The Weitou dialect or Wai Tau dialect[1][2] (simplified Chinese: 围头话; traditional Chinese: 圍頭話; Jyutping: wai4 tau4 waa2; lit. 'walled (village) language') is a dialect of Yue Chinese. It forms part of the Guan–Bao (莞宝片; 莞寶片, Dongguan–Bao'an) branch of Yuehai. It is spoken by older generations in Luohu and Futian districts in Shenzhen, and by those in the New Territories, Hong Kong.

The Weitou dialect can be heard in Hong Kong TV dramas and movies, and is usually used to depict characters who come from walled villages. For example, in the 1992 movie Now You See Love, Now You Don't, the chief character, played by Chow Yun-fat who himself grew up in Lamma Island, consistently speaks the Weitou dialect.

In a more general sense, Weitouhua can refer to any variety of Chinese spoken in the villages of Hong Kong, including Hakka and rural Yue dialects. In contrast, most Hong Kong residents speak standard Cantonese, while most Shenzhen residents speak Mandarin.

Phonology

Zhang & Zhuang (2003:21-4) records the phonological systems of three varieties of the Weitou dialect spoken in Hong Kong. Following is Fan Tin's (蕃田), San Tin (in IPA).

The 21 onsets
p pʰ b f w
t tʰ d l
tʃ tʃʰ ʃ j
k kʰ ɡ h
kʷ kʷʰ ɡʷ
The 37 rimes
a œ ɔ ɛ i u y
ai ɐi ɵy
au ɐu eu
am ɐm em m
æŋ ɐŋ œŋ ɛŋ yœŋ ŋ
ɵŋ oŋ eŋ
ap ɐp ep
æk ɐk œk ɛk yœk
ɵk ok ek

There are four tone contours, when the "entering tones" (stopped syllables) are ignored:

The 4 tones
tone name contour description
Yin Ping ˨˧ (23) or ˥ (55) low rising or high
Yang Ping ˨˩ (21) low
Shang ˧˥ (35) high rising
Qu ˧ (33) mid

References

  1. ^ Dupré, Jean-François (2019). "Urban Development and Land Controversies in Rural Hong Kong: An Indigenous Rights Perspective". In Cheung, Sidney C. H. (ed.). The Routledge Handbook of Gastronomic Tourism. Abingdon, Oxon New York, NY: Routledge. p. 49-67. ISBN 9781315147628.
  2. ^ Tsang, Sik Wah Patrick (2002). Hakka immigrants' identity and allegiance: Cultural dualism and missiological outreach. Fuller Theological Seminary, School of World Mission.
  • (in Chinese) Chang, Song Hing; Zhuang, Chusheng (2003). 香港新界方言 [Dialects of the New Territories]. Commercial Press. ISBN 962-07-1682-5.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weitou_dialect
No tags for this post.