Guangxi 6

Listen to Guangxi 6, a 22-year-old woman from Xing Ye Xian, Yulin, Guangxi, China. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 22

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 25/09/1991

PLACE OF BIRTH: Xing Ye Xian, Yulin, 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:

Let me introduce myself and my hometown change. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. That’s a unforgettable day. I was crying the first time I went to school. I wasn’t willing to go to school because I had to leave home; I couldn’t see my mum. However, after that I love – I loved going to school, because I had many friends in school. When I was 9 years old, I learned English. My English teacher is – was a beautiful woman. She had sweet voice; we all love her. I am so honor as a Chinese, because China is a quite strong in the world and Chinese is very friendly. Chinese – Chinese Public Security is the best one of the countries in the world. I love Chinese and welcome you! I’m from Xing Ye Xian, Yu – Yuli – Yulin city, Guangxi. Today may – my hometown has changed much recently. For example, the transportation has better conditions. We didn’t have any buses when I was a childr – a child. People always walk in – walked to the downtown, and it’s very convenient for us to do business. However, we are willing to go to everywhere of our city because there are many bus- buses everywhere; it’s so convenient for us to do anything. At my home, I have parents, grandfather, a- grandmother, brothers, and sisters. We all get along well with each other, and love each other. Especially my mum love me very much, and she always gives me many good things when she goes to do business.
Next let me read the Lun Yu in my hometown dialect. First is Yulin Cantonese.
[The subject now goes on to read abstracts from the Analects of Confucius in her own local Cantonese dialect for which she has provided a pinyin transliteration. See version C, in the detailed commentary below].
Next is the Kejiahua.
[The subject now goes on to read abstracts from the Analects of Confucius in her own local Hakka dialect, Yulinhua, for which she has also provided a pinyin transliteration. See version D, in the detailed commentary below].
I finished.
[For comparison, a reading in Putonghua (Mandarin) can be heard on the Hebei 1 sample.]

TRANSCRIBED BY: Bill McCann

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 07/12/2013

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 = Cantonese (Pinyin); D = Hakka; E = 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 :-    ji yue: xue er xiji ji, bu yi yue wu ?

D: yī-yī :-    Zu  yue: Xue ni xi ji ji, bu yi gun zu fu.

E: 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 bang ji yuan fang lai, bu yi le wu?

D: yī-èr:-     You pen ji yuan fang lai bu yi le fu.

E: 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 ji bu wan buyiguan ji wu?

D: yī-sān:    Ren bu ji bu yun, bu yi gun zu fu.

E: 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:-     ji yue: xi sang  bai, yi yan yi bi ji, yue: xi wu jie.

D: èr-èr:-     zu yue: xi sang ba xiu, yi yan yi bi ji, yue: si wu qia

E: 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:-   ji you man hao. ji yue: ganji hao jie xi wai nang yang, ji yu quan mo, gai nang you yang, bu ging ho yi bie wu.

D: : èr-qī:-   Zu you men hao. zu yue: gin ji jia, xi wei nen yang. ji yi qian ma, dong nen you yang, bu ging, ho yi pie fu.

E: 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 :- ji yue, xi ji suo yi, guen gi suo you, zo gi suo wun, ren yan sou zhuai, ren yan sou zhuai?

D: èr-shí :- Zu yue: xi qi suo yi, guon ki suo you, qia qi suo on, ren yang sou jai, ren yan sou jai.

E: 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 very nice, strong accent. There are many of the usual characteristics that are found in Chinese speakers of English; listen for “mirror” and “time,” for example. She also has a trace of the Guangxi /s/, /S/, and /z/ phone substitution. The plosives /t/, /d/, /b/, and /p/ are regularly suppressed, particularly when they are finals.

For a general historical overview of the Guangxi Zhuamg Autonomous Region, see the Guangxi 1 sample.  The subject’s local dialect is Yulinhua, a member of the Goulou group of Yue sub-dialects. The people of Yulin itself refer to it as Yulin Baihun, as it is also spoken in nearby Bobai.

Yue dialects are among the most conservative of Chinese dialects regarding the final consonants and tonal categories of Middle Chinese. Some Chinese linguists have suggested that the Yulin dialect is the best surviving example of what ancient spoken Chinese would have sounded like. Yue pronunciation is thought to be closer to that of older forms of Chinese, particularly that of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), than Mandarin, as is some of its grammar. For example, many old poems that do rhyme when read with Yue pronunciation do not rhyme in Mandarin pronunciation. However, they have lost several distinctions in the initial and medial consonants that other dialects have retained. It is thought that officials, and others, who were exiled or migrated to southern China during the Tang Dynasty brought their variety of Chinese with them. Because of the region’s relative remoteness and the lack of efficient communications and transport, the Tang variety survived relatively unchanged.

The subject’s hometown of Yulin (the name literally means “Jade Forest”) is prefecture-level city. It has a population of approximately 6.7 million (2010 census), the majority of which is Han, but Zhuang, Miao, and other ethnic minorities are also present. It is located in southeastern Guangxi along the border with Guangdong.

Archaeological studies suggest that the area was settled before the Qin Dynasty (221 -206 BCE), but it does not appear, as Yulin, in the historical records until the early Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 9 CE). It became a “zhou” (city) in 996 during the Song Dynasty (960-1127 CE). Since ancient times, Yulin has been important for trade and communications between central China and the south, especially the coast of the Gulf of Tonkin. It is also home to the Yulin Summer Solstice Dog Meat Festival. This year, 2013, more than 10,000 dogs were consumed at the festival.

China’s oldest and most famous tower, Shiyi Tower, is located in the Shek Nanzhen mountains here. Built during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) using the local Nanzhen stone, it is an octagonal Miyan pagoda, seven stories and 22 metres (72 feet) high.

COMMENTARY BY: Bill McCann

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 07/12/2013

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