TheHuizhou dialect (simplified Chinese:惠州话;traditional Chinese:惠州話;pinyin:Huìzhōuhuà) is aChinese dialect spoken in and aroundHuicheng District, the traditional urban centre ofHuizhou,Guangdong.^[2] The locals also call the dialectBendihua (simplified Chinese:本地话;traditional Chinese:本地話;pinyin:Běndìhuà;lit. 'local speech') and distinguish it from the dialect spoken inMeixian andDanshui, Huiyang, which they callHakka (simplified Chinese:客家话;traditional Chinese:客家話;pinyin:Kèjiāhuà).^[2][3]

The classification of the Huizhou dialect is disputed because it shows characteristics of bothYue andHakka. Most scholars classify the Huizhou dialect as a dialect of Hakka, but some scholars, most notably Liu Shuxin, consider it to be a dialect of Yue.^[2]

The first edition of theLanguage Atlas of China puts it into its own subgroup under Hakka known as theHuizhou subgroup (惠州片;Huìzhōu piàn).^[4] In the second edition, it is still classified as a dialect of Hakka, but it is placed under theMei–Hui cluster (梅惠小片;Méi-Huì xiǎopiàn) of theYue–Tai subgroup (粤台片;粵臺片;Yuè-Tái piàn).^[5]

Liu Shuxin groups it together with other similar dialects spoken around the middle and upper reaches of theDong River, including theHeyuan dialect, into theHui–He branch (惠河系;Huì-Hé xì) of Yue.^[6] Chang Song-hing and Zhuang Chusheng propose a similar grouping called theHui–He subgroup (惠河片;Huì-Hé piàn), but they classify the group as Hakka.^[7]

The Huizhou dialect has seven tones:^[8]

Other than these seven tones,˥ (55) appears in some grammatical particles.^[13]

The Huizhou dialect has severalaspectual markers that attach to theverb assuffixes:^[14][15][16]

The Huizhou dialect has the following personal pronouns. The plural is formed by a tone change.^[17]

The Huizhou dialect has many cognates withYue and/orHakka (cognates with Huizhou are shaded in blue):^[18]

• Chang, Song-hing; Zhuang, Chusheng (2008).廣東方言的地理格局與自然地理及歷史地理的關係 [Geographical Distribution of Guangdong Dialects: Their Linkage with Natural and Historical Geography](PDF).Journal of Chinese Studies (in Chinese) (48):407–422.
• Chen, Shu-huan (2010).惠州方言的完成体助词“抛”和“□[ei⁵⁵]” [Auxiliaries of Perfect Aspect Pao and [ei⁵⁵] in Huizhou Dialect].Journal of Huizhou University (in Chinese).30 (4):8–14.
• Chinese Academy of Social Sciences;Australian Academy of the Humanities (1987).中国语言地图集 [Language Atlas of China] (in Chinese). Hong Kong: Longman Group (Far East).ISBN 0-582-99903-0.
• Hou, Xiaoying (2008).东江中上游本地话研究 [A Study of Bendihua in the Middle and Upper Reaches of Dongjiang Basin] (PhD) (in Chinese). Xiamen University.
• Hou, Xiaoying (2017).惠州话：粤色客底的粤化客方言 [Huizhou Dialect: a Hakka Dialect Greatly Influenced by Yue Dialect].Academic Research (in Chinese) (7):159–169.
• Huang, Xuezhen (1987).惠州话的归属.Fangyan (in Chinese) (4):255–263.
• Liu, Ruoyun (1991).惠州方言志 [Huizhou Dialect Gazetteer] (in Chinese). Guangzhou: Guangdong Science & Technology Press.ISBN 7-5359-0658-3.
• Liu, Ruoyun (1997).惠州方言的助词 [Particles in the Huizhou Dialect].Sun Yatsen University Forum (in Chinese) (4):15–22.
• Liu, Shuxin (2007).东江中上游土语群研究——粤语惠河系探考 [A Study of the Group of Vernaculars Spoken around the Middle and Upper Reaches of the Dong River—An Investigation of the Hui–He Branch of Yue] (in Chinese). Beijing: China Society Publishing House.ISBN 978-7-5087-1716-6.
• Local Gazetteer Editorial Committee of Huicheng District, Huizhou City, ed. (2012).惠州市惠城区志 [Gazetteer of Huicheng District, Huizhou City] (in Chinese). Guangzhou: Guangdong People's Publishing House.ISBN 978-7-218-08115-1.
• Xie, Liuwen; Huang, Xuezhen (2012).B1—17 客家话.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. 116–124.ISBN 978-7-100-07054-6.
• Yan, Xiuhong (2009).河源惠州“本地话”语音概略（一） [A Summary of the Phonology of "Bendihua" in Heyuan and Huizhou](PDF) (in Chinese).{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)

• Hakka Chinese
• Yue Chinese
• Huizhou

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