Fuqing dialect

Fuqing
福fú清qīng話huà
Hók-chiăng-uâ
Native to	People's Republic of China, Malaysia
Region	Fuqing; Pingtan; some parts of Changle; Yongtai; Fuzhou city proper; Sitiawan; Sri Jaya
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Sinitic Chinese Min Coastal Min Eastern Min Houguan Fuqing
Early forms	Proto-Sino-Tibetan Old Chinese Proto-Min
Writing system	Chinese characters and Foochow Romanized
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
ISO 639-6	fuji
Glottolog	None
Linguasphere	79-AAA-icm

The Fuqing dialect (simplified Chinese: 福fú清qīng话huà; traditional Chinese: 福fú清qīng話huà; pinyin: Fúqīnghuà, BUC: Hók-chiăng-uâ, IPA: [huʔ˥ tsʰiaŋ˥ ŋuɑ˦˨]), or Hokchia, is an Eastern Min dialect. It is spoken in the county-level city of Fuqing, China, situated within the prefecture-level city of Fuzhou. It is not completely mutually intelligible with the Fuzhou dialect, although the level of understanding is high enough to be considered so.

Phonology

The Fuqing dialect has fifteen initials, forty-six rimes, and seven tones.

Initials

Including the null initial, the Fuqing dialect has fifteen initials, excluding the phonemes [β] and [ʒ], which are only used in connected spoken speech.

Chart of Fuqing dialect initials

		Bilabial	Alveolar	Dental	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m ⟨m, 蒙méng⟩		n ⟨n, 日rì⟩	ŋ ⟨ng, 語yŭ⟩
Plosive	plain	p ⟨b, 邊biān⟩		t ⟨d, 低dī⟩	k ⟨g, 求qiú⟩	ʔ ⟨鶯yīng⟩
	aspirated	pʰ ⟨p, 波bō⟩		tʰ ⟨t, 他tā⟩	kʰ ⟨k, 氣qì⟩
Affricate	plain			ts ⟨c, 曾céng⟩
	aspirated			tsʰ ⟨ch, 出chū⟩
Fricative		β ⟨dó̤h-buó, 桌zhuō布bù⟩	θ ⟨s, 時shí⟩	ʒ ⟨băh-cái, 白baí菜caì⟩		h ⟨h, 非feī/喜xĭ⟩
Approximant				l ⟨l, 柳liŭ⟩

(The Chinese characters represent the sample characters taken from the Qī Lín Bāyīn (戚qī林lín八bā音yīn, Foochow Romanized: Chék Lìng Báik-ĭng), while the Latin letters are from the orthography Foochow Romanized).

[θ] is a voiceless dental fricative, and is the mainstream pronunciation; some pronounce it as [s]. There is no phonemic contrast between the two.

[ts], [tsʰ] and [s] palatalize to [tɕ], [tɕʰ], [ɕ] before finals that begin with /y/, the close front rounded vowel (i.e. before the finals [y], [yo/yɔ], [yoŋ/yɔŋ], [yoʔ/yɔʔ]).

Rimes

Including the syllabic nasal consonant [ŋ̍], the Fuqing dialect has forty-six rimes in total. Apart from [ŋ̍] and [iau], all rimes have a close/open distinction.

Chart of Fuqing dialect rimes

	Simple vowels	Compound vowels	Nasal coda /-ŋ/	Glottal coda /-ʔ/
Null medial	[a/ɑ] 嘉jiā (a, ah)	[au/ɑu] 郊jiaō (au)	[aŋ/ɑŋ] 山shān (ang)	[aʔ/ɑʔ] 鴨yā (ak)
		[ai/ɑi] 開kaī (ai)
	[o/ɔ] 歌gē (o̤, o̤h)	[oi/ɔi] 催cuī (oi/o̤i)	[oŋ/ɔŋ] 釭gōng (ong/aung)	[oʔ/ɔʔ] 樂lè (ok/auk)
	[ɛ/æ] 西xī (a̤)	[eu/ɛu] 溝goū (eu)	[ɛŋ/æŋ] 燈dēng (eng/aing)	[ɛʔ/æʔ] 客kè (ek/aik)
	[ø/œ] 初chū (e̤/ae̤)		[øŋ/œŋ] 東dōng (e̤ng/ae̤ng)	[øʔ/œʔ] 角jiaŏ (e̤k/ae̤k)
			[ŋ̍] 伓beī (ng)
Medial /i/	[ia/iɑ] 奇qí (ia, iah)	[iau] -- (--)	[iaŋ/iɑŋ] 聲shēng (iang)	[iaʔ/iɑʔ] 察chá (iak)
	[i/e] 之zhī (i/e, ih/eh)	[iu/ieu] 秋qiū (iu/eu)	[iŋ/eŋ] 賓bīn (ing/eng)	[iʔ/eʔ] 力lì (ik/ek)
	[ie/iɛ] 雞jī (ie)	[ieu/iɐu] 燒shaō (ieu)	[ieŋ/iɛŋ] 天tiān (ieng)	[ieʔ/iɛʔ] 熱rè (iek)
Medial /u/	[u/o] 孤gū (u/o)	[ui/uoi] 輝huī (ui/oi)	[uŋ/oŋ] 春chūn (ung/ong)	[uʔ/oʔ] 福fú (uk/ok)
	[ua/uɑ] 花huā (ua, uah)		[uaŋ/uɑŋ] 歡huān (uang)	[uaʔ/uɑʔ] 法fă (uak)
	[uo/uɔ] 過guò (uo, uoh)	[uoi/uɐi] 杯beī (uoi)	[uoŋ/uɔŋ] 光guāng (uong)	[uoʔ/uɔʔ] 月yuè (uok)
Medial /y/	[y/ø] 須xū (ṳ/e̤ṳ)		[yŋ/øŋ] 銀yín (ṳng/e̤ṳng)	[yʔ/øʔ] 肉roù (ṳk/e̤ṳk)
	[yo/yɔ] 橋qiaó (io, ioh)		[yoŋ/yɔŋ] 香xiāng (iong)	[yoʔ/yɔʔ] 藥yaò (iok)

