Shanghainese

Shanghainese(上海話; pinyin: Shnghǎihu, Shanghainese in IPA: ), sometimes referred to as the Shanghai dialect, is a dialect of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Shanghai. Wu has 87 million speakers as of 1991, and is the second most spoken form of Chinese after Mandarin (which has some 800 million speakers). Shanghainese is the representative dialect of Northern Wu; it contains vocabulary and expressions from the entire Northern Wu area (southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang). With nearly 14 million speakers, Shanghainese is also the largest single coherent form of Wu Chinese. Shanghainese is rich in consonants and pure vowels . Like other northern Wu dialects, the Shanghai dialect has voiced initials . Neither Mandarin nor Cantonese have voiced initials. Shanghainese is a register language, with only two live tonal constrasts (high and low). Compare this with 4 in Mandarin, and 6 in Cantonese. The Shanghainese tonal system is instead similar to African languages; different from other Chinese languages, Thai and Vietnamese. For more information on the tonal system, visit http://www.zanhei.com/pitch.html. Shanghainese is currently banned in schools, in newspapers, and the media is strongly discouraged to broadcast contemporary Shanghainese. However, Shanghainese can often be heard on the radio. Several television advertisements in Shanghainese have been removed shortly after airing. In 2004, a Tom and Jerry program dubbed with Shanghainese was blocked from broadcasting. The only form of Shanghainese currently allowed for public broadcast are Shanghainese Folk Opera and Orthodox Shanghainese (catering to farmers in the suburbs). Celebrities are put on billboards with slogans: "Be a modern Shanghainese, speak Mandarin."

Common Words and Phrases in Shanghainese

gcolor=#EEEEEE|translation bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Romanization VT bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Lumazi bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Romanization B bgcolor=#EEEEEE|IPA
hanghainese: Zorn`hay ay`o Zanhei-eiwo (English z) Shanghaieau /zɑ̃hɛ ɛ̤ʊ̤/
ello: non hor non hau nonho /nõ hɔː/
ood-bye: `tzayway tziwei zwei (German z) /ˈtsɛwɛ/
lease: tcin chin cin /ʧʰin/
hank you: xa`xa non zhazha non jaja non /ʒaja nõ/
orry: Tay`vettci teivechi deivecie /tɛvɐˑʧʰi/
hat one: `aytzaq itze ze /ˈɛtsɐʔ/
here: `aytaq itae dag /ˈɛtɐʔ/
ver there: `aymitaq imitae miedag /ˈɛmitɐʔ/
ere: gettaq getae geddag /gɐˑtɐʔ/
here: a`litaq, sa`diforn alitae, sadifan aliedag, adiedfan /a̤ɺitɐʔ/,/sadifɑ̃/
hich: a`litzaq alitze alieze /a̤ɺitsɐʔ/
hat: sa sa a /sa/
ho: sa`jnin sanin anin /sanin/
hen: sa`zenkworn sazenkuan asenguan /sazənkuɑ̃/
ow: na`nen, na`na, na`nenka nanen, nana, nanenka nanen, nana, nanenga /nanən/, /nana/, /nanənka/
ow much?: Txiti` a? Jidi a? Giedied? /ʧidi/
es: ay i ai /ˈɛ/
o: vez`zir, m`meq, vjor vezi, mme, viau vesi, mme, vio /vɐˑzl/, /m̩mɐʔ/, /viɔ/
ome: qol`lican elishaan Ogliechan /oˑɺiʃɑ̃/
here's the bathroom?: Tsir`sukay lella sa`teq? Tsisukei lele alitae? Tsioug legle aliedag? /tsʰlsɯkɛ ɺɐˑɺɐʔ a̤ɺitɐʔ/
don't know: Knu veq `corteq. Wo veshaute. Au vechode. /ʊ̤ vɐˑʃɔtɐʔ/
nglish: `Inven nven Engven /ˈinvən/
o you speak English?: Non `Inven way`teq korn `va? Non nven weite kan va? Non Engven weide ganre va? /nõ ˈinvən wɛtɐʔ kãː va/
love you: Knu qay `non. Wo i non. Au aire non. /ʊ̤ ɛː nõ/
adore you: Knu qay`moq non. Wo imoe non. Au aimor non. /ʊ̤ ɛmoʔ nõ/
adore you so: Knu qay`mossaq non! Wo imoesae non! Au aimorag non. /ʊ̤ ɛmoˑsɐʔ nõ/
like you a lot: Knu lor `hwoyci non eq! Wo lau huushi non ge! Au lo heuchie non e. /ʊ̤ ɺɔː ˈhøʃi nõ ɐ̤ʔ/
Unlike Mandarin, Shanghainese actually has the direct "yes" (ay/i/ai) similar to English. About the romanizations:
  • Romanization VT: Hui LI, Center for Anthropological Studies, Fudan University (Shanghai)
  • Lumazi: W. Yin, University of Chicago

