Xiangtan Dialect Vocabulary and Its Origin

As the saying goes, "one side of the soil and water support one side of the people", what Xiangtan people say and what words they use has a lot to do with Xiangtan's geographical environment.

Xiangtan belongs to subtropical monsoon climate, with long rainy season, abundant rainfall and humid climate. Xiangjiang River passes through the city, and there are ripples and trickles in the territory, main canals of Shaoshan Irrigation District, north-south main canals, Shuifumiao Reservoir and dense water networks. Xiangtan can be described as a "water town". Such geographical and climatic conditions have created Xiangtan's "water town culture", which in turn has led to the emergence and application of some water-related Xiangtan dialect words. For example, pulling relationships and going through the back door are accused of "walking water"; A man whose style is not decent is called an "old man"; Indecent and vulgar filth is called "water vapor" (also called "moving qi"); Skin color is called "water color". In addition, because there are many rivers in Xiangtan, especially Xiangjiang River, as a main stream of the Yangtze River, shipping has been quite developed since ancient times. Sailors, who live by water and live by boat, don't like to say "heavy", so they say "full meal" as "Zhang rice" or "loading rice"

Xiangtan has diverse landforms, including mountains, hills, hills, plains and water surfaces. There are many words related to these landforms, and even many places are named after them. Xiangtan people used to call "mountain" as "ridge", such as Shaziling and Taling Township. The flat land in the valley is called "Chong", such as Shaoshanchong, where Mao Zedong's former residence is located; The local flat land in mountainous and hilly areas is called "Ping", such as Huangjingping. With regard to water, Xiangtan people call the pools in front of and behind their houses "ponds", such as Tang Hong Township, Yuetang District, Quantangzi and xiang tang. If there is more water, there will naturally be more bridges, such as Qingshan Bridge, Huyun Bridge and Shuangbanqiao. It is impossible for a dialect to be born suddenly without its source in a certain period, and it is always inextricably linked with the old saying in this area. Many words in Xiangtan dialect come down in one continuous line with the ancient Xiang dialect and are still widely used today.

Like a puppy. The dialect explains it like this: "A child is a child. Xiang yuan will call it Zi, and if it is called East, it will be Zi. " Now, Xiangtan people basically call "son" "cub". However, the meaning of "son" of "Zai" began to be blurred after being used as appellation words, mainly used to express "small" and affectionate feelings, and generally used to refer to "children, boys and girls", such as "Zai" refers to "boy" and "Sister Zai" refers to "girl". But in practical use, it is often customary to call a boy "sister", which is actually a nickname for children. Calling a boy by his nickname can ward off evil spirits and make him grow up easily. Calling a girl "baby" has that kind of affection, which also shows people's attention and admiration for men. The word "full teenager" (the youngest son, the youngest son among parents and children) can be said to be the perfect combination of "son" and "love".

Another example is "Li Sao": "Never tire of it". Wang Yi's note: "By, full also. Chu people are famous. " According to Wang Li's onomatopoeia, reading B' under [eη] is the sound of "Peng". Now Xiangtan people say "water is full", and it is customary to say "water is full". Therefore, "Peng" in Xiangtan dialect is probably the descendant of "Ping" in ancient Chu dialect.

Another example is getting up. The History of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty contains "Jian Zhang Gong". There is a "big palace" in Huan Tan's new epistemology. These two "litres" both mean "construction". Now Xiangtan people also call "building a house" "building a house".

In addition, the meanings of "how good are you", "how much", "pocket" and "tree" commonly used by Xiangtan people all come from the ancient Xiang dialect. There are also words such as "Tang Ke" (meaning "wife"), "the day after tomorrow" (meaning "the day after tomorrow") and "model room" (meaning "appearance") left over from the ancient vernacular of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Since ancient times, Chu people have believed in ghost worship. Wang Yi's "Songs of Chu" said: "In the past, between Chu and Yuanxiang in Nanshi, they believed in ghosts and were good at temples." Xiangtan is also deeply influenced by this witch and ghost culture, so the words "ghost" and "death" in Xiangtan dialect emerge one after another.

Xiangtan people have many taboos about "death" and things related to "death" in order to express their reverence for ghosts and gods. Use "white wedding" to express funeral; Use "old cackle", "too much coffee" or "go to cackle" to indicate that people are dead; "Coffin" is called "material", "mourning" is called "going up the mountain" and "going out". However, "death" also means "depth". For example, in the sentence "I love you till death do us part", "death" is used to express the depth of love; "She is lazy to death" and "This sugar is sweet to death" refer to the degree of laziness and the degree of sweetness of sugar.

