Huizhou dialect

The Huizhou dialect (simplified Chinese: 惠州话; traditional Chinese: 惠州話; pinyin: Huìzhōuhuà) is a Chinese dialect spoken in and around Huicheng District, the traditional urban centre of Huizhou, Guangdong.^[2] The locals also call the dialect Bendihua (simplified Chinese: 本地话; traditional Chinese: 本地話; pinyin: Běndìhuà; lit. 'local speech') and distinguish it from the dialect spoken in Meixian and Danshui, Huiyang, which they call Hakka (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 both Yue and Hakka. 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 the Language Atlas of China puts it into its own subgroup under Hakka known as the Huizhou 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 the Mei–Hui cluster (梅惠小片; Méi-Huì xiǎopiàn) of the Yue–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 the Dong River, including the Heyuan dialect, into the Hui–He branch (惠河系; Huì-Hé xì) of Yue.^[6] Chang Song-hing and Zhuang Chusheng propose a similar grouping called the Hui–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 several aspectual markers that attach to the verb as suffixes:^[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 with Yue and/or Hakka (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)