Initials

!Labials !Dentals !Silibants !Palatals !Velars !Glottals
nvoiced Unaspirated Stops | | | | |()
nvoiced Aspirated Stops | | | | |
oiced Stops | | | | |
asals | | | | |
nvoiced Fricatives | | | | |
oiced Fricatives | | | | |
iquids () l |() | |
Shanghai dialect has a set of voiced initials and exhibits unvoiced unaspirated and aspirated stops. Moreover, there are unvoiced and voiced fricatives sets. Palatized initials also feature in Shanghai dialect. The consonant is also particular in that there is a slight flapping of the tongue during speech, somewhat similar to the Japanese r (although lateral and not post-alveolar). The sound may be made by lightly placing the tongue on the back of the upper set of teeth. However this flapping is not present when each character is individually pronounced.

Rimes

Vowel Diphthong Nasal Ending Nasalised Rime Glottal Stop
       
       
       
  
 
     
       
   
 
       
       
       
E        
       
 
       
The Middle Chinese ending rimes in Shanghai dialect have merged with , some of which subsequently dropped off. Some Middle Chinese ending rime characters have become rimes with a nasalised ending, . Middle Chinese rimes have become glottal stops . In certain variants, the is pronounced unrounded (close back unrounded, ).

Tones

陰 Yin 陰平 Yin Ping (陰上 Yin Shang) 陰去 Yin Qu 陰入 Yin Ru
53 (55) 34 55
陽 Yang 陽舒 Yang Shu 陽入 Yang Ru
13 13
The Yang Shu tone is composed of Yang registers of the Ping, Shang and Qu tone characters. The Yin Ru and Yang Ru tones are abrupt tones, and apply only to those rimes in Shanghai dialect, which end in the glottal stop ʔ. The Yin Shang tone (/55/) is not common in today's variants of the Shanghai dialect, having merged into the Yin Qu tone. If the Ru tone and tones automatically related to the voiced initials (b d g z v dʑ ʑ) are not considered (as they are fixed into the syllabic structure), then the Shanghai dialect has only 2 live tonal contrasts (/53/ and /34/). This makes it especially unique amongst Chinese dialects.

Advanced tone sandhi and argument for pitch accent classification:

In polysyllabic words or set phrases, all syllables after the first lose their original tones and are pronounced based on the table below as "neutral" syllables. Even the first syllable that determines subsequent pitches is altered in a polysyllabic word. The patterns vary depending on the number of syllables in the word or set short phrase.
1st syllable original tone  2 syllables 3 syllables 4 syllables 5 syllables
53 55 - 21 55 - 33 - 31 55 - 33 - 33 - 31 55 - 33 - 33 - 33 - 31
H - L H - L - L H - L - L - L H - L - L - L - L
34 33 - 44 33 - 55 - 31 33 - 55 - 33 - 31 33 - 55 - 33 - 33 - 31
L - H L - H - L L - H - L - L L - H - L - L - L
13 22 - 44 22 - 55 - 31 22 - 55 - 33 - 31 22 - 55 - 33 - 33 - 31
L - H L - H - L L - H - L - L L - H - L - L - L
5 33 - 44 33 - 55 - 31 33 - 55 - 33 - 31 33 - 55 - 33 - 33 - 31
L - H L - H - L L - H - L - L L - H - L - L - L
2 11 - 23 11 - 22 - 23
11 - 22 - 22 - 23
or
22 - 55 - 33 - 31
depending on word
22 - 55 - 33 - 33 - 31
L - H L - H - H
L - H - H - H
or
L - H - L - L
L - H - L - L - L
H = relative high pitch; L = relative low pitch Notice that these patterns are quite similar to Japanese pitch accent patterns. Tone sandhi of polysyllabic compounds in the Shanghai dialect has attracted the interest of many scholars, who have previously given only careful consideration to the tone of the monosyllable while trying to describe the rules of tone sandhi for polysyllabic compounds. It has been argued that the number of tones of the Shanghai dialect, generally held to be five under previous analyses, can be reduced to only two underlying tone patterns, or tonemes, by recognizing the existence of the phoneme "voiced h" (Xiaowen Shen, University of Tokyo).

