s Cantonese.

  10. Thanks for the transliteration- hardly anyone seems to bother with that. Not everyone can read Chinese, Hebrew and Arabic.

  11. The answer is Taiwanese. Here’s a transcription, transliteration and translation:

    Taiwanese

    王教授，歡迎，歡迎！請入來坐。
    Ong5 kau3-siu7, hoan-geng5, hoan-geng5! Chhian2 jip8 lai5 che7

    真歡喜會當來恁兜。
    Chin hoan-hi2 e7-tang3 lai5 lin2 tau.

    請坐，請用茶．咱先來開講，等以下呷食飯。
    Chhian2-che7. Chhian2 iong7 te5. Lan2 seng lai5 khai-kang2, tan2 chito-eo chiah chiah8 png7

    M7免麻煩。
    M7-bian2 ma5-hoan5

    Be7麻煩，已經攏準備好啊。
    Be7 ma5-hoan5, i2-keng long2 chun2-pi7 ho2 ao.

    Mandarin

    王教授，歡迎，歡迎！請近來坐。
    Wáng jiàoshòu，huānyíng，huānyíng! Qǐng jìnlái zuò.

    很高興能來你家。
    Hěn gāoxìng néng lái nǐ jiā.

    請坐，請用茶，我們先閒聊，等以下才吃飯。
    Qǐng zuò. Qǐng yòng chá, wǒmen xiān xiánliáo, děng yǐxià cái chīfàn

    不必麻煩。
    Bù bì máfan.

    不會麻煩，都已經準備好了。
    Bù huì máfan, dōu yǐjīng zhǔnbèi hǎo le.

    English

    Welcome, welcome Professor Wang. Please come in and sit down.

    I’m very happy to be able to visit your home.

    Please have a seat, please have some tea. We’ll have a chat first, then we’ll eat.

    Don’t go to any trouble.

    It’s no trouble, everything is prepared already.

    This conversation comes from 生活台語 (Sing-wa Tai5-gi2), a Taiwanese course I bought in Taiwan.

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