Wiktionary:About Chinese/Puxian Min
Puxian Min, also known as Puxian (莆仙語／莆仙语, 莆仙話／莆仙话), Hinghua (興化話／兴化话), is a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Putian City.
Historically, Puxian Min was written using Báⁿ-uā-ci̍ (平話字／平话字) system (Hinghwa Romanized), which recorded the accent of urban Putian in the late 19th century. This system differs significantly from the phonology of various modern Puxian accents. Consequently, online communities, led by the Puxian Dialect Society (莆仙鄉音社／莆仙乡音社), developed Pouseng Ping'ing (莆仙話拼音／莆仙话拼音) to document modern phonologies. Wiktionary uses Pouseng Ping'ing as the main romanization system, while Báⁿ-uā-ci̍ being an alternative form of Putian dialect if it is input manually.
This article aims to explain the usage of these romanization systems. It assumes a basic understanding of Puxian phonology.
Unless otherwise specified, all pronunciations are given in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
Pouseng Ping'ing
[edit]Initial
[edit]| Initial | IPA | Example character | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unchanged | Lenited | Nasal | Nasalized | |||
| Putian | Xianyou | Xianyou | ||||
| b | /p/ | (null) | /β/ | /m/ | /m/ | 邊 |
| p | /pʰ/ | (null) | /β/ | /m/ | /m/ | 票 |
| m | /m/ | /m/ | /m/ | /m/ | 蒙 | |
| d | /t/ | /l/ | /n/ | /n/ | 低 | |
| t | /tʰ/ | /l/ | /n/ | /n/ | 他 | |
| n | /n/ | /n/ | /n/ | /n/ | 腦 | |
| l | /l/ | /l/ | /n/ | /n/ | 柳 | |
| g | /k/ | (null) | /ŋ/ | (null) | 求 | |
| k | /kʰ/ | (null) | /ŋ/ | (null) | 氣 | |
| h | /h/ | (null) | /ŋ/ | (null) | 喜 | |
| ng | /ŋ/ | /ŋ/ | /ŋ/ | /ŋ/ | 我 | |
| z | /t͡s/ | /l/ | /n/ | /n/ | 曾 | |
| c | /t͡sʰ/ | /l/ | /n/ | /n/ | 出 | |
| s | /ɬ/ | /l/ | /n/ | /n/ | 時 | |
| Ø (null) | (null) | (null) | /ŋ/ | (null) | 鶯 | |
Initials undergo changes when the syllable is a non-initial syllable of a (fossilised) compound:
- Lenited pronunciations are used when the previous syllable has a null coda.
- Nasal pronunciations are used when the previous syllable has a /-ŋ/ ‹-ng› coda.
- Nasalized pronunciations are used when the previous syllable has a nazalized final ‹-ⁿ›.
- The pronunciations are remain unchanged when the previous syllable has a /-ʔ/ ‹-h› coda.
