What is the relationship between ancient Chinese and Chaoshan dialect?

Chaoshan dialect, commonly known as Chaoshan dialect and Chaozhou dialect, originated from Minnan dialect. Chaoshan dialect is a very unique dialect. Its uniqueness lies not only in its difficulty in learning, but also in its close connection with ancient Chinese, and even more in its subtle and interesting differences between different regions.

Chaoshan dialect is mostly used by Chaoshan people in Chaoshan area. Chaoshan area mainly refers to Shantou, Chaozhou and Jieyang. In fact, Chaoshan dialect is also used in parts of Fengshun and Hailufeng in Meizhou.

The uniqueness of Chaoshan dialect has much to do with the origin of Chaoshan ancestors. The ancestors of Chaoshan people are mainly the Han people in the Central Plains who settled in Fujian (Putian) and then moved into the tide. In time, it can be said that it began in Yongjia period of Jin Dynasty (37-313 AD) when the Eight Kings were in chaos. Since then, in various dynasties, the natives of the Central Plains have come from the south because of fleeing from chaos or famine.

The ancestors of Chaoshan people moved far away from the Central Plains, and came to the much more stable and peaceful Chaoshan area, where they lived a relatively stable life. The war in the Central Plains basically did not reach this "Xanadu", and a revolution in the Central Plains has little to do with this region. The Han people in the Central Plains living in this area have largely preserved their original customs and words. The eight festivals in Chaoshan area (Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Zhongyuan Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Chongyang Festival and Winter Festival) are the continuation of ancient customs. At the same time, many characteristics of ancient Chinese are also shown in Chaoshan dialect.

Chaoshan dialect is really difficult to learn, so some people say that Chaoshan dialect is very archaic, but in fact, Chaoshan dialect is ancient, not archaic. Chaoshan dialect has eight tones, namely, Yin Ping, Yin Shang, Yang Qu, Yin Ru, Yang Ping, Yang Shang, Yang Qu and Yang Ru. Pronunciation is like "Xi, Fen, Xun, Hu, Yun, Hun, Fen, Buddha". This is the same as the eight-tone pronunciation in ancient Chinese. However, modern Chinese has only four tones. Therefore, in mastering tones, let alone letting those Europeans and Americans who have only two tones learn Chaoshan dialect. The phrase "Chaoshan dialect is the most difficult to learn" (in Chaozhou dialect) makes them confused and dumbfounded, even if they practice tongue-tied, it is difficult to say it correctly!

Chaozhou-Shantou dialect has the characteristics of ancient Chinese, especially the eight-tone pronunciation. It is proposed that some ancient Chinese that don't rhyme when read in Mandarin will become very rhyming and catchy if read in Chaoshan dialect! Such as "Mo Shang Sang".

Chaoshan dialect not only retains the eight-tone pronunciation of ancient Chinese, but also retains a large number of ancient word usages. For example, the verbs "walk" and "eat" are equivalent to "run" and "eat and drink" in modern Chinese; The nouns "mu" and "bride" are equivalent to "eyes" and "daughter-in-law" in modern Chinese. These words are widely used in ancient Chinese and Chaoshan dialect.

To outsiders, Chaoshan dialect is all the same, but it is not. This is not only reflected in the different versions of the same thing in different regions, such as "soap" and "cicada", but also in the phonetic characteristics in different regions.

Chaoshan proverb: "There are nine counties in Chaozhou, and each county has its own words." It is about nine counties belonging to the old Chaozhou prefecture, and each county has different phonetic features.

In the old days, Chaoshan dialect was based on Chaozhou Fucheng dialect. Chaozhou Fucheng dialect sounds "light" and "soft" to foreigners, similar to "soft language of Wu Nong". This has something to do with the vowels of le, ing and weng in Fucheng dialect. We can feel it from the integrity of "key", "Commissioner" and "yuan".

Chenghai, which is adjacent to Chaozhou, is characterized by no silence, and "heart" and "new", "forest" and "neighbor" and "invasion" are homonyms. Therefore, making Chenghai people "salty, sweet and sour (spicy)" is like giving them a problem. (In this "five flavors", except "acid", all other "four flavors" should be pronounced in silence. )

To the west of Chaozhou is Jieyang, whose dialect is characterized by no english vowel, Eng vowel. Therefore, Jing and Jin are indistinguishable, truth and essence are integrated, and cause and English, essence and English, essence and success, escape and game are homonyms.

In Chaoshan dialect, there is Chaoyang dialect (represented by Miancheng and Haimen) which is the most different from Chaozhou Chengfu dialect. Chaoshan people usually think that Chaoyang dialect is the most "hui" (impure), while Chaoyang people claim that their own words are "cadence and sonorous" and that others' words are "ringing" or "loud".

The biggest feature of Chaoyang dialect is that it has only seven tones, and most of them are low-key and long tones. It sounds loud and heavy. Therefore, in Chaoyang dialect, "irony" and "phoenix", "emperor" and "brother", "world" and "being" and "training" are homonyms, and the tone and way of speaking are obviously different.

As the Chaoshan saying goes, "Good chaozhou people scolds each other, but bad Chaoyang people talk." Although this is a joke, it really reflects the characteristics of the two languages. Even if chaozhou people quarrels, his voice is not loud, and his language is not heavy. However, Chaoyang people usually speak as loudly and heavily as they quarrel with others.

Unique and interesting, this is our Chaoshan dialect.

Participating Bibliography: Anecdotes of Chaoshan Folklore, Exploring the Olympics by Hipsters, and Common Dictionaries.