Huizhou Chinese
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| Hui | |
|---|---|
| 徽語/徽语 徽州話/徽州话 |
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| Native to | China |
| Region | Southern Anhui, neighbouring portions of Zhejiang and Jiangxi, about 12 counties in total |
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Native speakers
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unknown (4.6 million cited 2000 census)[1] |
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Sino-Tibetan
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| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | czh |
| Glottolog | huiz1242[2] |
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| Hui Chinese | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 徽語 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 徽语 | ||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Huī Yu | ||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 徽州話 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 徽州话 | ||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Huīzhōu Huà | ||||||
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Huizhou (simplified Chinese: 徽州话; traditional Chinese: 徽州話; pinyin: Huīzhōu-huà) or Hui (simplified Chinese: 徽语; traditional Chinese: 徽語; pinyin: Huī-yǔ), is a Chinese variety spoken over a small area in and around the historical region of Huizhou (for which it is named), in about ten or so mountainous counties in southern Anhui, plus a few more in neighbouring Zhejiang and Jiangxi.
Despite the small area it is spoken in compared to other varieties of Chinese, Hui displays a very high degree of internal variation. Nearly every county has its own distinct dialect unintelligible to a speaker a few counties away. It is for this reason that bilingualism and multilingualism are common among speakers of Hui.
Classification
Huizhou Chinese was originally classified as Lower Yangtze Mandarin but it is currently classified separately from it.[3] The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences supported the separation of Huizhou from Lower Yangtze Mandarin in 1987.[4] Its classification is disputed, with some linguists such as Matisoff classifying it as Wu Chinese, others such as Bradley (2007) as Gan, and still others setting it apart as a primary branch of Chinese.
History
In the Ming and Qing dynasties Jianghuai speakers moved into Hui dialect areas.[5]
Some works of literature produced in Yangzhou, such as Qingfengzha, a novel, contain Jianghuai Mandarin. People in Yangzhou identified by the dialect they speak, locals spoke the dialect, as opposed to sojourners, who spoke other varieties like Huizhou or Wu. This led to the formation of identity based on dialect. Large numbers of merchants from Huizhou lived in Yangzhou and effectively were responsible for keeping the town afloat.[6] Merchants in the later imperial period also sponsored operas and performances in the Hui dialect.[7]
Dialects
Hui can be divided into five dialects:
- Jixi-Shexian, spoken in Jixi, She County, Huizhou, Jingde, and Ningguo, Anhui province, as well as Chun'an, Zhejiang province
- Xiuning-Yixian, spoken in Tunxi, Taiping, Xiuning, Yi County, and Qimen, as well as Wuyuan, Jiangxi province
- Qimen-Dexing, spoken in Qimen and Dongzhi, Anhui province, as well as Fuliang, Dexing, and Wuyuan, Jiangxi province
- Yanzhou, spoken in Chun'an and Jiande, Zhejiang province
- Jingde-Zhanda, spoken in Jingde, Qimen, Shitai, Yi County, and Ningguo, Anhui province
Dialects of Huizhou Chinese differ from village to village.[8] People in different villages (even in one county and township) often cannot speak with one other.
Features
Phonologically speaking, Hui is noted for its massive loss of syllable codas, including -i, -u, and nasals:
| Character | Meaning | Hui of Tunxi | Wu of Shanghai | Huai(Jianghuai) of Hefei | Mandarin of Beijing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 燒 | burn | /ɕiɔ/ | /sɔ/ | /ʂɔ/ | /ʂɑu/ |
| 柴 | firewood | /sa/ | /za/ | /tʂʰɛ/ | /tʂʰai/ |
| 綫 | line | /siːɛ/ | /ɕi/ | /ɕĩ/ | /ɕiɛn/ |
| 張 | sheet | /tɕiau/ | /tsɑ̃/ | /tʂɑ̃/ | /tʂɑŋ/ |
| 網 | web | /mau/ | /mɑ̃/ | /wɑ̃/ | /wɑŋ/ |
| 檻 | threshold | /kʰɔ/ | /kʰɛ/ | /kʰã/ | /kʰan/ |
Many Hui dialects have diphthongs with a higher lengthened first part. For example, 話 ("speech") is /uːɜ/ in Xiuning County (Standard Chinese /xuɑ/), 園 ("yard") is /yːɛ/ in Xiuning County (Standard Chinese /yɛn/); 結 ("knot") is /tɕiːaʔ/ in Yi County (Standard Chinese /tɕiɛ/), 約 ("agreement") is /iːuʔ/ in Yi County (Standard Chinese /yɛ/). A few areas take this to extremes. For example, Likou in Qimen County has /fũːmɛ̃/ for 飯 ("rice") (Standard Chinese /fan/), with the /m/ appearing directly as a result of the lengthened, nasalized /ũː/.
Because nasal codas have mostly been lost, Hui reuses the /-n/ ending as a diminutive. For example, in the Tunxi dialect, 索 "rope" is appears as /soːn/ from /soʔ/ + /-n/.
References
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- ↑ Hui at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (the University of Michigan)
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (the University of California)
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