Jiangsu 7

Listen to Jiangsu 7, a 19-year-old man from Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, 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): 06/11/1990

PLACE OF BIRTH: Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province

GENDER: male

ETHNICITY: Han Chinese

OCCUPATION: student

EDUCATION: At the time of the recording, the subject was in his first year at university.

AREA(S) OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

Subject came to live in Suzhou, Jiangsu, seven months before the date of the recording.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

Not having spent much time away from his hometown, subject has had only slight external influences on his speech. He began to learn English at the age of 10 and was not exposed to native English speakers until coming to university in Suzhou seven months ago. However, he does describe English as his hobby, and there may be some influences from the films and other sound samples that he uses to improve his comprehension. This is not, however, strongly evident in his accent. His native dialect is a member of the main Putonghua group and is spoken in North Jiangsu. He is an English major at university but has had limited exposure to native English-speaking teachers.

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): 21/04/2010

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

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

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

I come from Jiangyin; (ah) it is a small city north to the Suzhou Pro- (ah) Suzhou City. In my family, I have my mother, my father and I. I grew up in this family happily and healthily. (Ah) I loved my school days; (ah) it’s very enjoyable; (eh) I learned very well (ah). When I, I was growing up (ah), I think I was (ah) very happy. I played (ah, ah, ah) played sports like basketball, soccer, ping-pong and (ah) swimming. I love music too; I play violin. I have visited a lot of places in China ,(ah) most in south (ah) east part. (ah) I love China very much. You know the economic (eh) developed ve- very fast, and you know the culture is very wonderful. (um) People live in China very happily.

TRANSCRIBED BY: Bill McCann

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 21/04/2010

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

The subject now goes on to read the following abstracts from the Analects of Confucius in Putonghua (Mandarin).

KEY: A = Mandarin (Simplified); B = Mandarin (Pingyin); C = English translation.

孔子: 论语 – Kǒng zǐ : lún yǔ – Confucius: Lun Yu

學而第一 – 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: 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: 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: 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 – 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: 2-2:- The Master said: In the Book of Odes there are three hundred poems, but they may be summarized 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: 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: 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

The subject was raised in Jiangyin, Jiangsu, on the south bank of the Yangtse. The name of the city translates as “Shade of the River” and refers to its location on the south bank. Strategically placed at the narrow neck of a meander in the Yangtse, the site has been occupied since the middle of the Chinese Neolithic period (12,000–2,000 BCE).

It was part of the Liangzhu culture (3,4000 – 2,250), the last Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta of China. The culture was highly stratified. Jade, silk, ivory and lacquer artifacts are found exclusively in burials of the upper classes, while pottery is more commonly found in the burial plots of poorer individuals. The site at Liangzhu was discovered in Yuhang County, Zhejiang, and initially excavated in 1936.

The culture possessed advanced agriculture, included irrigation, paddy rice cultivation and aquaculture. Houses were often constructed with stilts on rivers or shorelines. In the succeeding historic periods, Jiangyin continued as an agricultural center for the region.

In the modern period, the city and surrounding towns have grown quite rapidly during the last decade as the city has benefited greatly from China’s industrialization. A six-lane highway suspension bridge crosses the Yangtze River at  Jiangyin. When completed in 1999, it was one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, with a span of 1,385 metres (4,500 feet). Important industries in the Jiangyin area include ship building, textiles, machinery and steel wire. The residents of Jiangyin have become amongst the most wealthy in China.

The major dialect, and that of this subject, is Jiangyinhua, a member of the Northern Wu group with similarities the dialects of nearby Wuxi, Changzhou and Suzhou. However, there is a small minority of the Min group that is mainly found further south, in Fujian, Guangdon and Taiwan.

Noticeable characteristics, which can be heard on the recordings, include the /v/- /w/ minimal pair, which is not a problem with “vet” but is very evident in “very.” The problem of the possessive and plural /s/ preceded by an /s/ sound that has been noted in other Jiangsu samples is also evident here. Another fairly common Chinese characteristic to listen for is with the /eɪ/ and /aɪ/ minimal pairs, which here manifests itself very nicely in pronouncing “laid” as “lied.” This subject also frequently pronounces /θ/ as /ts/, again a fairly common Chinese characteristic.

COMMENTARY BY: Bill McCann

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 21/04/2010

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