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| Xiguan | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Mainland China |
| Region | Xiguan,Liwan District,Guangzhou,Guangdong |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
TheXiguan dialect, orSai Kwan dialect[1][2][3] (Chinese:西關話;Jyutping:sai1 gwaan1 waa2), is theprestige dialect[4] ofCantonese originated fromXiguan (Sai Kwan),Guangzhou.
| Xiguan Accent | Downtown Accent | English |
|---|---|---|
| han3(瞓)覺 (close to the ancient pronunciation of "睏") | fan3(瞓)覺 | to sleep |
| ji1(依)家 | ji4(而)家 | now |
| ji1(依)個 | ni1(呢)個 | this, these |
Due to Xiguan's near geographical position toNanhai, both accents spoken in Xiguan and Nanhai feature n-l merger, in which /n/ and /l/ are merged into /l/. However, the feature is less prominent in the Xiguan accent.
Speakers of Xiguan Accents pronounce thezero consonant as the consonantng, for instance, "屋 (uk7)" as "nguk7" and "壓 (aat8)" as "ngaat8".
Speakers of Xiguan Accents pronounce vowelsei andai asi. The phenomenon also lies in Nanhai Accents, such as:
| Character | Xiguan Accent | Downtown Accent | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 使 | si2 | sai2 | to make, to cause, to use |
| 死 | si2 | sei2 | to die |
| 四 | si3 | sei3 | four |
| 嘶 | si1 | sai1 (increasingly read assi1 rather thansai1, influenced byMandarin) | neigh, hiss |
Additionally, speakers of Xiguan Accents enhancedental consonants. That is to say, downtown people pronounce "知", "雌" and "斯" as[tɕi],[tɕʰi] and[ɕi] (comparatively relaxed in the oral area, close to[tɕ],[tɕʰ] and[ɕ] inIPA; and yet Speakers of Xiguan Accents pronounce[tsi],[tsʰi] and[si] (The tip of tongue pushes up against upper teeth and blocks up air current. Tense in the oral area, similar tozh,ch andsh inMandarin without rolling tongue). To be precise, dental consonants are similar to the consonants of 左", "初" and "所" (i.e.,[ts],[tsʰ] and[s]) in Downtown Accents. In summary, speakers of Xiguan Accents pronounce[tɕ],[tɕʰ] and[ɕ] as[ts],[tsʰ] and[s]. A saying representing Xiguan Accents goes thatServant, take some money to buy some seadless kaki fruits (亞"四"，擰幾毫"紙"，去買啲水"柿").
Xiguan lies to the west of Taiping Gate (Chinese:太平門;pinyin:Tàipíng Mén;Jyutping:Taai3 Ping4 Mun4;lit. 'Peace and Security Gate'). Xiguan is the suburb of Guangzhou and it was administered byNanhai County rather thanPanyu County (covering formerYuexiu District and formerDongshan District). Therefore, it was not regarded as part of the capital ofGuangdong Province. Therefore, Xiguan Dialect should be regarded as suburban accents, distinguished from Downtown Accent (城內音;sing4 noi6 jam1), esp. Dongshan Accents (東山口音;dung1 saan1 hau2 jam1). Notwithstanding, Xiguan lies close to the provincial capital, so the gap is narrow.
The language used there was called 'Sai-Kwan-Wa' which was the Cantonese pronunciation of 'Sai-Kwan Dialect'
Sino-Tibetan branches | |||||
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| WesternHimalayas (Himachal, Uttarakhand,Nepal,Sikkim) |
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| EasternHimalayas (Tibet,Bhutan,Arunachal) | |||||
| Myanmar and Indo- Burmese border |
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| East andSoutheast Asia |
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| Dubious (possible isolates,Arunachal) |
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