Hangzhou dialect

Hangzhou
杭州話, ɦaŋ-tsei-ɦa
Pronunciation[ɦãtseiɦa]
Native toPeople's Republic of China
RegionHangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Native speakers
(1.2 million cited 1987)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
ISO 639-6hgou
Glottologhang1257
Linguasphere79-AAA-dbd
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The Hangzhou dialect (simplified Chinese: 杭州话; traditional Chinese: 杭州話; pinyin: Hángzhōuhuà, Rhangzei Rhwa) is spoken in the city of Hangzhou, China and its immediate suburbs, but excluding areas further away from Hangzhou such as Xiāoshān (蕭山) and Yúháng (余杭) (both originally county-level cities and now the districts within Hangzhou City). Its number of speakers has been estimated to be about 1.2 to 1.5 million. It is a dialect of Wu, one of the Chinese varieties.

The Hangzhou dialect is of immense interest to Chinese historical phonologists and dialectologists because phonologically, it exhibits extensive similarities with the other Wu dialects; however, grammatically and lexically, it shows many Mandarin tendencies.[2] Although the Hangzhou dialect has the basic characteristics of the Wu language, several waves of migration from the north, represented by the southward relocation of the ruling centre of Song dynasty, have caused the local language system to undergo great changes and gradually take on a special character in Jiangnan region.[3]

The Hangzhou dialect is classified as a "developing" language, with a rating of 5 on the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS), meaning it is still in vigorous use, but its written form are neither sustainable, nor widespread.[4]

  1. ^ Sinolect.org
  2. ^ Simmons (1995).
  3. ^ "杭州市文化广电旅游局 Hangzhou Dialect". wgly.hangzhou.gov.cn. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  4. ^ Kandrysawtz, Kai (December 2017). The Vitality of the Hangzhou Dialect of Mandarin (PDF) (Report). Vol. 55. p. 3.