Weitou dialect

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other Template:Chinese The Weitou dialect or Wai Tau dialect (Template:Zh) is a dialect of Yue Chinese. It forms part of the Guan–Bao (Kuan-pao; Template:Zh, Tungkuan–Paoan) branch of Yuehai. It is spoken by older generations in Lo-hu and Fu-tʻien districts in Shenzhen, and by those in the New Territories, Hong Kong.

The Weitou dialect can be heard in Hong Kong TV dramas and movies, and is usually used to depict characters who come from walled villages. For example, in the 1992 movie Now You See Love, Now You Don't, the chief character, played by Chow Yun-fat who himself grew up in Lamma Island, consistently speaks the Weitou dialect.

In a more general sense, Wei-tou-hua can refer to any variety of Chinese spoken in the villages of Hong Kong, including Hakka and rural Yue dialects. In contrast, most Hong Kong residents speak standard Cantonese, while most Shenzhen residents speak Mandarin.

Phonology

Zhang & Zhuang (2003:21-4) records the phonological systems of three varieties of the Weitou dialect spoken in Hong Kong. Following is Fan Tin's (), San Tin (in IPA).

The 21 onsets

The 37 rimes

There are four tone contours, when the "entering tones" (stopped syllables) are ignored:

The 4 tones

tone name	contour	description
Yin Ping	(23) or (55)	low rising or high
Yang Ping	(21)	low
Shang	(35)	high rising
Qu	(33)	mid

References

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External links

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