Wenzhou dialect

Infobox Language
name=Wenzhou dialect
nativename=温州話
"Wēnzhōuhuà"
familycolor=Sino-Tibetan
states=Wenzhou area, Zhejiang, China
region=Southeastern China, in Wenzhou immigrant populations in Europe and North America
speakers= 5 million est.
fam1=Sino-Tibetan
fam2=Chinese
fam3=Wu
nation="not official"

Wenzhou dialect (zh-tsp|t=溫州話|s=温州话|p= wēnzhōuhuà) is a subdivision of the Wu language family with noticeable elements of Min Chinese, which in turn constitutes one of the Sinitic language families. It is spoken in the city of Wenzhou and surrounding areas in the Zhejiang province in China. It is not mutually intelligible with the official language of China, Mandarin, nor is it really understood by most other speakers of Wu Chinese or Min Chinese, making the language truly localized and unique.

Due to its long history and the geographical features of the region on which it is located, the language so eccentric in its phonology that it is especially difficult for any non-native speaker to learn. It preserves some use of vocabulary from classical Chinese, and has noticeable grammatical differences with Mandarin. It has the reputation of being the "least comprehensible dialect" for an average Mandarin speaker. Therefore the term "dialect" is really a misnomer.

Classification

In the linguistic mosaic that makes up China, spoken language is especially diverse in Zhejiang province, where Wenzhou is located. Wenzhou dialect further consists of many sub-dialects. When people refer to the standard Wenzhou Dialect, they usually mean the language spoken by the people living in more developed areas of Wenzhou, i.e. Lucheng, Ouhai, Longwan, Yongjia, Ruian, and Yueqing. The dialect's sound system changes almost comprehensively every ten kilometers, especially in rural areas. Generally speaking, over five million people are classified as being speakers of some variant of Wenzhou dialect based on mutual intelligibility. Although the dialects spoken by people of the above regions can be understood by each other, they differ from each other in phonology. In general people from Taizhou, a mere 100 kilometers north, cannot comprehend Wenzhou dialect.

Reputation for Eccentricity

Due to its high degree of eccentricity, the language is reputed to have been used during the Second Sino-Japanese War during wartime communication. Due to its unique grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, the language is basically impossible for any non-local to understand.

There is a famous rhymed saying in China that goes, "Do not fear the heavens and the earth (i.e. anything), but be afraid of hearing a person from Wenzhou speak in their local tongue." (天不怕，地不怕，就怕温州人说温州话)

Geographic distribution

Dialects

Phonetics and phonology

Consonants

Vowels

Monophthongs

Diphthongs

Triphthongs

Syllable structure

=Onsets=

=Rimes=

=Tones=

Citation tones

Tone sandhi

Grammar

=Morphology=

Syntax

Vocabulary

History

Examples

ee also

*List of Chinese dialects
*Wu Chinese
*Suzhou dialect
*Shanghai dialect
*Hangzhou dialect

References

*Qián,nǎiróng (1992). "Dāngdài Wúyǔ yánjiū". (Contemporary Wu linguistics studies). Shànghǎi: shànghǎi jiāoyù chūbǎnshè. (錢乃榮. 1992. 當代吳語研究. 上海敎育出版社) ISBN 7532023559