The rime before the slash is the close or tense rime (simplified Chinese: 窄zhaĭ韵yùn; traditional Chinese: 窄zhaĭ韻yùn; pinyin: zhǎiyùn, or alternatively in simplified Chinese: 紧jĭn韵yùn; traditional Chinese: 緊jĭn韻yùn; pinyin: jǐnyùn), while the rime after the slash is the open or lax rime (simplified Chinese: 宽kuān韵yùn; traditional Chinese: 寬kuān韻yùn; pinyin: kuānyùn; or otherwise named in simplified Chinese: 松sōng韵yùn; traditional Chinese: 鬆sōng韻yùn; pinyin: sōngyùn). The Chinese characters represent the sample characters taken from the Qī Lín Bāyīn (戚qī林lín八bā音yīn, Foochow Romanized: Chék Lìng Báik-ĭng), with further characters from rimes with glottal codas. The Latin letters are from the orthography Foochow Romanized.

The rime [iau] only has one syllable [ŋiau], and is not found in the Qī Lín Bāyīn; furthermore, Foochow Romanized does not have a way to represent this syllable.

In the modern Rongcheng dialect, the rime [iu/ieu] has now merged into [ieu/iɐu] and is no longer distinguished. Also in the new Rongcheng dialect, the rime [ui/uoi] has merged into [uoi/uɐi]. The syllabic nasal [ŋ̍] in the modern Rongcheng dialect is read as [iŋ]; some sources have not yet listed this final in their charts.

Tones

The Fuqing dialect has seven tones, with the Middle Chinese four tone categories of level/even (平píng), departing (去qù) and entering (入rù) all divided into dark (陰yīn) and light (陽yáng) categories. The names and the sequence of the seven tones are outlined below, as listed in the traditional rime dictionary Qī Lín Bāyīn:

Traditional nomenclature	Upper level 上shàng平píng	Rising tone 上shàng聲shēng	Upper departing 上shàng去qù	Upper entering 上shàng入rù	Lower level 下xià平píng	Lower departing 下xià去qù	Lower entering 下xià入rù
Standard nomenclature	Dark level 陰yīn平píng Ĭng-bìng	Rising tone 上shàng聲shēng Siōng-siăng	Dark departing 陰yīn去qù Ĭng-ké̤ṳ	Dark entering 陰yīn入rù Ĭng-ĭk	Light level 陽yáng平píng Iòng-bìng	Light departing 陽yáng去qù Iòng-ké̤ṳ	Light entering 陽yáng入rù Iòng-ĭk
IPA pitches	˥˧ (53)	˧˨ (32)	˨˩ (21)	ʔ˩˨ (12ʔ)	˥ (55)	˦˨ (42)	ʔ˥ (5ʔ)
Foochow Romanized (with a as example)	ă	ā	á	ák	à	â	ăk

The dark level (陰yīn平píng Ĭng-bìng) tone falls the most sharply; the light departing (陽yáng去qù Iòng-ké̤ṳ) tone is a mid falling tone, whose fall in pitch is not as dramatic.

In tone sandhi, a new tone contour, one that rises (˧˥, 35) is produced from certain interactions of tone categories in the "New" Rongcheng dialect.

Additionally, the Fuqing dialect contains the neutral tone in colloquial speech, which generally manifests as a mid tone.

Close-open rimes

The phenomenon of close and open rime alternation (also known as tense and lax rimes; in Chinese, variously 寬kuān窄zhaĭ韻yùn現xiàn象xiàng; kuānzhǎiyùn xiànxiàng; 鬆sōng、緊jĭn韻yùn現xiàn象xiàng; sōng, jǐn yùn xiànxiàng; or 本běn韻yùn、變biàn韻yùn現xiàn象xiàng; běnyùn, biànyùn xiànxiàng) is found throughout the dialects of cities and villages in the traditional Fuzhou area (the ten towns of Fuzhou, 福fú州zhoū十shí邑yì). But it is absent from, for example, the dialects of Gutian (古gŭ田tián) and Luoyuan (羅luó源yuán). The dialect of Fuqing, along with that of the urban area of Fuzhou, exhibits this phenomenon.

According to the original listing of the rimes in the Qī Lín Bāyīn, the medial vowel did not change with the tones. But in the Fuqing dialect, when the rime is in either one of the departing tones or in the dark entering tone, the medial vowel changes to another, the rime being called the open rime. When in either of the two level tones, in the rising tone, or in the light entering tone, the rime does not change; this rime is called the close rime. In the Fuqing dialect, with the exception of [ŋ] and [iau], all rimes exhibit this close-open alternation.

As an example, the rime from "春chūn" in the Qī Lín Bāyīn, lists the two rimes: [uŋ] and [uk]. In the Gutian dialect, the same vowel is preserved in the rime [u], regardless of tone. But in the Fuqing dialect, the rime [uŋ] in the dark departing (陰yīn去qù) and light departing (陽yáng去qù) tones changes to [oŋ], where the vowel in the final [u] has become [o]. Similarly, [uʔ] in the upper departing (上shàng入rù) tone becomes the open rime [oʔ], where the vowel has again changed.

Tone name	Dark level 陰yīn平píng	Rising tone 上shàng聲shēng	Dark departing 陰yīn去qù	Dark entering 陰yīn入rù	Light level 陽yáng平píng	Light departing 陽yáng去qù	Light entering 陽yáng入rù
Chinese character	東dōng	董dŏng	噸dūn	督dū	同tóng	燉dùn	獨dú
Fuqing dialect	[tuŋ]	[tuŋ]	[toŋ]	[toʔ]	[tuŋ]	[toŋ]	[tuʔ]
Gutian dialect	[tuŋ]	[tuŋ]	[tuŋ]	[tuk]	[tuŋ]	[tuŋ]	[tuk]

Within the Fuqing dialect, the vowel of the open rime is always more open (or lower) by a degree than the close rime. For example, 知zhī in the dark level tone 陰yīn平píng is read [ti] as a close rime, with the close vowel [i]. Listed as the same rime but in a different tone (i.e. light departing 陽yáng去qù) is 地dì, which is instead read as [te], an open rime with the half-close vowel [e], one degree more open than [i]. All close rimes in the relevant tone categories have become their corresponding open rimes according to this rule.

Illustration of the phonetics of the close-open alternation

Close rime	Open rime
師shī [θy]	士shì [θø]
低dī [te]	遞dì [tɛ]
東dōng [tøŋ]	動dòng [tœŋ]
庚gēng [kɛŋ]	縣xiàn [kæŋ]
夫fū [hu]	婦fù [ho]
多duō [to]	道daò [tɔ]
巴bā [pa]	罷bà [pɑ]

Synchronically, this alternation can affect vowels when tone sandhi occurs; please see the section on rime changes.

Sound changes

The Fuqing dialect has a particularly rich set of phonetic changes. The pronunciation of a particular Chinese character under certain circumstances can undergo changes in its initial, its rime, and its tone. For example, the word 兄xiōng弟dì哥gē (brother, Standard Mandarin: 兄xiōng弟dì) is made of the three words 兄xiōng /hiaŋ˥˧/, 弟dì /tiɛ˦˨/ and 哥gē /ko˥˧/, but is actually pronounced as 兄xiōng弟dì哥gē /hiaŋ˥ nie˥ o˥˧/. Within this word, the first syllable 兄xiōng has undergone tone sandhi and has thus changed tone; the last syllable 哥gē has lost its initial consonant; and the rime of the middle syllable 弟dì has changed in both vowel and tone. Within lexical or semantic items, the three features of initial, rime and tone are subject to sandhi phenomena. In colloquial Fuqing speech, this type of change is very frequently encountered, but is rare in Chinese as a whole.

Initial assimilation

In colloquial Fuqing speech, the initial consonants of Chinese characters or syllables are subject to change under specific circumstances within lexical items. The first modern work to examine the phonology of the Fuzhou dialect, the Mǐnyīn Yánjiū (閩mĭn音yīn研yán究jiū), used the term "initial assimilation" (in simplified Chinese: 声shēng母mŭ类leì化huà; traditional Chinese: 聲shēng母mŭ類leì化huà; pinyin: shēngmǔ lèihuà) to refer to this phenomenon. The Fuqing dialect contains two voiced initial consonants, /β/ and /ʒ/, that only appear through initial assimilation.

Initial assimilation in the Fuqing dialect occurs in polysyllabic lexemes (i.e. lexical items or words of two or more syllables or Chinese characters) and certain semantic groups. Usually within these groups, all syllables apart from the first undergo initial assimilation. But if the initial of the following syllable is a nasal or /l/, then the initial assimilation does not occur at that point. Not every phrase will undergo initial assimilation, and the ones that do may differ from their counterparts in the other Min Dong varieties.

The syllable that undergoes initial assimilation is the "latter character"; that which precedes it is the "former character". Initial assimilation in the Fuqing dialect consists of three types: voicing, nasalisation/nasal assimilation and suppression. The rime of the former character determines the type of assimilation of the latter character's initial.

Former character's rime type	Latter character's initial type	Example
"Checked rime" / Rime ending in a glottal stop	No change	/hoʔ tsʰiaŋ/ > [huʔ tsʰiaŋ] (福fú清qīng, Fuqing)
Yang rime / Rime ending in a nasal	Nasalisation / Nasal assimilation	/hiaŋ tiɛ/ > [hiaŋ niɛ] (兄xiōng弟dì, brother)
Yin rime / Rime ending in a vowel	Voicing or suppression	/θɛ pœʔ/ > [θɛ βœʔ] (西xī北beĭ, northwest) /ŋo kæŋ/ > [ŋu æŋ] (五wŭ縣xiàn, five counties)

Which voiced consonant or nasal consonant or whether the consonant is suppressed depends on the place of articulation of the latter syllable's initial.