Final
[edit]| Final | IPA | Example character | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Putian | Xianyou | ||
| a | /a/ | 家差 | |
| ae | /ɛ/ | 十/這會 | |
| e | /e/ | 鞋雞 | |
| i | /i/ | 退所 | |
| o | /o/ | /ɵ/ | 學刀 |
| oe | /ø/ | 下馬 | |
| or | /ɒ/ | 機戲 | |
| u | /u/ | 有牛 | |
| y | /y/ | 魚豬 | |
| ai | /ai/ | 菜海 | |
| ao | /au/ | 後豆 | |
| ia | /ia/ | 車謝 | |
| ieo | /ieu/ | 油救 | |
| iu | /iu/ | 藥鳥 | |
| ou | /ɔu/ | 烏古 | |
| ua | /ua/ | 畫花 | |
| ue | /uei/ | 歪飛 | |
| ui | /ui/ | 為水 | |
| yo | /yɒ/ | - | 蛇紙 |
| ya | - | /ya/ | 蛇紙 |
| ang | /aŋ/ | 紅重 | |
| orng | /ɒŋ/ | 王公 | |
| eng | /ɛŋ/ | 燈生 | |
| oeng | /œŋ/ | - | 宮窗 |
| ong | /ɔŋ/ | - | 雲分 |
| ing | /iŋ/ | 兵心 | |
| ieng | /iɛŋ/ | 鹽尖 | |
| ung | /uŋ/ | - | 光霜 |
| uang | /uaŋ/ | - | 彎團 |
| uong | - | /uoŋ/ | 雲關 |
| yng | /yŋ/ | 斤銀 | |
| yeng | - | /yøŋ/ | 宮上 |
| yong | /yɒŋ/ | - | 上場 |
| ng | /ŋ̍/ | 黃方 | |
| ah | /aʔ/ | 合讀 | |
| orh | /ɒʔ/ | 盒國 | |
| eh | /ɛʔ/ | 踢熱 | |
| oeh | /œʔ/ | - | 竹玉 |
| oh | /ɔʔ/ | - | 出骨 |
| ih | /iʔ/ | 筆七 | |
| iah | /iaʔ/ | - | 食 |
| ieh | /iɛʔ/ | 頁業 | |
| uh | /uʔ/ | * | |
| uah | /uaʔ/ | - | 刷發 |
| uoh | /uoʔ/ | 我 | |
| yh | /yʔ/ | 域役 | |
| yeh | - | /yøʔ/ | 竹約 |
| yoh | /yɒʔ/ | - | 約雀 |
| aⁿ | - | /ã/ | 生撐 |
| iⁿ | - | /ĩ/ | 千間 |
| yⁿ | - | /ỹ/ | 酸斷 |
| orⁿ | - | /ɒ̃/ | 三擔 |
| aiⁿ | - | /ãĩ/ | 捱 |
| auⁿ | - | /ãũ/ | 猴 |
| iaⁿ | - | /ĩã/ | 影請 |
| iuⁿ | - | /ĩũ/ | 羊鄉 |
| uaⁿ | - | /ũã/ | 看碗 |
| uiⁿ | - | /ũĩ/ | 風關 |
| yaⁿ | - | /ỹã/ | 換件 |
Tone (7)
[edit]| Tone number | Tone name | Tone value | Example characters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Putian | Xianyou | |||
| 1 | Dark level | 533 | 詩機衣 | |
| 2 | Light level | 13 | 時其移 | |
| 3 | Rising | 453 | 332 | 死己以 |
| 4 | Dark departing | 42 | 四記意 | |
| 5 | Light departing | 21 | 寺義異 | |
| 6 | Dark checked | 1 | 2 | 失急一 |
| 7 | Light checked | 4 | 24 | 習及液 |
Puxian Min has two non-independent tone classes:
| Tone number | Tone name | Tone value | Example characters | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Putian | Xianyou | ||||
| S3 | Pronouns checked | 32 | 我汝伊者許 | Similar in pitch to the rising tone but with a -h coda. | |
| S5 | Historical dark checked | 21 | 百冊尺桌鴨 | Merged with light departing in Puxian Min, but behaves differently from other light departing syllables in tone sandhi. | |
Additionally, Puxian Min has three tones that only appear in tone sandhi.
| Tone number | Tone value | |
|---|---|---|
| Putian | Xianyou | |
| S1 | 55 | |
| S4 | 42 | - |
| S7 | 45 | - |
Tone Sandhi
[edit]Tone sandhi rules in the Puxian Min are complex. Generally, only non-final syllables in a word undergo tone sandhi.
Regular two-syllable tone sandhi are automatically done by the module. The table below shows these sandhi rules. The rows represent the tone of the first syllable, while the columns represent the tone of the second syllable. Each cell in the table indicates the resulting tone of the first syllable after tone sandhi occurs. For cells divided by a slash, the left side represents the Putian dialect, while the right side represents the Xianyou dialect.
