Fuzhou dialect#Phonology

In Chinese, it is generally termed in {{lang-zh|t=福州話|s=福州话|p=Fúzhōuhuà}}, which in the native language (using the romanization Foochow Romanized) is: {{transl|cdo|{{sans-serif|Hók-ciŭ-uâ}}}} {{IPA|cdo|huʔ˨˩ tsiu˥˧ ua˨˦˨||Cdo fuzhou dialect.ogg}}. It is also sometimes called {{lang|zh-tw|福州語}} ({{lang|cdo|Hók-ciŭ-ngṳ̄}}; pinyin: Fúzhōuyǔ), using a different term for 'speech'. Native speakers also call it Bàng-uâ ({{lang|zh-tw|平話}}), meaning "the everyday language".

In English, the term "Fuzhou dialect" dominates, although "Fuzhounese" is also frequently attested. In older works written in English, the variety is called "Foochow dialect", based on the Chinese postal romanization of Fuzhou.

In Indonesia (especially in Surabaya of East Java), it is known locally as "Hokchia". Meanwhile in Malaysia and Singapore, it is often called "Hokchiu" ({{IPA|nan|hɔk̚˥t͡ɕiu˦|pron}}), which is the pronunciation of Fuzhou in the Southern Min Hokkien language or "Huchiu" ({{IPA|nan|hu˨˩t͡ɕiu˥|pron}}), which is the pronunciation of Fuzhou in the Eastern Min language of Fuzhou itself. Eastern Min and Southern Min are both spoken in the same Fujian Province, but the name Hokkien, while etymologically derived from the same characters as Fujian ({{lang|zh|福建}}), is used in Southeast Asia and the English press to refer specifically to Southern Min, which has a larger number of speakers both within Fujian and in the Chinese diaspora of Southeast Asia.

File:Qilinbayin.jpg]]

After the Qin dynasty conquered the Minyue kingdom of Southeast China in 110 BC, Chinese people began settling what is now Fujian Province. The Old Chinese language brought by the mass influx of Chinese immigrants from the Chinese heartland, along with the influences of local languages, became the early Proto-Min language from which Eastern Min, Southern Min, and other Min languages arose.Li Rulong, Liang Yuzhang: Fuzhou Dialect Records, 2001, {{ISBN|7-80597-361-X}} Within this Min branch of Chinese, Eastern Min and Southern Min both form part of a Coastal Min subgroup, and are thus closer to each other than to Inland Min groups such as Northern Min and Central Min.

The famous book Qī Lín Bāyīn, which was compiled in the 17th century, is the first and the most full-scale rime book that provides a systematic guide to character reading for people speaking or learning the Fuzhou dialect. It once served to standardize the language and is still widely quoted as an authoritative reference book in modern academic research in Min Chinese phonology.

File:Dictionary of foochow h.jpg

In 1842, Fuzhou was open to Westerners as a treaty port after the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing. But due to the language barrier, however, the first Christian missionary base in this city did not take place without difficulties. In order to convert Fuzhou people, those missionaries found it very necessary to make a careful study of the Fuzhou dialect. Their most notable works are listed below:Li, Zhuqing: A study of the "Qī Lín Bāyīn", University of Washington, 1993

:* 1856, M. C. White: The Chinese language spoken at Fuh Chau

:* 1870, R. S. Maclay & C. C. Baldwin: An alphabetic dictionary of the Chinese language in the Foochow dialect

:* 1871, C. C. Baldwin: Manual of the Foochow dialect

:* 1891, T. B. Adam: An English-Chinese dictionary of the Foochow dialect

:* 1893, Charles Hartwell: Three Character Classic of Gospel in the Foochow Colloquial

:* 1898, R. S. Maclay & C. C. Baldwin: An Alphabetic Dictionary of the Chinese Language of the Foochow Dialect, 2nd edition

:* 1905, T. B. Adam: An English-Chinese dictionary of the Foochow dialect, 2nd edition

:* 1906, The Foochow translation of the complete Bible

:* 1923, T. B. Adam & L. P. Peet: An English-Chinese dictionary of the Foochow dialect, 2nd edition

:* 1929, R. S. Maclay & C. C. Baldwin (revised and enlarged by S. H. Leger): Dictionary of the Foochow dialect

File:Japo-foochow2.jpg, 1940. Foochow kana is used to represent Foochow pronunciation.]]

