Tong–Tai (
Chinese: 通泰), also known as Tai–Ru (
Chinese: 泰如) is a group of
Lower Yangtze 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 ...
dialects spoken in the east-central part of
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...
province in the prefecture-level cities of
Nantong
Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. Nantong is a vit ...
(formerly Tongzhou) and
Taizhou. The alternative name refers to the county-level city of
Rugao within Nantong. This region includes the areas which are to the north of
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
and to the east of
Grand Canal. There are about 11.37 million speakers there (in 2004) and this region occupies about 15,000 square kilometers.
This region can also be divided further into three districts: the west, the middle and the east. The west part includes Taizhou,
Jiangyan
Jiangyan District () is one of three urban districts of the city of Taizhou, Jiangsu province, having been, until December 2012, a county-level city. Jiangyan is noted for being the birthplace of the former General Secretary of the Chinese Co ...
, west of
Hai'an
Hai'an () is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Nantong, in eastern Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of ...
, west of
Dongtai
Dongtai () is a coastal county-level city under the administration of Yancheng, Jiangsu province, China. It has a population of roughly 1,170,000 estimated for 2007. Out of the total population, about 260,000 live in the Dongtai urban core, others ...
,
Dafeng
Dafeng () is a coastal district under the administration of Yancheng, Jiangsu province, China. Located on the Jiangsu North Plain with a coastline of , Dafeng was historically one of the largest salt-making areas in China and now is famed for its ...
,
Xinghua, east of
Jiangdu
Jiangdu (), historically known as Kiangtu is one of three districts of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The district spans an area of , and as of November 1, 2020, has 926,577 inhabitants. Formerly a county, Jiangdu became a district in July 199 ...
. The middle part includes
Rugao,
Rudong
Rudong County () is under the administration of Nantong, Jiangsu province, China, and lies on the Yellow Sea coast. It administers 14 towns and five districts. The 14 towns are Juegang, Matang, Fengli, Caobu, Chahe, Shuangdian, Xindian, Hekou, ...
,
Taixing
Taixing () is a county-level city under the administration of Taizhou, Jiangsu province, China. It is located in the Yangtze River Delta, bordering the prefecture-level cities of Nantong to the east, Changzhou to the southwest, and Zhenjiang to th ...
, east of
Dongtai
Dongtai () is a coastal county-level city under the administration of Yancheng, Jiangsu province, China. It has a population of roughly 1,170,000 estimated for 2007. Out of the total population, about 260,000 live in the Dongtai urban core, others ...
, east of
Hai'an
Hai'an () is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Nantong, in eastern Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of ...
and southwest of
Jingjiang
Jingjiang () is a county-level city under the administration of Taizhou, Jiangsu province, China. It is located on the northern (left) bank of the Yangtze River, and is the southernmost part of Taizhou City, bordering Nantong to the northeast, Suz ...
. The east part includes downtown of
Nantong
Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. Nantong is a vit ...
and southwest of
Tongzhou. These vernaculars are distinguished by the difference in
consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced w ...
s.
However these districts used to be the region of the
Wu culture, so there are many features 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 Provin ...
in these vernaculars, especially the vernacular in the middle part, known as
middle Tong-Tai dialect. It is closely bounded on the Changzhou part in the
Wu region.
Phonology
The
Nantong
Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. Nantong is a vit ...
variety will be taken as representative.
Consonants
Vowels
r-colored ɜ: ɜ˞
tongue position for
�is slightly higher than the standard
� but lower than
�is slightly lower than the standard
� sounds close to
�
�is higher than the standard
�close to
�
Tones
Dark level 阴平21 Light level 阳平35
(Light)Rising 上声(阳上)55
Light departing 阳去213 Dark departing 阴去42
Light entering 阳入55ʔ Dark entering 阴入42ʔ
Dialects
Rugao dialect
The Rugaohua dialect of Jianghuai does not follow the T3 sandhi rule which most other Mandarin dialects follow. Linguists speculate that changes to pitch countours over time also removed the original motivation for T3 sandhi in the Beijing dialect underlying modern
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 standa ...
(putonghua), but the sandhi was retained.
When Chinese people were subjected to listening to various dialects such as Northern Mandarin (Yantai dialect), Standard Mandarin (Putonghua), and Jianghuai Mandarin (Rugao dialect of Jiangsu), "cross dialectal" differences appeared in their reactions.
References
Further reading
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{{Chinese language
Mandarin Chinese