Hongyuan Dong March 31, 2016 George Washington University Chinese Dialects: Fact and Fantasy

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong (Mis)communication 1

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong (Mis)communication 2

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong (Mis)communication 3

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong (Mis)communication 4

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Mutual Intelligibility If people from different areas of China only use their own local forms of speech, communication often would be rather difficult, since they would not necessarily understand each other In many cases they would not be able to understand each other at all. Many local forms of Chinese are not mutually intelligible. 5

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Mutual Intelligibility “dialect”: according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (online): a form of a language that is spoken in a particular area and that uses some of its own words, grammar, and pronunciations. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, from Greek dia (across, between)+ legein (speak). The emphasis is on mutual intelligibility, rather than geographic distribution. 6

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Mutual Intelligibility “ there is probably as much difference between the dialects of Peking and Chaozhou as there is between Italian and French; the Hainan Min dialects are as different from the Xian dialect as Spanish is from Rumanian.” —— Norman (1988) 7

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Terminology and fantasies The different varieties of Chinese are referred to as 方言 fāngyán, meaning “local speech”. Fangyan contrasts with 通语 tōngyǔ, meaning “common language”. Thus the emphasis is on the regional nature of fangyan, rather than mutual intelligibility. Strictly speaking, “dialect” is not the correct term. 8

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Terminology and fantasies Two systems of discourse: Western system: dialect vs. language (emphasizes mutual intelligibility) Chinese system: fangyan vs. tongyu (emphasizes the regional nature) 9

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Terminology and fantasies Thus some Chinese fangyan are mutually intelligible (e.g. Beijing and Harbin), but some Chinese fangyan are not mutually intelligible (e.g. Beijing and Cantonese) I will use the words “fangyan” and “Chinese dialects” here interchangeably, but keep in mind “fangyan” is not a “dialect”. 10

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Terminology and fantasies “Mandarin” refers to the largest group of fangyan in China. Therefore it is not the correct name for the national language of China. The national language of China is called 普 通话 pǔtōnghuà, meaning “common speech”. 11

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Terminology and fantasies Putonghua is a standardized language with Beijing fangyan as its base of pronunciation. National Commission on Language and Script Work, of the Ministry of Education is in charge of the standardization of Putonghua. There are many other varieties of Mandarin in northern China. They are mostly mutually intelligible with Beijing Mandarin. But Beijing Mandarin is a fangyan, not the national language. 12

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Terminology and fantasies Chinese fangyan don’t share the same writing system. Most fangyan have not been written down with Chinese characters. If all dialects are written down, even with Chinese characters, they are often more mutually unintelligible than mutually intelligible. 13

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Classification 14 Dong (2014) A History of the Chinese Language

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Classification 15

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Genealogy 16 Dong (2014) A History of the Chinese Language

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong History 17

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Formation Migration from north to south The more recent, the closer to Beijing Geography: – Northern China: more plains and plateaux – Southern China: more hilly and mountainous “This remarkable linguistic difference between a unified North and a fragmented South is a measure of how much life and society have been affected by geography.” ——Ramsey (1987:22) 18

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Major characteristics The Southern dialects tend to be more archaic, e.g. Min. They are not mutually intelligible. The Northern dialects are more or less mutually intelligible. The largest group is Mandarin in terms of both number of speakers (840million, 70%) and area where it is spoken Southern Chinese: much smaller in both terms (from 2.5% - 8.5%) 19

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Fun facts The etymology of ketchup: One theory says that the Chinese invented ketchup by mixing pickled fish and other spices. Tomatoes were later added. It spreaded to Southeast Asia and and then to Europe. Source: 20 ke 2 zap 1 in Cantonese means “tomato sauce”.

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Fun facts “Tea” comes from the fangyan of Xiamen, once a major point of contact with Western European traders. The word in Xiamen is still 茶 te. /index.html /index.html This is the origin of the word tea in English, and many other European languages, e.g. French thé ； Italian tè. 21

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Fun facts The origin of the word “chai” in English is the Mandarin pronunciation of the same word 茶 chá. 22

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Fangyan & regional cultures Fangyan is associated with a set of regional cultural products, e.g. operas, folk songs, popular songs, etc. 23 Jingyun Dagu Suzhou Pingtan Cantopop (story-singing) (story-singing) (Cantonese pop)

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Fangyan & regional cultures Fangyan creates regional identities, within the unifying national identity. Speaking fangyan with someone from your hometown creates a closer relationship. Speaking fangyan can also exclude other people from listening in to your converstation (because they won’t understand your fangyan at all). 24

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Fangyan & regional cultures Fangyan communities generally enjoy talking about different fangyan in friendly terms. Learning a different fangyan is a fun thing to do. Generally fangyan communities do not contend with each other or Putonghua. Although sometimes major dialects e.g. Shanghainese, Cantonese, etc. are more assertive. 25

Chinese DialectsMarch 31, 2016 Hongyuan Dong Fangyan & regional cultures Fangyan is being homogenized by the promotion of Putonghua. But with the help of modern technology, e.g. the Internet, Wikipedia, etc., fangyan can also be promoted more effectively. Ideally Chinese speakers are fluent in both Putonghua and their own fangyan. 26

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