Ningbo dialect

The Ningbo dialect (Chinese: 宁波话/寧波話, 宁波闲话/寧波閒話) is a dialect of Wu Chinese, one subdivision of Chinese language. Ningbo dialect is spoken throughout Ningbo and Zhoushan prefectures, in Zhejiang province.

Ningbo dialect
Yong-Jiang
寧波閒話
Pronunciationɲìɲ.pɐ́u.ɛ́.ó~ɲìɲ.póʔ.ɛ́.ó
Native toPeople's Republic of China
RegionNingbo & Zhoushan, Zhejiang province
EthnicityNingbo people (Han Chinese)
Native speakers
5-6 million
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
Glottologning1280
Linguasphere79-AAA-dbf (also 79-AAA-dbg on Zhoushan archipelago)
Bible in Ningpo Romanised (Genesis), published by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

Intelligibility

Ningbo dialect native speakers generally understand Shanghainese, another dialect of Wu. However, Shanghainese speakers do not always have full understanding of the Ningbo dialect. It is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin Chinese, or any other subdivision of the Chinese language. Ningbo dialect is considered a Yongjiang dialect or Mingzhou dialect (as both terms are synonymous), and is closely related to the Taihu Wu dialects of Zhoushan. In terms of inter-intelligibility between dialects within the Yong-Jiang subgroup, they can be more accurately described as 'accents' (腔) as these dialects are relatively uniform and almost identical to each other aside from pronunciation differences and some minor lexical differences.

Phonology

Initials
Initial consonants[1]
  Labial Dental/Alveolar Alveolo-Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ  
Plosive tenuis p t k ʔ
aspirated pʰ tʰ kʰ  
voiced b d ɡ  
Affricate tenuis ts tɕ
aspirated tsʰ tɕʰ  
voiced dz dʑ  
Fricative voiceless f s ɕ   h
voiced v z ʑ   ɦ
Lateral l

Finals
Vowel nuclei
Front Central Back
Unrounded Rounded
Close /i/ /y, ʏ/ /u/
Close-mid /e/ /ø/ /o/
Open-mid /ɛ/ /ə/ /ɔ/
Open /a/
Diphthong /ɐi, ɐu, œʏ/
Finals[2]
Coda Open Nasal Glottal stop
Medial ∅jw ∅jw ∅jw
Nucleus i i   iɲ   jeʔ  
y y   yɲ   ɥøʔ  
ʏ ʏ          
u u          
e e          
ø ø          
o o   oŋjoŋ  oʔjoʔ 
ɛ ɛ wɛ        
ə     ən wən    
ɔ ɔjɔ  ɔ̃jɔ̃wɔ̃    
a ajawa ãjãwã aʔ waʔ
ɐi ɐi wɐi        
ɐu ɐu          
œʏ œʏ          
Syllabic continuants: [z̩] [z̩ʷ] [m̩] [n̩] [ŋ̩] [l̩]

Notes:

  • The table contains two additional finals /yɲ, ɥøʔ/. These have merged with /joŋ, joʔ/ respectively in younger generations.
  • /y, ʏ/ are similar in pronunciation, differing slightly in lip rounding ([y, iᵝ] respectively). The two are merged in younger generations.
  • /j/ is pronounced [ɥ] before rounded vowels.

Tones
Tones[1]
Middle Chinese tone
píng 平 shǎng 上 qù 去 rù 入
yīn 阴 ˥˧ (53)˧˥ (35)˦ (44)ʔ˥ (55)
yáng 阳 ˨˦ (24) ˨˩˧ (213) ʔ˩˨ (12)

Examples

唱月亮

月亮菩薩彎彎上，彎到小姑進后堂。
后堂空，拜相公，
相公念經，打一天井，
天井隔笆，打一稻花，
稻花耘田，打一團箕。

火瑩頭

火瑩頭，夜夜紅，
阿公挑擔賣碗蔥，
新婦織麻糊燈籠，
阿婆箝牌捉牙虫，
兒子看鴨撩屙虫。

See also

References
  1. Tang, Zhenzhu (1997). Níngbō fāngyán cídiǎn 宁波方言词典 [Ningbo dialect dictionary]. Nanjing. p. 7. ISBN 978-7-5343-3120-6.
  2. Hu, Fang (2005). A phonetic study of the vowels in Ningbo Chinese (Thesis). City University of Hong Kong.
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