Shaozhou Tuhua (traditional: 韶州土話; simplified: 韶州土话 ''Sháozhōu Tǔhuà'' "
Shaoguan
Shaoguan (; Hakka: Seukoan) is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong Province ( Yuebei), South China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriar ...
Tuhua"), or simply Tuhua, is an unclassified
Chinese variety spoken in the northern region of
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...
and
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...
provinces, China. It is
mutually unintelligible
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as ...
with
Xiang,
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
, and
Mandarin.
Classification
Some scholars consider it to be an extension of
Ping Chinese (''Pinghua'') in Guangxi. Others consider it to have a foundation in
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
-era
Middle Gan, mixed with Hakka, Cantonese, and
Southwestern Mandarin
Southwestern Mandarin (), also known as Upper Yangtze Mandarin (), is a Mandarin Chinese language spoken in much of Southwest China, including in Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guizhou, most parts of Hubei, the northwestern part of Hunan, the nort ...
.
Chen (2012) notes that the Shaoguan Tuhua of Shibei (石陂, in
Zhenjiang District) shares many similarities with the
Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
of
Qujiang District, due to intensive contact.
Dialects
Shaozhou Tuhua is also known as ''Yuebei Tuhua'' (粤北土话, "Northern Guangxi/Guangdong Tuhua"), and as ''Shīpóhuà'' (虱婆话, "Shipo dialect"), ''Shīnǎhuà'' (虱乸话, "Shina dialect"), or ''Shīpóshēng'' (虱婆声, "Shipo accent") in its own region. It is also known as ''Pingdi Yaohua'' (平地瑶话, "Lowland Yao dialect"), locally ''Piongtuojo'' or ''Piongtoajeu''; "Yao" here might be a cultural designation, as only half of the one million speakers are classified as ethnic
Yao.
[''Ming studies'', 34–35:55, University of Minnesota, 1995][
Li & Zhuang (2009) cover the following dialects of '']Shaoguan
Shaoguan (; Hakka: Seukoan) is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong Province ( Yuebei), South China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriar ...
Tuhua''.Ruyuan County
Ruyuan ( postal: Yuyuan; ), officially Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County, is a county of northern Guangdong province, China, with a small border with Hunan to the northwest. It is under the administration of Shaoguan
Shaoguan (; Hakka: Seukoan) is ...
Zhang Shuangqing (2004) covers five dialects of '' Lianzhou Tuhua'' ().
Distribution
Tuhua is retreating before Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
and Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
and is found in rural dialect islands in the northern Guangdong
Northern Guangdong, commonly referred to as Yuebei (), is a region of northern Guangdong province. It is a region encompassing mountainous and hilly terrain, and includes the region of Guangdong north of the Tropic of Cancer.
Yuebei is a multiethn ...
counties of Lechang, Renhua
Renhua ( postal: Yanfa; ) is a county of northernmost Guangdong province, China, bordering Jiangxi to the northeast and Hunan to the northwest. It is under the administration of Shaoguan City.
History
Renhua County has a long history, as it was es ...
, Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County, Qujiang, Nanxiong
Nanxiong (), historically Namyung, Namhung, and Nanhsiung, is a county-level city of northern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangxi to the north, east and southeast. It is under the administration of Guangdong
Gua ...
, Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) a ...
, Wujiang (parts of Shaoguan
Shaoguan (; Hakka: Seukoan) is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong Province ( Yuebei), South China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriar ...
prefecture-level city), and Lianzhou and Liannan Yao Autonomous County
Liannan Yao Autonomous County ( postal: Linnam; ) is located in the north of Guangdong province, China, and is part of Qingyuan prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People ...
in Qingyuan
Qingyuan, formerly romanized as Tsingyun, is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong province, China, on the banks of the Bei or North River. During the 2020 census, its total population was 3,969,473, out of whom 1,738,424 lived in the ...
prefecture-level city.
See also
* Lingling dialect
*Maojia dialect
Maojia (猫家 'Chen, Qiguang ��其光(2013). ''Miao and Yao language'' ��瑶语文 Beijing: China Minzu University Press.) is a mixed language in Southern China. Maojiahua is an unclassified Sinitic language that has undergone influence from ...
References
*
External links
Classification of Tuhua DialectsDivergent Chinese dialects database
(Academia Sinica
Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging fro ...
)
{{Chinese language
Chinese-based pidgins and creoles
Guangdong
Guangxi