Zhangzhou dialects

The Zhangzhou dialects are classified as Hokkien, a group of Southern Min varieties.^[6] In Fujian, the Zhangzhou dialects form the southern subgroup (南片) of Southern Min.^[7] The dialect of urban Zhangzhou is one of the oldest dialects of Southern Min, and along with the urban Quanzhou dialect, it forms the basis for all modern varieties.^[8] When compared with other varieties of Hokkien, it has an intelligibility of 89.0% with the Amoy dialect and 79.7% with the urban Quanzhou dialect.^[9]

This section is mostly based on the variety spoken in the urban area of Zhangzhou.

There are 15 phonemic initials:^[10]

When the rime is nasalized, the three voiced phonemes /b/, /l/ and /g/ are realized as the nasals [m], [n] and [ŋ], respectively.^[10][11]

There are 85 rimes:^[10][12]

The vowel /a/ is the open central unrounded vowel [ä] in most rimes, including /a/, /ua/, /ia/, /ai/, /uai/, /au/, /iau/, /ã/, /ãʔ/.^[10][13] In the rimes /ian/ and /iat/, /a/ is realized as [ɛ] (i.e. as [iɛn] and [iɛt̚])^[13] or [ə] (i.e. as [iən] and [iət̚]).^[10]

The rimes /iŋ/ and /ik/ are usually realized with a short [ə] between the vowel [i] and the velar consonant.^[10] In many areas outside of the urban area of Zhangzhou, including Pinghe, Changtai, Yunxiao, Zhao'an and Dongshan, /iŋ/ and /ik/ are pronounced as /eŋ/ and /ek/ instead.^[14]

The codas /p/, /t/ and /k/ are unreleased, i.e. [p̚], [t̚] and [k̚], respectively.^[10]

There are seven tones:^[10]

Most people in the urban area do not pronounce the dark level tone as high-level, but slightly mid-rising.^[10][15] While most sources still records this tone as 44,^[16][17] its tone value has also been recorded as 24,^[18][19] 45,^[20] 34^[15] or 35^[21] to reflect its rising nature.

The Zhangzhou dialect has nine tone sandhi rules: only the last syllable of nouns and clause endings remain unchanged by tone sandhi. The two-syllable tone sandhi rules are shown in the table below:^[22]

• Cheng, Chin-Chuan (1999). "Quantitative Studies in Min Dialects". In Ting, Pang-Hsin (ed.). Contemporary Studies in Min Dialects. Journal of Chinese Linguistics Monograph Series. Vol. 14. Chinese University Press, Project on Linguistic Analysis. pp. 229–246. JSTOR 23833469.
• Ding, Picus Sizhi (2016). Southern Min (Hokkien) as a Migrating Language: A Comparative Study of Language Shift and Maintenance Across National Borders. Singapore: Springer. ISBN 978-981-287-594-5.
• Douglas, Rev. Carstairs (1873). Chinese-English Dictionary of the Vernacular or Spoken Language of Amoy, with the Principal Variations of the Chang-chew and Chin-chew dialects. London: Trübner & Co.
• Gao, Ran (2001). 漳州方言音系略说 [A Note on the Phonology of the Zhangzhou Dialect]. In Minnan Fangyan Research Laboratory (ed.). 闽南方言·漳州话研究 [Min Nan Fangyan: Research on the Zhangzhou Dialect]. Beijing: 中国文联出版社. pp. 109–116.
• Hirayama, Hisao (1975). 厦门话古调值的内部构拟 [Internal Reconstruction of the Ancient Tone Values of the Xiamen Dialect]. Journal of Chinese Linguistics (in Chinese). 3 (1): 3–15. JSTOR 23749860.
• Huang, Diancheng, ed. (1998). 福建省志·方言志 (in Chinese). Beijing: 方言出版社. ISBN 7-80122-279-2.
• Huang, Yishan (2018). Tones in Zhangzhou: Pitch and Beyond (PDF) (PhD). Australian National University.
• Lin, Baoqing (1992). 漳州方言词汇（一） [Vocabulary of the Zhangzhou Dialect (1)]. Fangyan (in Chinese) (2): 151–160.
• Ma, Zhongqi, ed. (2008). 闽台闽南方言韵书比较研究 (in Chinese). Beijing: China Social Sciences Press. ISBN 978-7-5004-7230-8.
• Phillips, George (1877). "Zaitun Researches: Part V". The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal. 8 (2): 117–124.
• Tung, Tung-ho (1959). 四個閩南方言 [Four South Min Dialects]. Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology. 30: 729–1042.
• Yang, Xiu-ming (2014). 漳州方言阴平调的调形特点与历史演变 [Traits of Yin-ping Tone of Zhangzhou Dialect and the Historical Evolution]. Journal of Minnan Normal University (Philosophy & Social Sciences) (in Chinese) (3): 45–52. doi:10.16007/j.cnki.issn2095-7114.2014.03.042.
• Zhangzhou City Local Chronicles Editorial Board, ed. (1999). Zhangzhou Shizhi 漳州市志 [Zhangzhou Annals] (in Chinese). Vol. 49: 方言. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press. ISBN 978-7-5004-2625-7.
• Zhou, Changji (2012). B1—15、16 闽语. 中国语言地图集 [Language Atlas of China] (in Chinese). Vol. 汉语方言卷 (2nd ed.). Beijing: Commercial Press. pp. 110–115. ISBN 978-7-100-07054-6.