2nd 1st |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | S1 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 3 | 5 | 2/S1 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| S3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 4 | S1 | 2/S1 | S1 | S1 | 4 | 4 | S1 |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | S1 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| S5 | S1 | S1 | S1 | S1 | 4 | 4 | S1 |
| 6 | S7/7 | S7/7 | S7/7 | S7/7 | S4/7 | S4/7 | S7/7 |
| 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | S4/4 | S4/4 | 6 |
The tone sandhi rules for three-syllable and four-syllable compounds are even more complex and are omitted here. When adding pronunciations for these words, one can manually specify the correct tone sandhi (see the section below).
Ways to handle special cases
[edit]- is used to handle irregular tone sandhi. The format is: original_pronunciation + - + actual_tone_number. For example:
* preceding an initial can be used to block lenition or nasal assimilation. For example:
# succeeding a final can be used to block tone sandhi. For example:
> is used to handle irregular sound change except for tones. For example:
- 仙遊:
pt,xy:sing1 iu>niu2
Báⁿ-uā-ci̍
[edit]In the following table, C and L represent colloquial reading and literary reading respectively.
Initial (15)
[edit]BUC has 15 initials.
| bilabial | alveolar | lateral | velar | glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plosives | unaspirated | b /*p/ 步馬C |
d /*t/ 到同 |
g /*k/ 鬼危 |
/*Ǿ/ invalid IPA characters (Ǿ) 烏紅 | |
| aspirated | p /*pʰ/ 鋪皮 |
t /*tʰ/ 太蟲 |
k /*kʰ/ 輕鉗 |
|||
| nasals | m /*m/ 馬L聞 |
n /*n/ 年欄C |
ng /*ŋ/ 雅嚴 |
|||
| fricatives | s /*ɬ/ 散扇 |
h /*h/ 希候 | ||||
| affricates | unaspirated | c /*t͡s/ 祖招 |
||||
| aspirated | ch /*t͡sʰ/ 倉昌 |
|||||
| approximants | l /*l/ 連欄L |
|||||
Final (63)
[edit]BUC has 63 finals. Some finals with -h coda are divided into two categories: A and B. The contrast between these two categories only occurs in the light checked tone. See the below section for more information.
| BUC | Reconstructed pronunciation |
Example character | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No coda | |||
| i | /*i/ | 來C子C弟C | |
| u | /*u/ | 夫L牛C有C | |
| ṳ | /*y/ | 豬書去主L | |
| a | /*a/ | 帕L沙L百C | |
| ia | /*ia/ | 姐車刺 | |
| ua | /*ua/ | 沙C大C外C | |
| e | /*ɛ/ | □ | |
| a̤ | /*e/ | 弟L惠八C血C | |
| e̤ | /*ø/ | 坐初改歇 | |
| o̤ | /*ɒ/ | 帕C馬C草L教C | |
| io̤ | /*yɒ/ | 蛇寄瓦徛 | |
| eo | /*o/ | 子L母C桌 | |
| ai | /*ai/ | 來L開L大L | |
| uai | /*uai/ | 怪壞懷 | |
| oi | /*oi/ | 外L歪髮C | |
| ui | /*ui/ | 開L水毁 | |
| au | /*au/ | 草C教L流C | |
| a̤u | /*eu/ | 燒母L惜C | |