Initial's place of articulation	Initial	Example character	Nasalisation / Nasal assimilation	Voicing	Suppression
Labial	/p, pʰ/	臂bì [piɛ]	[kieŋ miɛ] (肩jiān臂bì)	[tsʰiu βiɛ] (手shoŭ臂bì)	--
Velar	/k, kʰ, h, ʔ/	學xué [hoʔ]	[θoŋ ŋoʔ] (算suàn學xué)	--	[θu oʔ] (數shù學xué)
Dental (Type A)	/t, tʰ, θ/	頭toú [tʰau]	[tsieŋ nau] (枕zhěn頭toú)	[ŋia lau] (額é頭toú)	--
Dental (Type B)	/ts, tsʰ/	蔗zhè [tsiɑ]	[kaŋ niɑ] (甘gān蔗zhè)	[huʔ tsiu ʒiɑ] (福fú州zhoū蔗zhè)	--

Type A dentals after voicing assimilation do not become the standard [l], but are slightly flapped.

Tone sandhi

As with the majority of southern varieties of Chinese, the Fuqing dialect exhibits tone sandhi. The phenomenon of tone sandhi in the Fuqing dialect contains a whole set of rules to be followed, but it is still rather complex: one tone can undergo different changes depending on what tone follows it. For example, the light entering (陽yáng入rù) tone in front of the dark departing (陰yīn去qù) tone becomes ˩ (11), but in front of a rising tone (上shàng聲shēng) it becomes ˥ (55); and in front of the dark entering (陰yīn入rù) tone it becomes ˨˩ (21).

Chart of tone sandhi with 實shí, a syllable in the light entering tone (陽yáng入rù調diaò)

Original syllable (IPA)	Tone of the following syllable	Tone value after sandhi	Example word
/θiʔ˥/	Dark departing 陰yīn去qù	˩ (11)	[θiʔ˩ tsiɛ˨˩] (實shí際jì)
/θiʔ˥/	Rising tone 上shàng聲shēng	˥ (55)	[θiʔ˥ tsieŋ˧˨] (實shí踐jiàn)
/θiʔ˥/	Dark entering 陰yīn入rù	˨˩ (21)	[θiʔ˨˩ tseʔ˩˨] (實shí質zhí)

In many local dialects of the Fuzhou area (within the Eastern Min family), the last syllable of a word does not undergo tone sandhi. However, in the Fuqing dialect, the last syllable's tone does change under certain circumstances.

First Character and Pronunciation	Last Character and Pronunciation	Pronunciation in Sandhi
小xiaŏ /θieu˧˨/	禮lĭ /lɛ˧˨/	小xiaŏ禮lĭ /θieu˨ lɛ˥/
綠lw /luo˥˧/	色sè /θæʔ˩˨/	綠lw色sè /luo˨˩ θæʔ˨/

Below is a full table for the tone sandhi on two syllable domains for the main "new" Rongcheng pronunciation of the Fuqing dialect:

"New" Rongcheng Fuqing dialect: Two-character Tone Sandhi

	Tone of latter syllable
	Ĭng-bìng (陰yīn平píng) ˥˧ (53)	Siōng-siăng (上shàng聲shēng) ˧˨ (32)	Ĭng-ké̤ṳ (陰yīn去qù) ˨˩ (21)	Ĭng-ĭk (陰yīn入rù) ʔ˩˨ (12ʔ)	Iòng-bìng (陽yáng平píng) ˥ (55)	Iòng-ké̤ṳ (陽yáng去qù) ˦˨ (42)	Iòng-ĭk (陽yáng入rù) ʔ˥ (5ʔ)
Ĭng-bìng (陰yīn平píng) ˥˧ (53)	˥˧ ˥˧	˥˧ ˧˨	˧˥ ˨˩	˧˥ ʔ˩˨	˥˧ ˥	˧˥ ˦˨	˥ ʔ˥
Siōng-siăng (上shàng聲shēng) ˧˨ (32)	˨˩ ˥˧	˨˩ ˥˧	˧˥ ˨˩	˧˥ ʔ˩˨	˨˩ ˧˥	˧˥ ˦˨	˨˩ ʔ˥
Ĭng-ké̤ṳ (陰yīn去qù) ˨˩ (21)	˥ ˥˧	˥˧ ˧˨	˥˧ ˨˩	˥˧ ʔ˩˨	˥ ˥	˥˧ ˦˨	˥ ʔ˥
Ĭng-ĭk (陰yīn入rù) ʔ˩˨ (12ʔ)	ʔ˥ ˥˧	ʔ˥ ˧˨	ʔ˥ ˨˩	ʔ˥ ʔ˩˨	ʔ˥ ˥	ʔ˥ ˦˨	ʔ˥ ʔ˥
Iòng-bìng (陽yáng平píng) ˥ (55)	˥ ˥˧	˥ ˧˨	˨˩ ˨˩	˨˩ ʔ˩˨	˥ ˥	˥ ˦˨	˥ ʔ˥
Iòng-ké̤ṳ (陽yáng去qù) ˦˨ (42)	˥ ˥˧	˥ ˧˨	˨˩ ˨˩	˨˩ ʔ˩˨	˥ ˥	˥ ˦˨	˥ ʔ˥
Iòng-ĭk (陽yáng入rù) ʔ˥ (ʔ5)	ʔ˥ ˥˧	ʔ˥ ˧˨	ʔ˨˩ ˨˩	ʔ˨˩ ʔ˩˨	ʔ˥ ˥	ʔ˥ ˦˨	ʔ˥ ʔ˥

