Guangxi 10

Listen to Guangxi 10, a 20-year-old woman from Haicheng, Beihai, Guangxi, China. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 20

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 06/10/1993

PLACE OF BIRTH: Haicheng, Beihai, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

GENDER: female

ETHNICITY: Han Chinese

OCCUPATION: student

EDUCATION: university

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS: N/A

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH: N/A

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Bill McCann

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 21/11/2013

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

Hello, everyone. Well, I came from the Guangxi, Beihai, and, well, you know the “hai” in Chinese means the sea. I am totally crushed [crushing] on the sea. Well, you know when I was unhappy or upset and I feel not well, I will sitting on the beach and, ah, seeing the sea and I, well, you know things would change s – change so much.
[The subject now goes on to read abstracts from the Analects of Confucius in her own Beihaihua dialect. (See the detailed commentary below.) She has not provided a pinyin transliteration. A reading in Putonghua (Mandarin) can be heard on the Hebei 1 sample.]

TRANSCRIBED BY: Bill McCann

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 14/12/2013

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY:

SHORT READINGS FROM THE ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS

KEY: A = Mandarin (Simplified); B = Mandarin (Pinyin); C = Dialect (Pinyin); D = English.

孔子: 论语 – Kǒng zǐ : lún yǔ – Kon zi: len yu – Confucius: Lun Yu

 

學而第一 – xué ér dì yī – Xué ér dì yī – Chapter One

A: 1-1:-       子曰: 學而時習之、不亦說乎。

B: yī-yī :-    zǐ yuē: xué ér shí xí zhī, bù yì yuè hū.

C: yī-yī :-    zi yue xue er shi xi zhi bu yi yue hu

D: 1-1:-       The Master said: Is it not pleasure to learn, and practice what is learned time and again?

A: 1-2:-       有朋自遠方來、不亦樂乎。

B: yī-èr:-     yǒu péng zì yuǎn fāng lái, bù yì lè hū.

C: yī-èr:-     you peng zi yuan fang lai bu yi yue hu

D: 1-2:-       Is it not happiness to have friends coming from distant places?

A: 1-3:-       人不知而不慍、不亦君子乎。

B: yī-sān:    rén bù zhī ér bù yùn, bù yì jūn zi hū.

C: yī-sān:    ren bu zhi er bu wen bu yi jun zi hu

D: 1-3:-       Is it not virtue for a man to feel no discomposure when others take no note of him?

為政第二 – wéi zhèng dì èr – wéi zhèng dì ér – Chapter two

A: 2-2:-       子曰：「詩三百，一言以蔽之，曰：『思無邪』。

B: èr-èr:-     zǐ yuē: shī sān bǎi, yī yán yǐ bì zhī , yuē: sī wú xié.

C: èr-èr:-     zi yue shi san bai shou yi yan yi bi zhi yue si wu xie

D: 2-2:-       The Master said: In the Book of Odes there are three hundred poems, but they may be summarised in a single sentence: Think no evil.

A: 2-7:-       子游問孝。子曰：今之孝者，是謂能養。至於犬馬，皆能有養；不敬,    何 以別乎。

B: èr-qī:-     zǐ yóu wèn xiào. zǐ yuē: jīn zhī xiào zhě, shì wèi néng yǎng. zhì wū quǎn mǎ, jiē néng yǒu yǎng; bù jìng, hé yǐ bié hū.

C: : èr-qī:-   zi you wen xiao zi yue jin zhi xiao zhe shi wei neng yang zhi yu quan ma jie neng you yang bu jing he yi bie hu

D: 2-7:-       Zi You asked what filial piety was. The Master said: Nowadays, providing support for one’s parents is considered filial piety. But dogs and horses can also do this. If there is no respect, what is the difference?

A: 2-10:-     子曰：「視其所以，觀其所由，察其所安。人焉叟哉？人焉叟哉？

B: èr-shí :- zǐ yuē: shì qí suǒ yǐ , guān qí suǒ yóu, chá qí suǒ ān. rén yān sǒu zāi? rén yān sǒu zāi?

C: èr-shí :- zi yue shi qi suo yi guan qi suo you cha qi suo an ren yan sou zai ren yan so zai

D: 2-10:-     The Master said: Watch what a man does. Find out his motives. See how he takes his ease. How then can the man hide his true self? How can the man hide his true self?

COMMENTARY

This is a moderately strong accent with a well-poised delivery and a charming idiosyncrasy. There are a few of the usual characteristics found in Chinese speakers of English, most notably that involving the /v/ and /w/ phones. She also sometimes shows the Guangxi characteristic of suppressing the plosive sound of the /d/ and /t/ phones.

The subject’s dialect is Beihaihua, a subdialect of Qin–Lian (Jamlim), a southern Guinan branch of Yue. This language is spoken in the coastal area of Guangxi province. There are seven sub-dialects, with Beihai dialect considered the premier dialect.

A general introduction to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region can be found in the Commentary for the Guangxi 1 sample. The subject’s hometown is Haicheng, which literally means “sea city,” which is now a part of the rapidly expanding city of Beihai.

The name Beihai itself means “north of the sea” and alludes to its position as a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin. It is historically important as a port of international trade for Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan. It’s predicted to be the world’s fastest-growing city between the years 2006 and 2020. Although it has a large shipyard, most of the money generated in the city is derived from trade.

After the 1876 Sino-British Treaty of Yantai, eight Western nations (the UK, US, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Italy, Portugal, and Belgium) set up embassies, hospitals, churches, schools, and maritime customs in Beihai. Fifteen of these Western buildings still survive today. The major vernacular languages of Beihai include several Cantonese dialects and Hakka. Putonghua (Mandarin) is becoming increasingly prevalent as a result of part of the Chinese government’s general promotion of the “Common Language.”

COMMENTARY BY: Bill McCann

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 14/12/2013

The archive provides:

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