Fuzhou dialect
The Fuzhou language (simplified Chinese: 福州话; traditional Chinese: 福州話; pinyin: Fúzhōuhuà, FR: ⓘ IPA: [huʔ˨˩ tsiu˥˧ ua˨˦˨]), also Foochow, Hokchew, Hok-chiu, or Fuzhounese, is the prestige variety of the Eastern Min branch of Min Chinese spoken mainly in the Mindong region of Eastern Fujian Province. As it is mutually unintelligible to neighbouring varieties (e.g. Hokkien) in the province, under a technical linguistic definition Fuzhou is a language and not a dialect (conferring the variety a 'dialect' status is more socio-politically motivated than linguistic). Thus, while Fuzhou may be commonly referred to as a 'dialect' by laypersons, this is colloquial usage and not recognised in academic linguistics. Like many other varieties of Chinese, the Fuzhou dialect is dominated by monosyllabic morphemes that carry lexical tones,[8] and has a mainly analytic syntax. While the Eastern Min branch it belongs to is relatively closer to other branches of Min such as Southern Min or Pu-Xian Min than to other Sinitic branches such as Mandarin, Wu Chinese or Hakka, they are still not mutually intelligible.
Fuzhounese
[huʔ˨˩ tsju˥˧ uɑ˨˦˨]
(10 million cited 1994)[1]
-
Sinitic
- Chinese
- Min
- Coastal Min
- Eastern Min
- Houguan
- Fuzhounese
- Houguan
- Eastern Min
- Coastal Min
- Min
- Chinese
Matsu Islands, Taiwan (as local language[5])[6]
–
fzho
79-AAA-ice
Fúzhōuhuà
Fúzhōuhuà
fuk1 zau1 waa2
Hok-chiu-oē
Hók-ciŭ-uâ
(huʔ˨˩ tsiu˥˧ ua˨˦˨)
Fúzhōuyǔ
Fúzhōuyǔ
fuk1 zau1 jyu5
Hok-chiu-gí
Hók-ciŭ-ngṳ̄
(huʔ˨˩ tsiu˥˧ ŋy˧)
Píng huà
Píng huà
ping4 waa2
Bàng-uâ
(paŋ˨˩ wa˨˦˨)
Centered in Fuzhou City, the Fuzhou dialect covers 11 cities and counties in China: Fuzhou City Proper, Pingnan, Gutian, Luoyuan, Minqing, Lianjiang, Minhou, Changle, Yongtai, Fuqing and Pingtan; and Lienchiang County (the Matsu Islands), in Taiwan (the ROC). It is also the second local language in many northern and middle Fujian cities and counties such as Nanping, Shaowu, Shunchang, Sanming and Youxi.[9]
The Fuzhou dialect is also widely spoken in some regions abroad, especially in Southeastern Asian countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. The Malaysian city of Sibu is called "New Fuzhou" due to the influx of immigrants there in the late 19th century and early 1900s. Many Fuzhou people have also emigrated to Japan, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
Name[edit]
In Chinese, it is generally termed in simplified Chinese: 福州话; traditional Chinese: 福州話; pinyin: Fúzhōuhuà, which in the native language (using the romanization Foochow Romanized) is: ⓘ IPA: [huʔ˨˩ tsiu˥˧ ua˨˦˨]. It is also sometimes called 福州語 (Hók-ciŭ-ngṳ̄; pinyin: Fúzhōuyǔ), using a different term for 'speech'. Native speakers also call it Bàng-uâ (平話), meaning "the everyday language."
In English, the term "Fuzhou dialect" dominates, although "Fuzhounese" is also frequently attested. In older works written in English, the variety is called "Foochow dialect", based on the Chinese postal romanization of Fuzhou.
In Indonesia (especially in Surabaya of East Java), it is known locally as "Hokchia". Meanwhile in Malaysia and Singapore, it is often called "Hokchiu" ([hɔk̚˥t͡ɕiu˦]), which is the pronunciation of Fuzhou in the Southern Min Hokkien language or "Huchiu" ([hu˨˩t͡ɕiu˥]), which is the pronunciation of Fuzhou in the Eastern Min language of Fuzhou itself. Eastern Min and Southern Min are both spoken in the same Fujian Province, but the name Hokkien, while etymologically derived from the same characters as Fujian (福建), is used in Southeast Asia and the English press to refer specifically to Southern Min, which has a larger number of speakers both within Fujian and in the Chinese diaspora of Southeast Asia.
Some common phrases in the Fuzhou dialect: