Varieties of Chinese

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[edit] Origins

The modern spoken varieties of Chinese originated from Old Chinese and Middle Chinese. Classical Chinese is a literary language, and not any form of current Spoken Chinese, including in previous times.

[edit] Confusion in terminology

The Chinese word for these varieties, fāngyán (方言, literally "place speech"), is commonly translated as "dialect". The words have subtly different meanings, however: fāngyán, as suggested by its characters, focuses on region rather than mutual intelligibility. For example, a native from Beijing would use it to describe both the dialects of Tianjin (where the locals speak with essentially a different accent) and of Guangzhou (where the locals speak Cantonese, which a Mandarin speaker would find incomprehensible without study).

There is no Chinese word that is precisely equivalent to the word "dialect", and, similarly, no English word in common use that is precisely equivalent to fāngyán. As such, the misunderstanding persists, with Chinese speakers of English using "dialect" the way they would use fāngyán. The terms topolect and regiolect have been coined by linguists to better translate fāngyán, but they are not in widespread use outside of linguistic scholars.

[edit] Identification in China

[edit] Self-descriptions of speakers of regional variants

Although linguists have made great progress in describing and classifying the regional varieties of Chinese over the course of the last century, their classification does not necessarily correspond to how these regional variants have traditionally been viewed and categorized. Thus, although the first-level divisions of Chinese are often referred to as "languages", they do not always correspond to linguistic divisions or cultural self-identity.

It is customary in China to refer to people's speech in terms of cities and provinces, even though these provincial boundaries have little in common with linguistic ones. For example, the various dialects within Anhui Province are often referred to as the "Anhui dialect", even though this "Anhui dialect" comprises four of the the "Chinese languages" recognized by linguists — Mandarin, Wu, Huizhou, and Gan. Likewise, what linguists consider to be dialects of the Wu are spoken throughout Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, Anhui Province, and Shanghai Municipality, and are therefore often be described as "Zhejiang dialect", "Jiangsu dialect", "Anhui dialect", and "Shanghai dialect". By the same token, although the Sichuan dialect is considered to be distinct from the Beijing dialect, linguists consider the Sichuan dialect and the Beijing dialect to be part of the Mandarin group. If the definition of "dialect" includes mutual intelligibility, then Sichuan and Beijing speech clearly become dialects of Mandarin. Given the rift that exists between these systems of geographical and linguistic classification, sociolinguistic self-identity in China is also a complex phenomenon.

There is a tendency to regard dialects as "variations" of a single written Chinese language. This is partly because speakers of different varieties of Chinese have historically had a single written form. Before the 20th century, Classical Chinese, a pictographic language that could be pronounced according to the phonology of any Chinese language, enjoyed exclusive use for writing.; thus, it was possible to regard the common written language as detached and "above" all of the spoken languages. However, the 20th century saw the replacement of Classical Chinese with "Vernacular Chinese", a written standard based on the modern Mandarin group of dialects and used by all Chinese-speakers regardless of the group to which their native dialect belongs. This development has complicated the idea that all Chinese languages, Mandarin or not, share one single written language, as this unitary written language is now based on one particular group of spoken dialects. This "Standard Written Chinese" is essentially consistent in terms of grammar and vocabulary when written by speakers of different Chinese languages, and differs only in the pronunciation of characters, which varies regionally. However, the spoken Chinese languages are generally not mutually intelligible with Standard Written Chinese even when recited with the local language's pronunciation, since the written language, being based on Mandarin, may not use the same morphology, vocabulary and syntax. Proponents of Chinese as a single language with many dialects describe grammatical/lexical deviations of the local language from the single written language as "slang" (simplified Chinese: 俚语; traditional Chinese: 俚語; pinyin: lǐyǔ; literally "vulgar language"), even if these differences persist at the acrolectic (formal) level.

At the same time, regions with a strong sense of regional cohesion have become more aware of regional groupings of dialects in recent times, and have formed self-identities connected to these linguistic categories. In some self-identified linguistic groups, such as Wu or Hakka, these groups correspond well to those devised by linguists. In other self-identified linguistic groups, such as Teochew and Taiwanese, the correspondences are not as exact.

