Guangxi 9

Listen to Guangxi 9, a 19-year-old woman from Beiliu, Guangxi, China. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 19

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 02/02/1994

PLACE OF BIRTH: Beiliu, Liujing, 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): 19/11/2013

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

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

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

When I first began to learn English. It’s over seven years since I began to learn English. When I first started, I found English is very difficult. First of all, it wasn’t easy for me to understand the teacher when she talked. To begin with, she spoke too quickly, and I couldn’t understand every word. Later on, I realized that it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand every word. I was also afraid to speak in class because I thought my classmates may laugh at me. I couldn’t make complete sentences either. Then I started to watch, hmm, English language – English-language TV. It helped a lot. I think doing lots of listening practice is one of the secrets of becoming a good language learner. But all this is only a beginning and I – and I still have a long way to go. I’ll try my best and work even harder than before. I must speak and listen to English more, both in and out of class. I must learn English well so that I can work well in my future.
[The subject now goes on to read abstracts from the Analects of Confucius in her own Yuefangyanhua 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: he er shi zhe zhi, bu yi le fu

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 pang zei yun fang lai, bu yi le fu

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 geng zi fu

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, ri yun yi Bei zhi, yue: sei mu 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 men hao Zi yue: gen zhi hao zhe, shi wei neng yang. Zhi ei hin ma, gai neng you_yang; bu ging, he yi bi fu

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 kei suo yi, guan kei suo you, cha kei suo an. Ren yan _shou zhai? Ren yan shou zhai?

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 strong accent with a strong delivery. It is very rich in what we are beginning to see as a significant characteristic in Guangxi speakers of English, namely the suppression of the final plosives, especially /d/ and /t/ but also some others such as /k/. Listen for the words “word” and “work” in the unscripted speech on this sample. Otherwise, the sample is largely free of many of the usual characteristics found in Chinese speakers, although the /r/ – /l/ pair make an occasional appearance.

The subject’s local dialect is known locally as Yuefangyanhua, a sub-dialect of the Yulin dialect that is spoken in Beiliu. It is a member of the Goulou group of Yue sub-dialects. These 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. For more information on these, see the Guangxi 5 sample.

A general introduction to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region can be found in the commentary for the Guangxi 1 sample. The subject’s hometown is Liujing village in Beiliu, a county-level city under the administration of Yulin city. It has a population of 1.16 million, 87 percent of whom are engaged in agriculture. The city is most famous for its ceramics, which have been manufactured here since the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 – 1279 CE). Beiliu ware has the sheen of jade and emits a clear, bell-like ring when it is tapped. The city began to export its ceramics in the 1950s, and today 95 percent of the local ceramic output is exported to over 70 countries and regions in the world. It accounts for more than two-thirds of Guangxi’s total ceramic exports.

COMMENTARY BY: Bill McCann

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

The archive provides:

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