During the Second World War, some Japanese scholars became passionate about studying the Fuzhou dialect, believing that it could be beneficial to the rule of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. One of their most famous works was the Japanese-Chinese Translation: Fuzhou Dialect ({{lang|ja|日華對譯: 福州語}}) published in 1940 in Taipei, in which katakana was used to represent Fuzhou pronunciation.

File:Foochow teaching.jpg Cĭng-cēu-giāng ({{lang|zh-tw|真鳥囝}})]]

By the end of the Qing dynasty, Fuzhou society had been largely monolingual. But for decades the Chinese government has discouraged the use of the vernacular in school education and in media, so the number of Mandarin speakers has been greatly boosted. Recent reports indicate that less than 50% of young people in Fuzhou are able to speak the Fuzhou dialect.[http://news.fznews.com.cn/fuzhou/2006-10-19/20061019+6Qa5T+h2223174.shtml Survey by Fuzhou Evening Paper Showing Less Than Half of Fuzhou Youth Able to Speak Fuzhou Dialect] {{in lang|zh}}

In Mainland China, the Fuzhou dialect has been officially listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage[http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-06/11/content_8346274.htm Fuzhou Dialect Protected as Intangible Cultural Heritage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807080056/http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-06/11/content_8346274.htm |date=2011-08-07 }} {{in lang|zh}} and promotion work is being systematically carried out to preserve its use. In Matsu, currently controlled by the Republic of China located in Taiwan, the teaching of the local variant, the Matsu dialect, has been successfully introduced into elementary schools.{{cite web |title=馬祖小朋友個個得學福州話 - GetIt01 |url=https://www.getit01.com/p2018040835272751/ |website=www.getit01.com |access-date=20 July 2022}} It is also one of the statutory languages for public transport announcements in Matsu大眾運輸工具播音語言平等保障法 and in Fuzhou.{{cite web |title=地铁2号线通车后公共交通出行逐步改善_工作动态_市交通局 |url=http://fzjt.fuzhou.gov.cn/zz/zwgk/gzdt_33471/202004/t20200427_3262189.htm |website=fzjt.fuzhou.gov.cn |access-date=20 July 2022}}

{{about|the standard Fuzhou dialect|a discussion of other dialects|#Regional variations|section=yes}}

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Like all Chinese varieties, the Fuzhou dialect is a tonal language, and has extensive sandhi rules in the initials, rimes, and tones. These complicated rules make the Fuzhou dialect one of the most difficult Chinese varieties.Yuan Jiahua: Summary of Chinese Dialects, 2nd Edition, 2003, {{ISBN|978-7-80126-474-9}}

There are seven original tones in the Fuzhou dialect, compared with the eight tones of Middle Chinese:

The sample characters are taken from the Qī Lín Bāyīn. More modern studies have also been done in the late 20th century and early 21st centuries, including an acoustically quantified set of data for the citation tones.{{Cite book|title=Fuzhou tonal acoustics and tonology|last=Donohue, Cathryn|year=2013|isbn=9783862885220|location=Muenchen|oclc=869209191}}

In Qī Lín Bāyīn, the Fuzhou dialect is described as having eight tones, which explains how the book got its title (Bāyīn means "eight tones"). That name, however, is somewhat misleading, because Ĭng-siōng ({{lang|zh-tw|陰上}}) and Iòng-siōng ({{lang|zh-tw|陽上}}) are identical in tone contour; therefore, only seven tones exist.

Ĭng-ĭk and Iòng-ĭk (or so-called entering tone) syllables end with either velar stop {{IPA|[k]}} or a glottal stop {{IPA|[ʔ]}}. However, they are both now realized as a glottal stop, though the two phonemes maintain distinct sandhi behavior in connected speech.

