Re: Chinese Dialect Question

> >> Ok, please excuse my extreme ignorance, but what does fortis mean?
To add to the excellent explanations of fortis vs. lenis, let me just
point out that "fortis" is Latin for "strong", and "lenis" is Latin
for "mild".

> >> what does a voiceless stop sound like?
Others have desribed the difference between voiced and voiceless
sounds.  A "stop" is a sound that completely stops the flow of
air coming out of your mouth.  Stops in English include b, d, g
(the "hard" g sound in "go", not the "soft" g sound in "gee"), k,
p, and t.  Note that b is a voiced p, d is a voiced t, and g is a
voiced k.  (I'm using the X-SAMPA symbols here).

Stops are contrasted with "fricatives", where the airstream is
partially, but not completely blocked - just enough to make a sort
of hissing sound as the air hits the obstruction.  Fricatives in
English include f, s, S (the "sh" sound), v, D (the "th" in "the"),
T (the "th" in "path"), z, and Z (the sound of the "s" in "measure",
often spelled "zh" in phonetic transcription).   Note that v is a
voiced f, D is a voiced T, z is a voiced s, and Z is a voiced S.

Some sounds are a combination of a stop and a fricative run together;
these are called "affricates", and include tS) (the English "ch"
sound, which is a "t" + "sh" run together) and dZ) (the English "j"
or "soft g" sound, which is "d" + "zh" run together).  Note that
dZ) is a voiced tS).

Then there are "approximants", where there is no barrier to the
airflow; the sound is almost a vowel, with the distinctive sound
coming from the position of the tongue and lips when it is made.
In English the sounds h, l, r\ (in X-SAMPA, an r without the
\ represents a trill, like Spanish <rr>), w, and j (the sound
spelled "y" in English) are approximants.  Note that there are no
voiced/voiceless pairs here - h is voiceless and the others are
all voiced.  However, some people pronounce the "wh" in "when" as
a voiceless "w", although most people simultaneously turn it into
a fricative.  Welsh has a voiceless "l", but it's also a fricative -
voiceless approximants tend to be pretty inaudible.

The "nasals" are sort of a cross between an approximant and a stop.  The
passage through the mouth is completely closed, while the air is allowed
to escape through the nose.  Again, the position of the tongue and lips
determines which sound is heard.  English nasals include m, n, and N
(the "ng" in "sing").  These are all voiced sounds.

-Mark