phonetic map : 空 kong
goulnik
November 29, 2008, 06:27 AM posted in General Discussionkong | ||
空 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 |
* 空 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 |
控 kòng to accuse; control; dominate 控告 kònggào to charge; accuse / accusation 控制 kòngzhì to control; command |
* 倥 kōng . 倥侗 kōngtóng ignorant; unenlightened |
悾 kōng guileless 悾悾 kōngkōng candid; simple minded 悾款 kōngkuǎn sincere; candid |
* 倥 kǒng . 倥偬 kǒngzǒng pressing; urgent; destitute |
qiang | ||
腔 qiāng body cavity / tune 口腔音 kǒuqiāngyīn oral 接腔 jiēqiāng to answer; respond 腔调 qiāngdiào tune; accent |
changye
November 29, 2008, 06:57 AMAs 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.