References

  • Lance Eccles, Shanghai dialect: an introduction to speaking the contemporary language. Dunwoody Press, 1993. ISBN 1-881265-11-0. 230pp + cassette. (An introductory course in 29 units).

See also

Romanization

(Vottay Da`oq复旦大学) Initials
!Labials !Dentals !Silibants !Palatals !Velars !Glottals
nvoiced Unaspirated Stops p t tz tx k q
nvoiced Aspirated Stops ph th ts tc kh
oiced Stops b d |dx |g |
asals m n |jn |kn |
nvoiced Fricatives f |s |c | |h
oiced Fricatives v |z |x | |
iquids w l |j | |
Rimes
! !Vowel !Semivowel !Nasal Ending !Glottal Stop !exemplum !meaning
| | | |n |q | |
#639;,l |ir | | | |`tzirseq |knowledge
|j |j |je,jay,jor,ja |jon |jeq,joq,jaq |je`ci |game
| |uy |yoy |yn |yq |uyn`ton |sports
|u |u |way,woy,wo,wa |un,wan,worn |weq,woq,waq |worn`ti |emperor
|i |i | |in |iq |`injon |hero
| |oy | | | |`qoyba |arrange
#612;,ə e e |en |eq |elli |reasonable
|o |o | |on |oq |o`te |underside
| |ey | | | |qey` |hi
#602; |er | | | |er |while
|ay | | | |`fayga |tomato
#596; |or | |orn | |zorzorn |upward
|a |a | |an |aq |a`can |shoe-cabinet
ingle | | |m | |`mma |mom
| | | |ng | |kng |fish
Glottal Stop q can be replaced by double writing the following consonantal letter except form,n,h. There shall be only one of the vocalic letters (A,E,I,O,U) in one monosyllable,as there are no true diphthongal syllables in Shanghai dialect. Rimes "UYN", "UYQ" can be shortened by "YN", "YQ". Tones
!Long !Short !Light !Stop !
igh 55 53 |5 |
igh `lon lon` |`loq |
ow 334 34 33 13 2
ow lon lon lon loq loq
The short high tone is only used in a monosyllable or the last syllable of a polysyllable. Long or short low tones are almost the same. Light low tone is always used in a polysyllable.
-L L-H H-L-L L-H-L L-L-H H-L-H
lonlon lon`lon `lonlonlon lon`lonlon lonlonlon` `lonlonlon`
5-33 334-55 55-33-334 33-55-33 334-33-53 55-33-53
This romanisation was designed by LI Hui, Center for Anthropological Studies at Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

External links

 

<< PreviousWord BrowserNext >>
baron colyton
east didsbury
canton, new york
baron clitheroe
cuddapah
wilmslow road, manchester
gunnison river
jack dejohnette
discipline question
sorrento, victoria
quantum dot
lockout (industry)
robert lepage
the angel, islington
co operation
sorrento
thodore gricault
star city
jos batlle y ordez
curtis joseph
j. lyons and co.
sunny murray
manchester city centre
list of angels in enochian
tiger (hash)
bill wyatt
1990 golden raspberry awards
fallowfield
philosophy of nature
aboriginal peoples television network
national lampoon's vacation
in vitro meat
history of latin america
german revolution
geometric model
henry hobson richardson
menapii
2d geometric model
eochaid
1989 golden raspberry awards
dolls (movie)
national recovery administration
tigerdna
group polarization