Aside from words composed of two syllables (or binomes), those composed of three syllables also undergo tone sandhi.

First Character	Second Character	Third Character	Pronunciation in Sandhi
福fú /hoʔ˩˨/	清qīng /tsʰiaŋ˥˧/	話huà /uɑ˦˨/	福fú清qīng話huà /huʔ˥ tsʰiaŋ˥ ŋuɑ˦˨/

Rime changes

Within polysyllabic words (of two or more syllables) or characters within one sense unit, if in the departing tone (both light departing and dark departing) or in the dark entering tone, and if it is not the last character in the unit, the rime undergoes tensing. This rime change is related to the open/close rime phenomenon: as these three tones only have open rimes, when the character changes tone through tone sandhi, the open rimes will become the corresponding close rimes.

	First character	Middle character	Final character	Pronunciation as a single phrase
Fuqing dialect	/hoʔ/ (福fú)	/tsʰiaŋ/ (清qīng)	/kæŋ/ (縣xiàn)	/huʔ tsʰiaŋ ŋæŋ/ (福fú清qīng縣xiàn)
Gutian dialect	/huk/ (福fú)	/tsʰiaŋ/ (清qīng)	/keiŋ/ (縣xiàn)	/huk tsʰiaŋ ŋeiŋ/ (福fú清qīng縣xiàn)

The /tsʰiaŋ˥˧/ 清qīng is light level tone and has a close rime, so although it is in a non-final position within the group, its rime does not change. On the other hand, /hoʔ˩˨/ 福fú is light entering tone, while /keiŋ˦˨/ 縣xiàn is dark departing tone; both characters hence have open rimes. As 福fú is in a non-final position in its group, its rime changes; 縣xiàn is the last syllable and so resists the change.

Internal variation

The Fuqing dialect is divided into several branches, based on their phonology:

• The Rongcheng branch (Chinese: 融róng城chéng片piàn; pinyin: Róngchéng piàn) includes an area covering the city center, as well as the towns of Dongzhang (東dōng張zhāng鎮zhèn), Jingyang (鏡jìng洋yáng鎮zhèn), Yuxi (漁yú溪xī鎮zhèn), Shangjing (上shàng逕jìng鎮zhèn), Haikou (海haĭ口koŭ鎮zhèn), Chengtou (城chéng頭toú鎮zhèn), Nanling (南nán嶺lĭng鎮zhèn), Longtian (龍lóng田tián鎮zhèn), Jiangjing (江jiāng鏡jìng鎮zhèn) and parts of Xincuo (新xīn厝cuò鎮zhèn). The features of this branch include the following:
  • merger of the [iu] 秋qiū and [ieu] 燒shaō finals;
  • the original area of Rongcheng Town (融róng城chéng鎮zhèn) had a split between old and new, where several finals have merged;
  • the tone sandhi system of the new Rongcheng dialect has converged with that of surrounding areas.
• The Gaoshan branch (Chinese: 高gaō山shān片piàn; pinyin: Gāoshān piàn) covers the towns of Gangtou (港găng頭toú鎮zhèn), Sanshan (三sān山shān鎮zhèn), Shapu (沙shā埔bù鎮zhèn), Gaoshan (高gaō山shān鎮zhèn) and Donghan (東dōng瀚hàn鎮zhèn). It is characterized by:
  • relatively non-noticeable rime tensing;
  • a clear distinction of the [iu] 秋qiū and [ieu] 燒shaō finals.
• The Jiangyin branch (simplified Chinese: 江jiāng阴yīn片piàn; traditional Chinese: 江jiāng陰yīn片piàn; pinyin: Jiāngyīn piàn) just includes Jinyin Town. It is characterized by:
  • some words with voiced initials in entering tones retain the final glottal stop whereas the other branches have lost that glottal stop. For example Chinese: 藥yaò medicine is read as [yoʔ˥] in Jinyin as opposed to [yo˥˧] as in Rongcheng.
  • there is a reported phonemic difference in vowel length in certain words with glottal stops, e.g. Chinese: 藥yaò medicine has a long vowel, whereas Chinese: 閱yuè examine, read has a short vowel, although both are read [yoʔ˥].
• The Yidu branch (Chinese: 一yī都dū片piàn; pinyin: Yīdū piàn), comprising Yidu Town. It is geographically close to Yongtai County, and features which are closer to the Fuzhou dialect. Some of these are:
  • final glottal stops are retained from Middle Chinese final obstruent stops, as in the Fuzhou dialect;
  • it has the triphthong [uoi] where Rongcheng would have a diphthong [ua];
  • there are more diphthongs where Rongcheng would have monophthongs, e.g. Yidu [ou] for Rongcheng [o].

