The Danzhou dialect (), locally known as Xianghua (), is a
Chinese variety of uncertain affiliation spoken in the area of
Danzhou
Danzhou () is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of the Chinese island province of Hainan. Although called a "city", Danzhou administers a large area which was called Dan County or Danxian () until 1993. The administrative seat and urban ...
in northwestern
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
, China.
It was classified as
Yue in the ''
Language Atlas of China
The ''Language Atlas of China'' (), published in two parts in 1987 and 1989, maps the distribution of both the varieties of Chinese and minority languages of China.
It was a collaborative effort by the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the ...
'',
but in more recent work is treated as an unclassified southern variety.
Varieties
Regional varieties are Bei'an 北岸音, Shuinan 水南音, Zhoujia 昼家音, Shanshang 山上音, Haitou 海头音, and Wuhu 五湖音.
Distribution
The Danzhou dialect is spoken in the following areas of Hainan (Hainan 1994:253).
[Hainan Gazetteer Committee 海南省地方史志办公室编. 1994. ''Hainan dialect gazetteer'' 海南省志 第二卷 人口志: 方言志宗教志. Haikou: Hainan Publishing Company 海南出版公司.]
*most of
Danzhou
Danzhou () is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of the Chinese island province of Hainan. Although called a "city", Danzhou administers a large area which was called Dan County or Danxian () until 1993. The administrative seat and urban ...
儋州市 except for the southeastern part of Danzhou
*
Changjiang Li Autonomous County
Changjiang Li Autonomous County (formerly known by its Cantonese romanization name Cheongkong) is an autonomous county in Hainan, China. It is one of six counties of Hainan. Its postal code is 572700, and in 1999 its population was 225,131 peopl ...
昌江县 (northern coast)
**Nanluo 南罗 and Haiwei 海尾 area
**Xiyuan 西缘, Shiluo Town 石碌镇,
Changjiang
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
city
*northern
Baisha Li Autonomous County
Baisha Li Autonomous County ( Chinese: s ), p ''Báishā Lízú Zìzhìxiàn'') is one of 6 autonomous counties of Hainan, China. In 1999 its population was 176,377 people, largely made up of the Li people.
Baisha County was est ...
白沙县 (in just over 10 villages near the border with Danzhou)
*peripheral villages of
Dongfang 东方市,
Ledong 乐东,
Qiongzhong
Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County is an autonomous county in Hainan, China. It is one of 6 autonomous counties of the upper highlands of Hainan. Its postal code is 572900, and in 1999 its population was 196,581 people, largely made up of t ...
琼中, and
Sanya
Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China.
According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, li ...
三亚
References
Hainan
Varieties of Chinese
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