Besides those seven tones listed above, two new tonal values, "˨˩" (Buáng-ĭng-ké̤ṳ, {{lang|zh-tw|半陰去}}) and {{IPA|˧˥}} (Buáng-iòng-ké̤ṳ, {{lang|zh-tw|半陽去}}) occur in connected speech (see Tonal sandhi below).

Little discussed in the existing literature, there is some evidence that Fuzhou uses non-modal phonation with certain tones: creaky for {{lang|zh-tw|陰去}} ĭng-ké̤ṳ, {{lang|zh-tw|陰入}} ĭng-ĭk, {{lang|zh-tw|陽去}} iòng-ké̤ṳ, and breathy for {{lang|zh-tw|上聲}} siōng-siăng. This has been shown to be perceptually relevant for tonal identification. Donohue, Cathryn (2012). [https://www.academia.edu/11646480/The_role_of_contour_and_phonation_in_Fuzhou_tonal_identification The role of contour and phonation in Fuzhou tonal identification] In Quantitative approaches to problems in linguistics : studies in honour of Phil Rose. Donohue, Cathryn, Ishihara, Shunichi, Steed, William, Rose, Philip, 1949-. Muenchen. {{ISBN|9783862883844}}. {{OCLC|822991941}}

The rules of tonal sandhi in the Fuzhou dialect are complicated, even compared with those of other Min dialects. When two or more than two morphemes combine into a word, the tonal value of the last morpheme remains stable but in most cases those of the preceding morphemes change. For example, "{{lang|zh-tw|獨}}", "{{lang|zh-tw|立}}" and "{{lang|zh-tw|日}}" are words of Iòng-ĭk ({{lang|zh-tw|陽入}}) with the same tonal value {{IPA|˥}}, and are pronounced {{IPA|[tuʔ˥]}}, {{IPA|[liʔ˥]}}, and {{IPA|[niʔ˥]}}, respectively. When combined as the phrase "{{lang|zh-tw|獨立日}}" (Independence Day), "{{lang|zh-tw|獨}}" changes its tonal value to {{IPA|˨˩}}, and "{{lang|zh-tw|立}}" changes its to {{IPA|˧}}, therefore the pronunciation as a whole is {{IPA|[tuʔ˨˩ liʔ˧ niʔ˥]}}.

The two-syllable tonal sandhi rules are shown in the table below (the rows give the first syllable's original citation tone, while the columns give the citation tone of the second syllable):

Ĭng-ĭk-gák ({{lang|zh-tw|陰入甲}}) are ĭng-ĭk ({{lang|zh-tw|陰入}}) syllables ending with -k {{IPA|/k/}} and ĭng-ĭk-ék ({{lang|zh-tw|陰入乙}}) are those with a final -h {{IPA|/ʔ/}}.[http://blog.yam.com/gnudoyng/article/5806871 Nguāi Muōng Gōng Nṳ̄ Muōng Tiăng (我罔講汝罔聽), post of March 17th, 2006], retrieved December 26th, 2011.{{cite journal |last1=Chan |first1=Marjorie K.M. |title=Prelinked and Floating Glottal Stops In Fuzhou Chinese |journal=Canadian Journal of Linguistics |date=December 1990 |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=331–349 |doi=10.1017/S000841310001392X |access-date=17 January 2024|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-linguistics-revue-canadienne-de-linguistique/article/abs/prelinked-and-floating-glottal-stops-in-fuzhou-chinese/605C456A41C97F230971D6119F5FB483}} This distinction made between the glottal stop and the -k is said to have been maintained in the literary readings of characters until quite recently. Both are usually realized as the glottal stop by most modern speakers of the Fuzhou dialect, and have the same tone in isolation, but they are still distinguished both in the above tone sandhi behavior, and in initial assimilation that occurs after them. Although the iòng-ĭk ({{lang|zh-tw|陽入}}) tone is also a checked tone composed of both types of syllables, in -k and in -h, there is no split in its realization, either in isolation or in its tone sandhi behavior.