There is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between the three branches despite their differences, and the original Rongcheng dialect, spoken in an area now part of Yuping Road (Chinese: 玉yù屏píng街jiē道daò; pinyin: Yùpíng Jiēdào), is well understood across the whole Fuqing region.

Historical evolution

The Fuqing dialect has lost the voiced obstruents from Middle Chinese, has merged the final nasal consonants into one phoneme and similarly for the entering tone final stop consonant. But it has also preserved many readings from Middle Chinese: its pattern of entering tone readings greatly matches that of Middle Chinese, apart from the colloquial layer of character readings which has lost them.

Overview

Initials

Old and Middle Chinese had a large array of voiced consonants, which are preserved in the Wu group of Chinese varieties, e.g. in the Suzhou dialect. But the Fuqing dialect has devoiced the obstruents, turning them into voiceless consonants, just as other Eastern Min varieties of Chinese have.

Comparison of Voiced Initials

Character	朋péng	豆doù	近jìn	絕jué	紅hóng	解jiě
Suzhou dialect	/bã/	/dɤ/	/dʑin/	/ziəʔ/	/ɦoŋ/	/ɡɑ/
Fuqing dialect	/pɛŋ/	/tɑu/	/køŋ/	/tsuoʔ/	/huŋ/	/kɛ/

The Fuqing dialect does have two voiced obstruent phonemes, /β/ and /ʒ/, but these appear in connected speech, and are not considered part of the initials.

The 疑yí initial of Middle Chinese, reconstructed as the velar nasal /ŋ/, has not been preserved by many modern varieties of Chinese. In standard Mandarin, the initial /ŋ/ has been completely lost, with some having merged into the initial /n/ (e.g. 牛niú, 虐nWè, 擬nĭ). In Wu, Yue and Hakka, the /ŋ/ initial with front vowels /i/ and /y/ have either been lost (hence merging into the 影yĭng initial) or become another initial. But in the Fuqing dialect, the 疑yí initial is preserved as /ŋ/ in front of front and back vowels alike, with a few exceptions having merged into /m/. In some Mandarin varieties as well as Yue, a /ŋ/ sound is added to the beginning of back vowels of the null initial class 影yĭng (e.g. pronouncing 安ān as /ŋan/), but in the Fuqing dialect the 影yĭng initial always remains null.

Comparison of Historical 疑yí Initials

Character	牙yá	礙aì	餓è	嶽yuè	我wŏ	誤wù	疑yí	逆nì	魚yú	虐nWè	銀yín	瓦wă
Fuqing dialect	/ŋa/	/ŋɑi/	/ŋɔ/	/ŋoʔ/	/ŋua/	/ŋuɔ/	/ŋi/	/ŋiʔ/	/ŋy/	/ŋyoʔ/	/ŋyŋ/	/muɑ/
Cantonese	/ŋa/	/ŋɔi/	/ŋɔ/	/ŋɔk/	/ŋɔ/	/ŋ̍/	/ji/	/jɪk/	/jy/	/jœk/	/ŋɐn/	/ŋa/

The Late Middle Chinese 非feī initial is pronounced in the Fuqing dialect not with /f/ but with /p/, /pʰ/ or /h/. This lack of labiodental consonants is common to all of the Min varieties as well as Sino-Korean. For example, 發fā is read as /puɔʔ/, 蜂fēng is read as /pʰuŋ/, while 非feī is read as /hi/.

A group in Middle Chinese with the initial 知zhī is pronounced with alveolar stops /t/ or /tʰ/, and not with retroflex or palatal affricates, for example, 知zhī as /ti/, 竹zhú as /tøʔ/, 重zhòng as /tʰyŋ/. This feature is also common to most of Min, implying that it has conserved this feature from Old Chinese.

Codas

The three nasal codas of Middle Chinese have become one velar nasal [ŋ] in the Fuqing dialect. The three entering tone voiceless stop codas also all became a velar stop [k], which has weakened to a glottal stop [ʔ].

Comparison of Final Consonants

Historical Final Consonant	/m/	/n/	/ŋ/	/p/	/t/	/k/
Example Character	南nán	電diàn	驚jīng	帖tiē	雪xuě	腹fù
Ningde dialect	/nam/	/tiŋ/	/kiaŋ/	/tʰɛp/	/suk/	/pok/
Zhouning dialect	/nan/	/tin/	/kiɛŋ/	/tʰɛk/	/θut/	/pok/
Fuqing dialect	/naŋ/	/tiɛŋ/	/kiaŋ/	/tʰæʔ/	/θuɔʔ/	/poʔ/

Tones

The Fuqing dialect possesses just one tone derived from the historical rising tone (上shàng聲shēng) of Middle Chinese, corresponding to the dark rising tone where those with historical voiceless initials have remained. Those with historical voiced obstruents in the former light rising tone have merged with the light departing tone. Those with historical sonorants underwent a split: in colloquial readings they grouped with light departing tone, whereas in literary readings these joined the dark rising tone.

