The Quzhou dialect (衢州話; pronounced in the Quzhou dialect) is a
dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that ...
of
Wu Chinese
The Wu languages (; Wu romanization and IPA: ''wu6 gniu6'' [] ( Shanghainese), ''ng2 gniu6'' [] (Suzhounese), Mandarin pinyin and IPA: ''Wúyǔ'' []) is a major group of Sinitic languages spoken primarily in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Zhejiang Provi ...
spoken in
Quzhou
Quzhou is a prefecture-level city in western Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the upper course of the Qiantang River, it borders Hangzhou to the north, Jinhua to the east, Lishui to the southeast, and the provinces o ...
,
China.
Phonology
Initials
Finals
Tones
The Quzhou dialect is considered to have seven tones. However, since the tone split from Middle Chinese, characters still depend on the voicing of the initial consonant. These constitute just three phonemic tones:
''ping'', ''shang'', and ''qu.'' (''Ru'' syllables are phonemically toneless.)
Grammar
Sentence structure
The first example can be compared with Japanese: あなたは私の友達だよ。(anata wa watashi no tomodachi dayo.) Here, 啘 resembles Japanese だよ (dayo).
Lexicon
Pronouns
* 我 1st person singular
* 你 2nd person singular
* 渠[ 3rd person singular
* 我達 , 我拉 (我耷) 1st person plural
* 你達 , 你拉 , 爾耷- 2nd person plural
* 渠達 , 渠拉 (渠耷) 3rd person plural
References
Wu Chinese
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