The three patterns of tone sandhi exhibited in the Fuzhou dialect may be a reflex of the voicing split from Middle Chinese into different registers. This is based on a comparison with the tonal sandhi system of the subdialect of Lianjiang, a very similar but more conservative Eastern Min variety, where three tonal categories on penultimate syllables ("Yin" / Ĭng / {{lang|zh-tw|陰}} from unvoiced consonants in Middle Chinese; "Yang" / Iòng / {{lang|zh-tw|陽}} from voiced consonants in Middle Chinese; and a third "Shang" / Siōng / {{lang|zh-tw|上}} tonal category from the Middle Chinese "rising tone" 上聲 where the Yin and Yang registers have merged) interact with the tonal category of the final syllable to form the sandhi pattern in Lianjiang.[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271849974_The_Effect_of_Historical_Tone_Categories_on_Tone_Sandhi_in_Lianjiang Wu, J., & Chen, Y. (2012). The Effect of Historical Tone Categories on Tone Sandhi in Lianjiang. Paper presented at the 20th Annual Conference of the IACL, Hongkong.] Although the effect of the historical tonal registers from Middle Chinese is clear in Lianjiang, the Fuzhou tonal sandhi system has deviated from the older pattern, in that the tone Iòng-ké̤ṳ 陽去{{IPA|˨˦˨}}, which is from the historical "Yang" tonal register, now follows the sandhi rules for the "Yin" register; and the sandhi tone Ĭng-ĭk-gák 陰入乙 {{IPA|˨˦}}, which comes from the historical "Yin" register, follow the sandhi rules for the merged "Shang" tone.Wu, J., & Chen, Y. (2012). An account of Lianjiang tone Sandhi: Pitch target, context, and historical tone categories. Paper presented at the Tone and Intonation Conference 2012 (TIE5), Londen.

The tonal sandhi rules of more than two syllables display further complexities. For three-syllable domains:

Four-syllable words can be treated as two sequential two-syllable units, and undergo two-syllable tone sandhi accordingly; in faster speech, the first two syllables are reduced to a half dark departing tone, and the remaining two syllables undergo two-syllable tone sandhi. A domain of four syllables is the maximum, with anything larger broken down to into smaller domains.

There are fifteen initials, including a zero initial realized as a glottal stop {{IPA|[ʔ]}}:

The Chinese characters in the brackets are also sample characters from Qī Lín Bāyīn.

Some speakers find it difficult to distinguish between the initials {{IPA|/n/}} and {{IPA|/l/}}.

No labiodental phonemes, such as {{IPA|/f/}} or {{IPA|/v/}}, exist in the Fuzhou dialect, which is one of the most conspicuous characteristics shared by all branches in the Min Family.

{{IPA|[β]}} and {{IPA|[ʒ]}} exist only in connected speech (see Initial assimilation below).

In the Fuzhou dialect, there are various kinds of initial assimilation, all of which are progressive. When two or more than two syllables combine into a word, the initial of the first syllable stays unchanged while those of the following syllables, in most cases, change to match its preceding phoneme, i.e., the coda of its preceding syllable. As with the rime changes, initial assimilation is not as mandatory as tone sandhi in connected speech, and its presence and absence may indicate different parts of speech, different meanings of a single word, or different relationships between groups of words syntactically.Li Zhuqing: Fuzhou Phonology and Grammar, Dunwoody Press (2002), page 6.

Note that although {{IPA|/-k/}} and {{IPA|/-ʔ/}} are generally pronounced the same in isolation, realized as a final glottal stop {{IPA|[-ʔ]}}, they cause drastically different effects on the initials that follow. They also differ in how common it is to drop them in natural linked speech. These have been called prelinked and floating glottal stops respectively in academic literature.

The table below shows the seven vowel phonemes of the Fuzhou dialect. Fuzhou is known for its vowel alternations much discussed in the linguistic literature.

