The Wencheng dialect () is a
dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
of
Wu Chinese
The Wu languages (; Romanization of Wu Chinese, Wu romanization and Romanization of Wu Chinese#IPA, IPA: ''wu6 gniu6'' [] (Shanghainese), ''ng2 gniu6'' [] (Suzhounese), Mandarin pinyin and IPA: ''Wúyǔ'' []) is a major group of Sinitic languag ...
. It is an Oujiang dialect, but its tone system differs from other Oujiang dialects such as
Wenzhounese
Wenzhounese (), also known as Oujiang (), Tong Au () or Au Nyü (), is the language spoken in Wenzhou, the southern prefecture of Zhejiang, China. Nicknamed the "Devil's Language" () for its complexity and difficulty, it is the most divergent div ...
.
Phonology
The most important difference between eastern Oujiang dialects such as Wencheng and Wenzhou proper are tonal differences and the retention of before :
Wencheng shares the long vowels of Wenzhonese entering tone (spelled ''puu'' above) as well as the abrupt glottal stops of the ''shang'' tones. The ''shang'' and ''ru'' tones are largely similar to Wenzhonese, but there are no falling tones—''yang ping'' and ''yin qu'' are level—and ''yang qu'' is dipping rather than simply low.
Although ''yin qu'' has been said to have merged with ''yang ping'' (these are also close in Wenzhou, both being falling tones), the consonant voicing remains distinct. A second, slightly different transcription of Wencheng tone is reported, presumably largely due to speaker differences.
References
Wu Chinese
{{St-lang-stub