Luoyang dialect

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Luoyang Dialect is a dialect of Zhongyuan Mandarin spoken in Luoyang and nearby parts of Henan province. Although it served as the prestige dialect of Chinese from the Warring States Period into the Ming Dynasty, it differs greatly from modern Standard Mandarin, which is based instead on the Beijing dialect.

Contents

[edit] Phonology

[edit] Initials

  Bi­labial Labio-
dental		 Alveo­lar Retroflex Alveolo-
pala­tal		 Velar
Nasal m   n      
Plosive p  pʰ   t  tʰ     k  kʰ
Affricate     ts  tsʰ tʂ  tʂʰ tɕ  tɕʰ  
Fricative   f  v s ʂ  ʐ ɕ x  ɣ
Lateral     l      
w Labio-velar approximant
ɥ Labio-palatal approximant
j Palatal approximant

[edit] Finals

[edit] Features

  • The Middle Chinese entering tone has a different distribution in the Luoyang Dialect than in Standard Mandarin. (See entering tone for more.)
  • Tone contours are different from those in Standard Mandarin.
  • The retroflex and alveolar fricatives are found in different distributions: retroflex fricatives are often fronted to alveolar fricatives.
  • The distinction between /w/ and /v/, lost in Standard Mandarin, is maintained.
  • The retroflex series is less retroflexed than in Standard Mandarin and slightly more forward.
  • The alveolo-palatal series is slightly more backward than in Standard Mandarin.
  • Final /œ/ and /ɑu/ in Standard Mandarin are often reared to /ɔ/. For example, 学 (Standard Mandarin /ɕɥœ/, to learn) is /ɕɥɔ/, and 角 (Standard Mandarin /tɕjɑu/, horn) is /tɕɥɔ/.
  • Final /əi/ in Standard Mandarin is pronounced as [ɯ] or [i] in certain environments.
  • Standard Mandarin final /n/ nasalizes the preceding vowel in the Luoyang Dialect.
  • The -儿 suffix represents /ɯ/.