[edit] Comparisons

[edit] Comparison with Europe

Differences in the socio-political context of Chinese and European languages gave rise to the difference in terms of linguistic perception between the two cultures. In Western Europe, Latin remained the written standard for centuries after the spoken language diverged and began shifting into distinct Romance languages, like how Old Chinese and Middle Chinese diverged. It is important to note that Latin is actually a spoken language, in addition to being a literary language too. Classical Chinese is a literary language, and not a spoken one, and it was the written standard for Chinese. However, political fragmentation gave rise to independent states roughly the size of Chinese provinces. This eventually generated a political desire to create separate cultural and literary standards to differentiate nation-states and standardize the language within a nation-state. In China, a single cultural and literary standard (Classical Chinese and later, Vernacular Chinese) continued to exist while the spoken language continued to diverge between different cities and counties, much as European languages diverged, due to the scale of the country, and the obstruction of communication by geography.

The diverse Chinese spoken forms and common written form comprise a very different linguistic situation from that in Europe. In Europe, linguistic differences sharpened as the language of each nation-state was standardized. The use of local speech became stigmatized. In China, standardization of spoken languages was weaker, and mostly due to cultural influence and the fact that Classical Chinese was the main form of writing, because it is a literary language, it could be spoken in any tongue so they continued to speak the local tongues. Although, as with Europe, dialects of regional political or cultural capitals were still prestigious and widely used as the region's lingua franca, their linguistic influence depended more on the capital's status and wealth than entirely on the political boundaries of the region.

English	Mandarin	Wu	Xiang	Gan	Hakka	Yue	Min	French	Italian	Catalan	Spanish	Portuguese
I	wɔ	ŋu	ŋo	ŋo	ŋai	ŋɔ	ɡua	je	io	jo	yo	eu
You	ni	noŋ	n̩	n̩	n̩	nei	li	tu	tu	tu	tú	tu
He	tʰa	ɦi	tʰa	tɕiɛ	kʰi	kʰœy	i	il	lui	ell	él	ele
This	ʈʂɤ	ɡəʔ	ko	ko	e	ni	tɕɪt	ceci	questo	aquest	este	isto
That	na	e̞	la	hɛ	ke	kɔ	he	cela	quello	allò	aquel	aquele
Human	ʐən	ɳin	zən	ɳin	ŋin	jɐn	laŋ	homme	uomo	home	hombre	homem
Man	nan	nø	lan	lan	nam	lam	lam	homme	uomo	home	hombre	homem
Woman	ny	ɳy	ɳy	ɳyn	ŋ̩	nɵy	li	femme	donna	dona	mujer	mulher
Father	pa pa	ɦiä	ia	ia	a pa	ba		père	padre	pare	padre	pai
Mother	ma ma	ɳiãŋ	m ma	ɳiɔŋ	a me	ma		mère	madre	mare	madre	mãe
Child	ɕiɑʊ xaɪ	ɕiɔ nø	ɕi ŋa tsz̩	ɕi ŋa tsz̩	se ŋin e	sɐi lou	ɡɪn a	enfant	bambino	nen	niño	criança
Fish	jy	ɦŋ	y	ɳiɛ	ŋe	jœy	hi	poisson	pesce	peix	pez	peixe
Snake	ʂɤ	zo	sə	sa	sa	sɛ	tsua	serpent	serpente	serp	serpiente	serpente
Meat	ʐoʊ	ɳioʔ	zəu	ɳiuk	ŋiuk	jʊk	baʔ	viande	carne	carn	carne	carne
Bone	ku	kuəʔ	ku	kut	kut	kwɐt	kut	os	osso	os	hueso	osso
Eye	jɛn	ŋe̞	ŋan	ŋan	muk	ŋan	bak	œil	occhio	ull	ojo	olho
Ear	əɻ	ɳi	ə	ɵ	ŋi	ji	hĩ	oreille	orecchio	orella	oreja	orelha
Nose	pi	biɪʔ	pi	pʰit	pʰit	pei	pʰĩ	nez	naso	nas	nariz	nariz
Eat	ʈʂʰʐ̩	tɕʰiɪʔ	tɕʰia	tɕʰiak	sz̩t	sik	tɕiaʔ	manger	mangiare	menjar	comer	comer
Drink	xɤ	xaʔ	tɕʰia	tɕʰiak	sz̩t	jɐm	lɪm	boire	bere	beure	beber	beber
Say	ʂuɔ	kã	kan	ua	ʋa	kɔŋ	kɔŋ	dire	dire	dir	decir	dizer
Hear	tʰiŋ	tin	tʰin	tʰiaŋ	tʰaŋ	tʰiŋ	tʰiã	entendre	udire/sentire	sentir	oír	ouvir
See	kʰan	kʰɤ	uan	mɔŋ	kʰon	tʰɐi	kʰuã	voir	vedere	veure	ver	ver
Smell	wən	mən	uən	ɕiuŋ	ʋun	tsɐu	pʰĩ	sentir	odorare	sentir	oler	cheirar
Sit	tsuɔ	zu	tso	tsʰo	tsʰo	tsɔ	tse	s'asseoir	sedere	assentar-se	sentarse	sentar-se
Lie(verb)	tʰɑŋ	kʰuən	tʰan	kʰun	tʰoŋ	fɐn	to	s'étendre	distendersi	estirar-se	tenderse	deitar-se
Stand	ʈʂan	liɪʔ	tsan	tɕʰi	kʰi	kʰei	kʰia	être debout	stare in piedi	estar de peu	estar de pie	pôr-se de pé
Sun	tʰaɪ jiɑŋ	ɳiɪʔ dɤ	tʰai ian	ɳit tʰɛu	ŋit tʰɛu	jɐt tʰɐu	lɪt tʰau	soleil	sole	sol	sol	sol
Moon	jyɛ liɑŋ	ɦyɪʔ liã	ye lian	ɳiot kuɔŋ	ŋiet konɡ	jyt lœŋ	ɡeʔ niu	lune	luna	lluna	luna	lua
Mountain	ʂan	se̞	san	san	san	san	suã	montagne	montagna	muntanya	montaña	montanha
Water	ʂueɪ	sʐ̩	ɕyei	sui	sui	sœy	tsui	eau	acqua	aigua	agua	água
Red	xʊŋ	ɦoŋ	xən	fuŋ	fuŋ	hʊŋ	aŋ	rouge	rosso	vermell	rojo	vermelho
Green	ly	loʔ	ləu	liuk	liuk	lʊk	lɪk	vert	verde	verd	verde	verde
Yellow	xuɑŋ	uã	uan	uɔŋ	ʋoŋ	wɔŋ	ŋ̩	jaune	giallo	groc	amarillo	amarelo
White	paɪ	bäʔ	pə	pʰak	pʰak	pak	peʔ	blanc	bianco	blanc	blanco	branco
Black	xeɪ	həʔ	xə	hɛt	het	hak	ɔ	noir	nero	negre	negro	negro
Day	paɪ tʰiɛn	ɳiɪʔ ɕiã	pə tʰiẽ	ɳit sɔŋ	ŋit sɿ tʰeu	jat tʰau	lɪt ɕi	jour	giorno	dia	día	dia
Night	jɛ uan	ɦiä li	uan san	ia li	am pʰu tʰeu	man	am ɕi	nuit	notte	nit	noche	noite
	Mandarin	Wu	Xiang	Gan	Hakka	Yue	Min	French	Italian	Catalan	Spanish	Portuguese