Ghost is commonly used in Xiangtan dialect. It can be used to express people's nicknames and jokes, such as "imp" referring to their own or ordinary children; "Ghost pups" refer to naughty children; The wife will also laugh at her husband as a "dead ghost". Can be used for banter between friends, "Ghost 57" joked that the other party was not serious and deliberately made trouble; "Ghosts look alike" means that others are putting on airs or dressing unsatisfactorily. Can be used to call names, such as: hungry ghost, fear of death, coward, slacker, short-lived ghost, sipping ghost (delicious ghost), nuisance, whipping boy, not afraid of death, confused ghost and cowardly ghost. It can be used to indicate bad luck. "Back-to-back ghosts" means that a person is unlucky, "touching ghosts" means meeting bad results, and "looking for ghosts" means meeting bad things, which is unexpected.

In addition, the existence of many traditional festivals has also produced many distinctive words. From the seventh day to the fifteenth day of July, it is commonly called "half a year", also called "receiving guests" and "offering sacrifices to ancestors". From the seventh day of July to the tenth day of July, new dead guests will be received, and old dead guests will be received after the tenth day. On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, "Send the Kitchen God", on the 24th "Happy New Year" and on New Year's Eve "Happy New Year". In the early morning of New Year's Day, farmers set incense for heaven and earth in the gate to pray for a good year, and sang "Thousand Rings", meaning "Out of the Sky". It is called "Happy New Year" after the day, and the rules are "the first birthday, the second birthday (son-in-law), and the third day of the fourth day". If you "pay New Year greetings to the eighth day of the seventh day", you will "wash the pot and rattle". "Food is the most important thing for the people", and many words in Xiangtan dialect have a great relationship with this word "food".

Xiangtan basically grows rice, and Xiangtan people take rice as their staple food. Even "eat" mostly means "eat rice". Foods made of rice include sweet wine (which is called "mash" by Xinjiang people), Ciba, wick cake and so on.

There are also "medicinal sugar" produced by Xiangtan Middle Road and "Maojia Braised Pork" produced by Maojia Hotel. In addition, eggs should be cooked on the third day of the third lunar month, which is also called "March 3". Originally a rural custom, farmers thought that eating "March 3rd" could cure rheumatism and prevent colds. At this time of the year, farmers will also cook a dish called "Master Meat", also called "Steamed Pork with Powder". The practice is to crush rice, add large pieces of pork, add cabbage red, and steam it with several Chinese medicines.

It is said that Hunan people are not afraid of spicy food, especially Xiangtan people. They are just afraid of spicy food. Therefore, Xiangtan people love to eat Chili, and a necessary seasoning at home is "Chili powder", also called "Chili ash". There are many ways for Xiangtan people to make peppers, such as chopped peppers, pickled peppers (peppers), pepper sauce, lobster sauce and salted peppers.

The influence of "food" culture on Xiangtan dialect vocabulary is not only reflected in the above-mentioned special foods, but also in the fact that Xiangtan people invented many new words based on "food" to express certain meanings. For example, "eating glutinous rice" is used to criticize and accept flattery, "eating white lobster sauce" is called incompetence, bullying is called "freeloading", accepting bribes is called "freeloading", and getting something for nothing is called "freeloading". A large number of new words will be produced in the new period. With the development of the times, some new words have been imported into Xiangtan dialect. These words mainly come from fashion in Hunan.

Some words skillfully and intricately used by popular hosts in high-rated TV media are easily popular and widely accepted and used by the public. For example, Wang Han and Kyle, the hosts of The More Tactics, frequently use words such as "That's true", "Sister Tuo" and "Strategy" in the program. Some words used by soldiers Qi Zhi and Yang Zhichun in their dialect cross talk and double reed, such as "Harry Oil", "Yang Wuliu" and "Fan Ling", are also rapidly popular in Xiangtan.

It is difficult to mediate disputes and solve difficult problems. It refers to the "cage" used by sellers to lure customers into cheating, the "stumbling" used to show ugliness and lack of grace, and the "squeezing hands" used by scammers. "Brother" (taxi driver) and "Man Ge" (young man) are all fashionable words widely used by Xiangtan people in recent years.

Through these popular fashion words, we can get a glimpse of Xiangtan people's psychology of seeking novelty and conformity. It is precisely because of this that some new dialect words have quickly become the most frequently used words in Xiangtan people, men, women and children. Some words even directly reflect the personality characteristics of Xiangtan people, such as "I would rather die than surrender", "arrogance", "I will endure if I can" and "I will endure if I am just bitter".