粤语与唐语

[Quest]

Even though I don't agree with everything he said, but he did make some interesting points.

http://www.blogbus.com/blogbus/blog/diary.php?diaryid=224590

comments?

Also, I am interested in the relationship between 西安话“得四”and the Japanese "desu". Is that true? 西安乃秦都，相传徐福。。。

[ala]

Also, I am interested in the relationship between 西安话“得四”and the Japanese "desu". Is that true? 西安乃秦都，相传徐福。。。

Not really, it's quite a big stretch of the imagination.

Xian's “得是” (deisi) is used in questions to express doubt, or to contradict (反意疑问). I guess someone must of gotten confused with what the desu in Japanese そうですか？ (sou desu ka?) means, and thought: "wow they sound similar and the phrases express the same thing."

Xian's 是 (si) is equivalent to Japanese "desu". This is the same for most Chinese dialects. The character 是 in Japanese is pronounced as a voiced ze (是非 zehi).

Xian's “得是？” (deisi) or "得是的？" is equivalent to Japanese "sou desu ka?" or something like 是吗？ or 真的? in Standard Mandarin.

[Ian_Lee]

When answering questions in positive term, both Cantonese and Japanese pronounce the same.

Cantonese uses 係 for YES in a positive answer while Japanese uses Hai which sound the same.

[ala]

When answering questions in positive term, both Cantonese and Japanese pronounce the same. Cantonese uses 係 for YES in a positive answer while Japanese uses Hai which sound the same.

I was under the impression that the Cantonese Hai is a restricted form of Yes, similar to Mandarin 是 (shi4). It is better translated as "It is" or "It is so." Am I wrong?

Shanghainese has a broader form of Yes: éh (/E/ 53). It covers: 对，正确，是，可以.

[Claw]

I was under the impression that the Cantonese Hai is a restricted form of Yes, similar to Mandarin 是 (shi4). It is better translated as "It is" or "It is so." Am I wrong?

You are correct... essentially 係 replaces almost all instances of 是 in Cantonese, sometimes even in compounds such as 但是, which becomes 但係 (it doesn't happen to all compounds, i.e. 要是 stays the same).