Note:

[edit] Comparison with Arab countries

The diglossia in China's provinces where dialects are spoken can be compared with that in the Arab World, where Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Classical Arabic is the official language, language of the education and formal media but there are various spoken dialects, which are used on a daily basis. Usage/ratio of dialect vs MSA varies from one Arab country to another but in all Arab countries MSA is used in writing and dialects are used in the verbal communication. However, Modern Standard Arabic is nobody's native language and there is no single country/area where standard Arabic is spoken socially. The usage of Arabic dialect is much higher than Chinese dialects; movies and popular songs are all in dialects. Modern Standard Arabic is more comparable with Classical Chinese, a written koine that differed significantly from the spoken language upon which it was originally based. The Classical Chinese that is referred to in this context, is the literary language, not the ancient spoken form.

[edit] References

Branner, David Prager (2000). Problems in Comparative Chinese Dialectology — the Classification of Miin and Hakka. Trends in Linguistics series, no. 123. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 31-101-5831-0.
Groves, Julie M. (2008). "Language or Dialect – or Topolect? A Comparison of the Attitudes of Hong Kongers and Mainland Chinese towards the Status of Cantonese", Sino-Platonic Papers 179:1-103.
Mair, Victor H. (1991). "What Is a Chinese "Dialect/Topolect"? Reflections on Some Key Sino-English Linguistic terms", Sino-Platonic Papers 29:1-31.
Norman, Jerry (1988). Chinese. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29653-6.
Ramsey, S. Robert (1987). The Languages of China. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01468-X.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Varieties of Chinese

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] Origins

[edit] Confusion in terminology

[edit] Identification in China

[edit] Self-descriptions of speakers of regional variants

[edit] Comparisons

[edit] Comparison with Europe

[edit] Comparison with Arab countries

[edit] References

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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