Hefei dialect is a dialect of

Jianghuai Mandarin Lower Yangtze Mandarin () is one of the most divergent and least mutually-intelligible of the Mandarin languages, as it neighbours the Wu, Hui, and Gan groups of Sinitic languages. It is also known as Jiang–Huai Mandarin (), named after the ...

spoken in the

Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...

area,

Feidong County Feidong County () is a county of Anhui Province, East China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hefei, the capital of Anhui. The county has a surface of and a population of 861,960 inhabitants. It contains 18 towns and ...

Feixi County Feixi County () is a county of Anhui Province, East China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hefei, the capital of Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic ...

and

Changfeng County Changfeng County () is a county of Anhui Province, East China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hefei, the capital of Anhui. It is the northernmost county-level division of Hefei, the provincial capital. The county ha ...

History

Throughout the history of Hefei, there were frequent wars and great population flow. After Wu Huan Hua and Yiguan Nandu, the pronunciation kept changing. However, because Hefei had always been in the see-saw battlefield of the split era, the land was annihilated by soldiers several times, and most of the real locals today trace their lineage to the Ming Dynasty and later. Given the composition of immigrants from various places, references to the "Hefei dialect" before the Ming Dynasty cannot be compared with the Hefei dialect today.

Nanjing dialect The Nanjing dialect, also known as Nankinese, or Nanjing Mandarin, is a dialect of Mandarin Chinese spoken in Nanjing, China. It is part of the Jianghuai group of Chinese varieties. Phonology A number of features distinguish the Nanjing dialec ...

, which evolved from Jinling Yayin in the Six Dynasties, was established as the national official dialect in the Ming Dynasty. Although Hefei was located in a strategic area, it often suffered from military conflict, so the societal influence of Hefei dialect has not been great. However, during the late period of

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...

, an important official from Hefei, actively led the Westernization Movement, established new factories and investment promotion bureaus in various coastal areas, and brought Hefei dialect to some coastal areas. Afterwards,

established the

Huai Army The Huai Army (), named for the Huai River, was a military force allied with the Qing dynasty raised to contain the Taiping Rebellion in 1862. It was also called the Anhui Army because it was based in Anhui province. It helped to restore the stabil ...

, and then established the

Beiyang Navy The Beiyang Fleet (Pei-yang Fleet; , alternatively Northern Seas Fleet) was one of the four modernized Chinese navies in the late Qing dynasty. Among the four, the Beiyang Fleet was particularly sponsored by Li Hongzhang, one of the most trust ...

, during which a large number of soldiers who had practiced in Hefei went north. Li Hongzhang abused fellow villagers during this period, so a saying arose that "as long as you can speak Hefei dialect, you will immediately wear a long gun; as long as you know Li Hongzhang, you will immediately change your long gun to a short gun". Hefei only had a population of 100,000 when

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

was established. After the provincial capital of

Anhui Province Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

was moved to

, the number of migrants surged. Many of them came from outside

, and had moved from all over the country. However, there were many dialects in

, and there are great differences in pronunciation between the north and the south. Although Hefei dialect belongs to

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, the dialect vocabulary is difficult to understand, and the phonetic system is difficult to master in a short time; The promotion of

Standard Mandarin Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standar ...

has gradually reduced the number of Hefei dialect users. Although there are TV programs that use the dubbing of "Hefei dialect" in the TV media, since the pronunciation is mostly exaggerated facial makeup but not standard Hefei dialect, the effect of saving the decline of Hefei dialect in the urban area is not optimistic. Unfortunately, dialect usage surveys have shown that "Hefei dialect is on the road of extinction".

Phonology

Initials

p, pʰ, m, f t, tʰ, n, l ts, tsʰ, s, z tʂ, tʂʰ, ʂ, ʐ tɕ, tɕʰ, ɕ, (ȵ) k, kʰ, x Ø

Finals

a, ia, ua ɔ, iɔ ɤɯ, iɤɯ u, ʉ ᴇ, iᴇ, uᴇ e, ue, ye, i ɿ, ʅ, ʮ ɑ̃, iɑ̃, uɑ̃ æ̃, uæ̃ ʊ̃ iĩ, yĩ ən, in, un, yn əŋ, iəŋ ɐʔ, iɐʔ, uɐʔ ɤʔ, iɤʔ, uɤʔ, yɤʔ əʔ, iəʔ, uəʔ, yəʔ

Tones

21 45 213 53 5 (checked)

Sandhi

21 + 21: The first syllable becomes 212 213 + 21 or 213: The first syllable becomes 212 213 + 45, 53 or 5: The first syllable becomes 21 5 + 45, 213 or 5: The first syllable becomes 21

References

{{Reflist Languages of China Varieties of Chinese Mandarin Chinese