Zhangjiakou–Hohhot dialect
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Zhangjiakou–Hohhot () is a dialect of Jin, one of the principal varieties of Chinese. It is colloquially referred to by native speakers as Cǐdìhuà (此地话; ''lit.'': local speech, or "this-place speech"). It is spoken in the city of
Hohhot Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the capital of Inner Mongolia in the north of the People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrative, economic and cultural center.''The Ne ...
, in Inner Mongolia, and Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province in China. One of its sub-branches is Hohhot dialect (), which is also locally referred as Hūshìhuà (呼市话; ''lit.'' Hu-city speech). The other sub-branch is the Zhangjiakou dialect (). There is notable dialectal variation within the two cities. People in the Jiucheng area (
Yuquan District Yuquan District (Mongolian language, Mongolian: Юйчюань тойрог ''Iui čiuvan toɣoriɣ''; ) is one of four District (China), districts of the prefecture-level city of Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, Inner Mongolia Autonomous ...
), especially the Muslim Hui minority, speak a dialect very similar to what is heard in neighbouring
Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
province and is undoubtedly a branch of the Jin linguistic group. The Mandarin dialect in Xincheng District is a branched combination of the Jin, Hebei dialect, Northeastern Mandarin, and elements of the Manchu language, caused by the migration patterns to the region. It has thus created a distinct linguistic style. The two spoken forms of the Hohhot dialect are only partially intelligible to each other. Like most Jin dialects, the Jiucheng Hohhot dialect uses the
glottal stop The glottal plosive or stop is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages, produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract or, more precisely, the glottis. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents thi ...
and is
mutually intelligible In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as an ...
with many dialects in neighboring
Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
. In its full-fledged form, however, it is only partially intelligible with
Standard Chinese 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 ...
. Arguably the most eccentric sound is the "nge" sound used to express "I". Many expressions in the dialect has crossed over itself with the Mandarin taught in schools to create "Hohhot Mandarin", or what is commonly heard on the street. Notable features of the Hohhot dialect include: *A special intonation for yes–no questions, which is characterized by a prolonged contour at the end of the sentence. *Mandarin completive "ba" (吧) is often changed into "và" (哇) especially in suggestions. *"ya" (呀) is used at the end of a sentence to form future tense. *''Renjia'' (人家), an expression used to refer to someone in third person, is pronounced "niá". *The word that corresponds to the Mandarin "wǒ" ("I") is pronounced "é" or "wě", which is possibly a weak form of the "nge" form. A vulgar slang term for "I' is "yé 爷 ", which is used mostly by less well-educated men, and those who want to sound tough and manly. *Notable aspiration of ''p'', ''t'', and ''k'' sounds. The above elements are generally seen in the Jin sub-branch of the "raw" Hohhot dialect, which has its own exclusive elements: *The absence of the "zh", "ch", and "sh" sounds. They are respectively changed into "z", "c" and "s". *The Mandarin "r" is non-existent. It is replaced with a soft "z" sound. *"What", (什么 Shénma), is generally pronounced "seng", or "sheng" by local people. *Na-li, the expression for "over there" is often pronounced "na-ha-r".


Variation

The dialect spoken in Wuchuan County, about 60 km north of the city, has a recognizably different flavour. The same applies to the dialect in
Siziwang Banner Dorbod (Siziwang) Banner ( mn, , , ; ) is a banner (county equivalent) in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, China, bordering Mongolia's Dornogovi Province to the northwest. It is located about north of Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia. The banner ...
. The dialect around Tumed Left Banner, west of the city, is significantly different phonologically, but lexically similar. In Zhangjiakou, Hebei, however, the dialect seems relatively similar and has little variation.


References


External links


Expressions exclusive to Hohhot Dialect
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhangjiakou-Hohhot dialect Jin Chinese Zhangjiakou Hohhot