In the Fuzhou dialect, the codas {{IPA|/-m/}}, {{IPA|/-n/}}, and {{IPA|/-ŋ/}} have all merged as {{IPA|/-ŋ/}}, and {{IPA|/-p/}}, {{IPA|/-t/}}, {{IPA|/-k/}} have all merged as {{IPA|/-ʔ/}}. Seven vowel phonemes, together with the codas {{IPA|/-ŋ/}} and {{IPA|/-ʔ/}}, are organized into forty-six rimes.{{cite thesis |last=Peng |first=Gongguan |date=2011 |title=A phonetic study of Fuzhou Chinese |publisher=City University of Hong Kong |url=https://lbms03.cityu.edu.hk/theses/c_ftt/phd-ctl-b4086098xf.pdf }} Note that the thesis does not mention the open rimes for {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/ø/}} and {{IPA|/eu/}} and does not analyse phonemes independently from tonal allophones.

As has been mentioned above, there are theoretically two different entering tonal codas in the Fuzhou dialect: {{IPA|/-k/}} and {{IPA|/-ʔ/}}. However, for most Fuzhou dialect speakers, those two codas are only distinguishable when in the tonal sandhi or initial assimilation.

Some rimes come in pairs in the above table: the one to the left represents a close rime ({{lang|zh-tw|緊韻}}), while the other represents an open rime ({{lang|zh-tw|鬆韻}}). This vowel alternation of close/open rimes is closely related with the tones. In single syllables, the tones of Ĭng-bìng ({{lang|zh-tw|陰平}}), Siōng-siăng ({{lang|zh-tw|上聲}}), Iòng-bìng ({{lang|zh-tw|陽平}}) and Iòng-ĭk ({{lang|zh-tw|陽入}}) have close rimes, while Ĭng-ké̤ṳ ({{lang|zh-tw|陰去}}), Ĭng-ĭk ({{lang|zh-tw|陰入}}) and Iòng-ké̤ṳ ({{lang|zh-tw|陽去}}) have open rimes.

In connected speech, an open rime shifts to its close counterpart in the tonal sandhi. For instance, "{{lang|zh-tw|福}}" (hók) is a Ĭng-ĭk syllable and is pronounced {{IPA|[hɔuʔ˨˦]}} and "{{lang|zh-tw|州}}" (ciŭ) a Ĭng-bìng syllable with the pronunciation of {{IPA|[tsiu˥]}}. When these two syllables combine into the word "{{lang|zh-tw|福州}}" (Hók-ciŭ, Fuzhou), "{{lang|zh-tw|福}}" changes its tonal value from {{IPA|˨˦}} to {{IPA|˨˩}} and, simultaneously, shifts its rime from {{IPA|[-ɔuʔ]}} to {{IPA|[-uʔ]}}, so the phrase is pronounced {{IPA|[huʔ˨˩ tsiu˥]}}. In contrast, in the word "{{lang|zh-tw|中國}}" {{IPA|[tyŋ˥˧ kuoʔ˨˦]}} (Dṳ̆ng-guók, China), "{{lang|zh-tw|中}}" is a Ĭng-bìng syllable and therefore its close rime never changes, though it does change its tonal value from {{IPA|˥}} to {{IPA|˥˧}} in tonal sandhi.{{cite book |last1=Donohue |first1=Cathryn |title=Segmental Structure and Tone |chapter=Tones and vowels in Fuzhou revisited |date=18 December 2017 |pages=99–108 |doi=10.1515/9783110341263-004 |isbn=9783110341263 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322015761 |access-date=20 July 2022}}

As with initial assimilation, the closing of open rimes in connected speech is not as compulsory as tone sandhi. It has been described as "a sort of switch that flips on and off to indicate different things", so its presence or absence can indicate different meanings or different syntactic functions.