Comparison of Outcomes of the Historical Rising Tone (上shàng聲shēng)

Historical Initial Consonant Type	Voiceless (清qīng)	Voiced Obstruent (全quán濁zhuó)		Voiced Sonorant (次cì濁zhuó)
Example Character	考kaŏ	市shì	上shàng	老laŏ	雨yŭ	有yoŭ	馬mă
Fuqing dialect	/kʰo˧˨/	/tsʰe˦˨/	/θyoŋ˦˨/	coll. /lɑu˦˨/ lit. /lo˧˨/	coll. /huɔ˦˨/ lit. /y˧˨/	coll. /ou˦˨/ lit. /iu˧˨/	only lit. /ma˧˨/

There is also an innovation in entering tone characters. Where in the rime book Qī Lín Bāyīn (戚qī林lín八bā音yīn), an entering tone character begins with an unvoiced consonant (e.g. the initials 花huā, 嘉jiā, 歌gē, 之zhī, 過guò, 橋qiaó, 奇qí), in the colloquial reading these lose their final glottal stop. Thus, the tones merge into their phonetically closest non-checked equivalent: dark entering merges into dark departing, and light entering merges into the dark level tone. In the Fuzhou dialect these preserve their identity as entering tone in the colloquial reading. Nevertheless, in literary reading, these characters retain their glottal stop as a marker of the entering tone in Fuqing as well as in Fuzhou.

Comparison of Outcomes of Glottal Stop Loss

Historical Tone	Dark entering (陰yīn入rù)			Light entering (陽yáng入rù)
Character	隔gé	索suŏ	曲qŭ	石shí	糴dí	畫huà	挃zhì
Fuzhou dialect (colloquial reading)	kɑʔ˨˦	sɔʔ˨˦	kʰuɔʔ˨˦	suoʔ˥	tieʔ˥	uaʔ˥	tiʔ˥
Fuqing dialect (colloquial reading)	kɑ˨˩	θɔ˨˩	kʰuɔ˨˩	θyo˥˧	tia˥˧	ua˥˧	ti˥˧

Literary and colloquial readings

The Fuqing dialect exhibits a split between literary and colloquial readings. Initials, rimes and tones may be affected independently of each other, yielding a total of seven possible outcomes:

• Difference in initials: 富fù ([po˨˩] / [ho˨˩])
• Difference in rimes: 清qīng ([tsʰiaŋ˥˧] / [tsʰiŋ˥˧])
• Difference in tones: 利lì ([le˨˩] / [le˦˨])
• Difference in initial and rime: 夫fū ([puo˥˧] / [hu˥˧])
• Difference in initial and tone: 遠yuăn ([huɔŋ˦˨] / [uoŋ˧˨])
• Difference in rime and tone: 兩liăng ([lɑŋ˦˨] / [lyoŋ˧˨])
• Difference in initial, rime and tone: 網wăng ([mœŋ˦˨] / [uoŋ˧˨])

When there is a difference between literary and colloquial readings, the colloquial one is used in vernacular speech, common surnames and place names of the Greater Fuzhou area, whilst the literary reading is generally used in more literary compound words, in given names, and place names outside the local area. For example, the common verb 聽tīng listen has the colloquial reading [tʰiaŋ˥˧], whereas the historical noun 聽tīng差chaī manservant / office attendant, which has the same lexeme, uses the literary reading [tʰiŋ˥˧] (realized after sandhi as [tʰin˥ ne˥˧]). The 清qīng in the names of Minqing 閩mĭn清qīng and Fuqing 福fú清qīng are pronounced [tsʰiaŋ˥˧], though the name of Qingliu County 清qīng流liú縣xiàn, being outside the Fuzhou area, uses the literary pronunciation [tsʰiŋ˥˧].

Literary pronunciations are also used in poetry, with some readings specifically used only in this context; additionally, neologisms generally use literary pronunciation. Thus a more recent compound such as 外waì國guó foreign uses the literary reading for 外waì outside, [ŋuoi˦˨], whereas an older compound 外waì公gōng maternal grandfather uses the vernacular reading [ŋia˦˨]. It is possible to have more than one literary or more than one vernacular reading; for example the verb 拖tuō drag, haul has the literary reading [tʰo˥˧], and two vernacular readings [tʰua˥˧] and [tʰai˥˧] used in separate compound words.

Vocabulary

Fuqing has had a long history of migration, with which has come a large number of different sources of vocabulary, creating several layers or lexical strata. One of the layers that the Fuqing dialect has is the Minyue language, which today remains as a source of colloquial vocabulary. Despite their common use, these vocabulary items often cannot be traced back to a Chinese root character.

Vocabulary derived from Old Chinese can be classified into two types. The first comes from migrants from the Three Kingdoms period, when people of the Eastern Wu migrated to Fujian, bringing the varieties of Wu and Chu. This layer is already extinct in the Chinese varieties spoken in the homelands of the Wu and Chu regions, but it is still found across the Min varieties of Fujian. The second type derives from the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Such vocabulary is in general the basis of the colloquial readings.

The lexical stratum from Middle Chinese derives from the Chinese spoken in the Tang dynasty, with some later additions from the Song dynasty, forming the principal literary layer.

