Zigong dialect

Zigong dialect (simplified Chinese: 自贡话; traditional Chinese: 自貢話; pinyin: Zìgòng huà; Wade–Giles: Tzu-kung hua) is a branch of Southwestern Mandarin, spoken mainly in Zigong, Fushun, Weiyuan, east Rongxian and some parts of Yibin, Neijiang, Longchang and other neighboring areas of Sichuan.

Zigong dialect
自贡话
RegionZigong, Fushun, Weiyuan and their neighboring areas in Sichuan
Native speakers
3.5 million
Sino-Tibetan
Language codes
ISO 639-1zh
ISO 639-2chi (B)
zho (T)
ISO 639-3cmn
GlottologNone
Zigong in Sichuan

At least four Chinese dialects are spoken in Zigong City: Zigong dialect, Rongxian dialect, Hakka and Minjiang dialect. A majority of people in Zigong speak Zigong dialect. However, most people in Rongxian, a county of Zigong City, speak Rongxian dialect, whose pronunciation is quite different from that of Zigong dialect. Besides, owing to a great number of Hakka immigrants in history, a small number of Hakka people in certain towns also remain to speak Hakka. Also, Minjiang dialect is spoken in a few remote towns or villages bordering to Luzhou, Leshan and Yibin.

History

Zigong dialect differs from other branches of Sichuanese Mandarin. Modern Zigong dialect was formed rather recently in a great wave of immigration after the Qing Dynasty.

Immigrants played a crucial role in the formation of the new Zigong dialect. Zigong has long been known as the "Salt Capital" for its brine extraction techniques and the attendant salt-related culture. In ancient China, salt was regarded as the energy for body and valued even more highly than gold. Therefore, salt trading was always the most profitable business and salt merchants were the wealthiest people. Hence many merchants, mainly from Hubei, Henan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Guangdong, flooded into Zigong, bringing their Chinese varieties with them.

Phonology

There are four phonemic tones in the Zigong dialect: dark level tone, light level tone, rising tone, and departing tone. The four tones all have different pitches vis a vis Mandarin. The ancient checked tone of Chinese has been redistributed entirely into the departing tone.

TonesPitch in Zigong DialectPitch in MandarinExample
1st Tone (dark level)4455方 添 初 婚 中
2nd Tone (light level)3135房 田 除 危 雄
3rd Tone (ascending)53214仿 舔 储 碗 晚
4th Tone (departing)2451放 到 稻 犒 看
Dark departing24 (literary)
55 (colloquial)
51是 树 抱 地 路
Checked tone24 (modern)
13 (traditional)
黑 急 各 铁 杂

There are 24 initials in the Zigong dialect. The Zigong dialect can clearly differentiate retroflex consonants and alveolo-palatal consonants, while most dialects of Sichuanese Mandarin can not.

There are 38 finals in the Zigong dialect.

Differences in Colloquial & Literary Pronunciations

ExampleColloquial ReadingLiterary Reading
在[te4]那旮ㄢ(kan1存在[tsai4]
看着[tou3]
睡着[tʂʰo1]了
着[tʂao2]打
着[tʂo4]装
去[ʨi4]哪里去[ʨʼy4]除
把门关严[ŋan2]严[ȵian2]肃
等一下[xa1]下[ɕia4]午
等[tʰən4]几天等[tən3]待
医院[uan4]院[yan4]落
凭[pʰen1]着栏杆凭[pʰin4]据

Words with Different Meanings

These words have meanings in Zigong Dialect entirely different from those in Mandarin.

WordMeaning in Zigong DialectMeaning in Mandarin
造孽pitifulOriginal character is "造業", a Buddhist term, meaning all the actions of the body, mouth, and mind
use water or fertilizer on plantsgive water to animals
跑马nocturnal emissionride a horse quickly; race horses
to be close, in love; to pass one's birthdayto give birth; to grow; life
不好to be illnot good
to go bad (eggs)secondary fermentation

References

    Zigong dialect
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