phonetic map : 空 kong

goulnik
November 29, 2008, 06:27 AM posted in General Discussion

@ 空

kong
kōng empty; hollow; void; unreal / sky; space
空洞 kōngdòng empty; shallow / cavity
空想 kōngxiǎng fantasy; daydream
航空 hángkōng n. aviation
天空 tiānkōng n. sky; heaven
* kòng free/spare time; chance; room
空白 kòngbái blank space; the sky
空闲 kòngxián spare time; leisure
空子 kòngzi opening; chance; opportunity
kòng to accuse; control; dominate
控告 kònggào to charge; accuse / accusation
控制 kòngzhì to control; command
* kōng .
倥侗 kōngtóng ignorant; unenlightened
kōng guileless
悾悾 kōngkōng candid; simple minded
悾款 kōngkuǎn sincere; candid
* kǒng .
倥偬 kǒngzǒng pressing; urgent; destitute
qiang
qiāng body cavity / tune
口腔音 kǒuqiāngyīn oral
接腔 jiēqiāng to answer; respond
腔调 qiāngdiào tune; accent
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changye
November 29, 2008, 06:57 AM

As for 腔 (qiang), it had a sound similar to "kong" more than one thousand years ago, but it later changed like this, kong > kiang > qiang. The change from "k" to "q" was caused by the vowel "i" located after "k", which is a very common phonomenon in the history of Mandarin.

Exactly speaking, the "kong" of 腔 was a little different from "kong" of 空 in ancient times. The latter one (空) was pronounced with rounded lips, but the former (腔) without rounding lips. And this slight difference consequently made a big difference in modern pronunciations of 腔 and 空.