Taishan dialect

Toisanese / Taishan vernacular (台山話 Toisanese / Taishan vernacular: Hoi4 saan6 wa1, Cantonese: toi4 saan1 wa6), or Seiyap, is a Chinese dialect (or group of very similar dialects) spoken in and around Taishan, in Guangdong province. Toisanese / Taishan vernacular is grouped within Yue, one of the major branches of spoken Chinese.

History of Toisanese / Taishan vernacular

Toisanese / Taishan vernacular originates from the Taishan region, where it is spoken. Often regarded as a single language, Toisanese / Taishan vernacular can also be seen as a group of very closely related, mutually intelligible subdialects spoken by the various towns and villages in and around Seiyap (the four counties of Taishan, Enping, Kaiping, Xinhui). It is said that one can tell from what village or town a person is from based on his pronounciation of words and manner of speaking.

Toisanese / Taishan vernacular is one of the major languages of the Chinese diaspora. The Taishan region was a major source of Chinese immigrants in the Americas in the 19th and early 20th centuries. 1.3 million people are estimated to have origins in Taishan. Because Toisanese / Taishan vernacular is often included with Cantonese or regarded as a dialect of Cantonese, many Cantonese speakers are in fact Toisanese / Taishan vernacular or descendents of Toisanese / Taishan vernacular speakers. Prior to the repealing of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which allowed new waves of Chinese immigrants, Toisanese / Taishan vernacular was ubiquitous in Chinatowns across North America. Toisanese / Taishan vernacular is still spoken everyday in many Chinatowns including those of Oakland and San Francisco. Toisanese / Taishan vernacular is spoken by older generations of Chinese people, as well as Chinese of Taishan descent, but often, usage of Toisanese / Taishan vernacular is giving way to Cantonese, due the popularity, standardization, prestige, and usage in education of standard Cantonese.

Relationship between Cantonese and Toisanese / Taishan vernacular

Toisanese / Taishan vernacular is often regarded as being very similar to Cantonese, or merely heavily accented Cantonese. However, Toisanese / Taishan vernacular and Cantonese are not neccessarily mutually intelligible. Phonology is very similar to Cantonese, however, pronounciation and vocabulary differ, sometimes greatly. Due to the widespread use of Cantonese in mainstream and popular culture, most Toisanese / Taishan vernacular speakers will understand spoken Cantonese. Some may even regard their own language simply as a differently-accented version of Cantonese. The reverse is not neccessarily true, however. Native Cantonese speakers unfamiliar with Toisanese / Taishan vernacular (such as Hong Kongers) may find difficulty understand Toisanese / Taishan vernacular unless spoken slowly.

This rarely becomes an issue in China, however. In Guangdong province, standard Cantonese is used as a lingua franca, and speakers of various dialects, such as Chaozhou, Hakka, and Toisanese / Taishan vernacular will often speak or understand Cantonese. In addition, Mandarin Putonghua is the standardized language taught in schools throughout China. Thus, many Toisanese / Taishan vernacular speakers in Taishan will usually be fluent in Cantonese as well as Mandarin. Depending on the situation, Toisanese / Taishan vernacular speakers holding a conversation may code-switch between Toisanese / Taishan vernacular, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

Writing

No standardized form of written Toisanese / Taishan vernacular exists. Writing is done using Chinese characters and Mandarin vocabulary and grammar. Many common words used in spoken Toisanese / Taishan vernacular have no Chinese character associated with them. No standard Romanization system exists for Toisanese / Taishan vernacular; the ones given on this page are ad hoc. The following example of plural pronouns will show the differences between Toisanese / Taishan vernacular, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

See also

List of Chinese dialects

External links

• China Taishan Web