| o | /*ou/ | 古夫C主C | |
| iu | /*iu/ | 流L有L牛L | |
| Nasalized | |||
| aⁿ | /*ã/ | 馬L生C明C | |
| iaⁿ | /*ĩã/ | 聲定C額C | |
| uaⁿ | /*ũã/ | 麻山C滿C | |
| a̤ⁿ | /*ẽ/ | 林C先C間C | |
| e̤ⁿ | /*ø/ | 全C頓C褪 | |
| o̤ⁿ | /*ɒ/ | 惱膽C三 | |
| io̤ⁿ | /*ỹɒ/ | 線泉贏 | |
| oiⁿ | /*õĩ/ | 妹遠C本C風C | |
| auⁿ | /*ãũ/ | □ | |
| a̤uⁿ | /*ẽũ/ | 鳥娘長C向C | |
| -ng coda | |||
| ang | /*aŋ/ | 膽L山L間L | |
| iang | /*iaŋ/ | 廉點沉C | |
| uang | /*uaŋ/ | 滿L亂環 | |
| eng | /*ɛŋ/ | 先L生L定L | |
| e̤ng | /*œŋ/ | 全L遠L窗舂 | |
| o̤ng | /*ɒŋ/ | 當L風L | |
| io̤ng | /*iɒŋ/ | 長L將向L養 | |
| eong | /*oŋ/ | 吞本L頓L溫 | |
| ing | /*iŋ/ | 沉L林L明L | |
| ṳng | /*yŋ/ | 銀永榮 | |
| ng | /*ŋ/ | 毛當影 | |
| -h coda | |||
| ah | (A) | /*aːʔ/ | 白C麥C |
| (B) | /*aʔ/ | 八L學L目C | |
| iah | (A) | /*iaːʔ/ | 糴搦食C |
| (B) | /*iaʔ/ | 葉業疊 | |
| uah | (A) | /*uaːʔ/ | 跋 |
| (B) | /*uaʔ/ | 脱髮L活 | |
| a̤h | (A) | /*eːʔ/ | 搣摕 |
| o̤h | (A) | /*ɒːʔ/ | 踏沓蠟 |
| (B) | /*ɒʔ/ | 國目L粟 | |
| ih | (A) | /*iːʔ/ | 舌折蝕 |
| (B) | /*iʔ/ | 十食惜 | |
| uh | (B) | /*uʔ/ | 複 |
| ṳh | (B) | /*yʔ/ | 疫 |
| io̤h | (A) | /*yɒːʔ/ | 揭 |
| (B) | /*yɒʔ/ | 略弱約 | |
| eoh | (A) | /*oːʔ/ | 落薄學C |
| (B) | /*oʔ/ | 物L骨律 | |
| aih | (A) | /*aiːʔ/ | □ |
| oih | (A) | /*oiːʔ/ | 果C月物C |
| a̤uh | (A) | /*euːʔ/ | 着箬石 |
| eh | (B) | /*ɛʔ/ | 十C百L額L |
| e̤h | (B) | /*œʔ/ | 越血L肉 |
Tone (8)
[edit]BUC has 8 tones, with the light checked tone being divided into two categories A and B. While they have identical BUC forms, their descendants have evolved into different tones. Category A characters retain the light checked tone, whereas Category B characters have merged with the light level tone in the Putian and Xianyou dialects, and with the rising tone in the Jiangkou dialect.
| Tone number | Tone name | Diacritics (on ‹a›) | Example characters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dark level | a | 詩波單鞭冰 |
| 2 | Light level | á | 時爬岩民朋 |
| 3 | Rising | â | 始馬耳L染貶 |
| 4 | Dark departing | a̍ | 四樹浸變縫 |
| 5 | Light departing | ā | 氏視耳C共接C |
| 6 | Dark checked | ah | 答接L發失剝 |
| 7 | Light checked (A) | a̍h | 雜食白L學L目 |
| Light checked (B) | a̍h | 食C白C學C藥臘 |
References
[edit]- 莆田市政协文化文史和学习委员会 [Culture, History and Learning Committee of Putian CPPCC], editor (2021), “About Chinese/Puxian Min”, in 莆仙方言大词典 [Comprehensive Dictionary of Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN.
- 陈浩淼 [Chen, Hao-miao] (2020) 莆仙方言语音比较研究 [The Study on the Comparison of Phonology of Puxian Dialect], Fujian Normal University
- 黃金恳, 莆田市地方志编纂委员会, editor (2001), 莆田市志 [Chronicle of Putian City], Beijing: 方志出版社, →ISBN
- 李如龍等 [Li, Ru-long and others] (2019) 莆仙方言調查報告 [Survey Report on Puxian Dialect], Xiamen University Press