Origin of lexical items

Layer	Origin	Fuqing		Meaning		Notes
		IPA	Chinese characters	English	Standard Chinese
Minyue 閩mĭn越yuè底dĭ層céng	Old Yue language 古gŭ越yuè語yŭ	/ŋɔŋ˦˨/	戇zhuàng or 歞kăn	stupid	傻shă	Compare Wuming Zhuang /ŋɔŋ/
		/loʔ˩˨/	--	to fall, decline	脫tuō落luò	Compare Wuming Zhuang /lo:t/
		/piŋ˧˨/	箳píng	a wicker board for a bed	竹zhú箳píng 竹zhú編biān床chuáng板băn	Compare Wuming Zhuang /pin/
Old Chinese 上shàng古gŭ漢hàn語yŭ	Old Wu 古gŭ吳wú語yŭ	/pʰieu˥˧/	薸piaō	duckweed	浮fú萍píng	《揚yáng子zĭ．方fāng言yán》江jiāng東dōng謂weì浮fú萍píng為weì薸piaō。 Attested in the Fangyan for the Jiangdong region.
		/uoŋ˧˨/	䘼	sleeve	袖xiù子zĭ	《集jí韻yùn》委weĭ遠yuăn切qiē，音yīn宛wăn。《玉yù篇piān》襪wà也yě。又yoù《方fāng言yán．郭guō註zhù》江jiāng東dōng呼hū衣yī褾biaŏ曰yuē䘼。 Attested in the Fangyan for the Jiangdong region, as well as in the Yupian and the Jiyun.
		/kie˦/	鮭guī	salted fish	鹽yán醃yān製zhì的de小xiaŏ魚yú	《集jí韻yùn》戸hù佳jiā切qiē……，吳wú人rén謂weì魚yú菜caì總zŏng稱chēng。 Attested in the Jiyun for the people in the region of Wu.
	Old Chu 古gŭ楚chŭ語yŭ	/θyo˥˧/	蜀shŭ	one (used only in counting)	數shù詞cí「一yī」	《方fāng言yán》（揚yáng雄xióng所suŏ著zhù），卷juàn十shí二èr：一yī，蜀shŭ也yě，南nán楚chŭ謂weì之zhī蜀shŭ。 Attested in the Fangyan for the Southern Chu region.
		/tsʰeŋ˨˩/	㵾 or 凊qìng	cold	冷lěng	《說shuō文wén》冷lěng寒hán也yě。楚chŭ人rén謂weì冷lěng曰yuē㵾。 Attested in the Shuowen Jiezi for Chu.
		/tsʰa˥˧/	瘥chaì	to recover (from illness)	病bìng情qíng好haŏ轉zhuăn	《玉yù篇piān》疾jí愈yù也yě。《方fāng言yán》，卷juàn三sān：南nán楚chŭ病bìng癒yù者zhě謂weì之zhī差chaī。（後hoù作zuò「瘥chaì」） Attested in the Yupian for Chu and the Fangyan for Southern Chu.
	Central Plains Chinese 中zhōng原yuán漢hàn語yŭ	/tiaŋ˧˨/	鼎dĭng	wok/pan	鍋guō
		/toŋ˥˧/	湯tāng	boiled water	熱rè水shuĭ
		/tsʰuoi˨˩/	喙huì	mouth	嘴zuĭ
		/sɔ˨˩/	欶shuò	to suck	吮shŭn吸xī
Middle Chinese 中zhōng古gŭ漢hàn語yŭ	Central Plains Chinese 中zhōng原yuán漢hàn語yŭ	/tyo˥˧/	著zhù	at, in	在zaì
		/ko˨˩/	故gù	still, -ing	還huán、尚shàng
		/tɑu˨˩/	鬥doù	to compete, vie	競jìng相xiāng

Modern Standard Mandarin Chinese has also been source of vocabulary, via neologisms or formal compounds. Some such words are replaced by coinages from local roots, e.g. bicycle, which in the Fuqing dialect is 跤jiaō踏tà車chē (also written 骹qiaō踏tà車chē) instead of being directly cognate to the standard Taiwanese Mandarin 腳jiaŏ踏tà車chē, literally foot-tread-vehicle, with the morpheme for foot being substituted by its local equivalent.

With contact with foreign countries, there have also been loanwords from non-Chinese languages, such as 加jiā蘇sū林lín for gasoline/petroleum, which in standard Mandarin would be 石shí油yoú. Additionally, some loanwords have been adapted differently than in standard Mandarin; e.g. 馬mă臘là加jiā Malacca, which is 馬mă六liù甲jiă in Mandarin.

In more modern times, the rise of new technologies, products and concepts has produced more direct loans from standard Mandarin, which may be used despite those sounds being rare in Fuqing dialect or even if there are Fuqing roots that could have been used. For example, a "night school" is 夜yè校xiaò, derived from standard Mandarin, and not *暝míng晡bū校xiaò or *暝míng晡bū堂táng as might have been expected from native Fuqing dialect roots.

Related Links

• 漢hàn字zì古gŭ今jīn音yīn資zī料liaò庫kù. A Fuqing dialect character dictionary is available, by selecting 現xiàn代daì > 閩mĭn語yŭ >閩mĭn東dōng區qū > 福fú清qīng
• Fuqing dialect news program 《講jiăng世shì事shì》