The phenomenon of close/open rimes is nearly unique to the Fuzhou dialect and this feature makes it especially intricate and reduces its intelligibility, even to speakers of other Min varieties. Even cross-linguistically, such phonological tone-vowel interactions are rare.{{cite book |last1=Becker |first1=Michael |last2=Jurgec |first2=Peter |title=Segmental Structure and Tone |chapter=Interactions of tone and ATR in Slovenian |date=18 December 2017 |pages=11–26 |doi=10.1515/9783110341263-002 |isbn=9783110341263 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322015483 |access-date=20 July 2022}}

The neutral tone is attested in the Fuzhou dialect, as well as being found in the Southern Min group and in varieties of Mandarin Chinese, including Beijing-based Standard Mandarin. It is commonly found in some modal particles, aspect markers, and some question-forming negative particles that come after units made up of one tone sandhi domain, and in some adverbs, aspect markers, conjunctions etc. that come before such units. These two types, the post-nucleus and the pre-nucleus neutral tone, exhibit different tone sandhi behavior. Disyllabic neutral tone words are also attested, as are some inter-nuclei neutral tones, mainly connected to the use of 蜀 siŏh /{{IPA|suoʔ˥}}/ in verbal reduplication.Li Zhuqing: Fuzhou Phonology and Grammar, Dunwoody Press (2002), page 106.

{{Expand section|date=May 2012}}

Most words in the Fuzhou dialect have cognates in other varieties of Chinese, so a non-Fuzhou speaker would find it much easier to understand the Fuzhou dialect written in Chinese characters than spoken in conversation. However, false friends do exist: for example, "{{lang|zh-tw|莫細膩}}" (mŏ̤h sá̤-nê) means "don't be too polite" or "make yourself at home", "{{lang|zh-tw|我對手汝洗碗}}" (nguāi dó̤i-chiū nṳ̄ sā̤ uāng) means "I help you wash dishes", "{{lang|zh-tw|伊共伊老媽嚟冤家}}" (ĭ gâe̤ng ĭ lâu-mā lā̤ uŏng-gă) means "he and his wife are quarreling (with each other)", etc. Mere knowledge of Mandarin vocabulary, with the cognates {{lang|zh-tw|細膩}} xìnì, {{lang|zh-tw|對手}} duìshǒu and {{lang|zh-tw|冤家}} yuānjiā, does not assist in understanding the nuance of such sentences.

The majority of Fuzhou dialect vocabulary dates back more than 1,200 years. Some everyday words are still in use as they were in the Tang dynasty, as illustrated by a poem of a renowned Chinese poet of the era, Gu Kuang.Zhao Rihe: Fuzhou Dialect Rhyme Dictionary, 1998, MRXN-1998-0465 In his poem Jiǎn ({{lang|zh-tw|囝}}), Gu Kuang explicitly noted:

{{quotation|{{lang|zh-tw|囝，音蹇。閩俗呼子為囝，父為郎罷。}}
"{{lang|zh-tw|囝}} is pronounced as {{lang|zh-tw|蹇}}. In Fujian vernacular son is called {{lang|zh-tw|囝}}, and father {{lang|zh-tw|郎罷}}."}}

In the Fuzhou dialect, "{{lang|zh-tw|囝}}" (giāng) for 'son' and "{{lang|zh-tw|郎罷}}" (nòng-mâ) for 'father' are still in use today.

Quite a few words from Old Chinese have retained the original meanings for thousands of years, while their counterparts in Mandarin Chinese have either fallen out of daily use or varied to different meanings.

This table shows some Fuzhou dialect words from Old Chinese, as contrasted to Mandarin Chinese:

:¹ "{{lang|zh-tw|看}}" (káng) is also used as the verb "to look" in the Fuzhou dialect.

:² "{{lang|zh-tw|養}}" (iōng) in the Fuzhou dialect means "give birth to (a child)".

This table shows some words that are used in the Fuzhou dialect close to as they were in Classical Chinese, while the meanings in Mandarin Chinese have altered:

Some daily used words, shared by all Min varieties, came from the ancient Minyue language. Such as follows:

The literary and colloquial readings is a feature commonly found in all Chinese dialects throughout China. Literary readings are mainly used in formal phrases derived from the written language, while the colloquial ones are used in colloquial phrases in the spoken language, as well as when used on their own.

Phonologically, a large range of phonemes can differ between the character's two readings: in tone, final, initial, or any and all of these features.

This table displays some widely used characters in the Fuzhou dialect which have both literary and colloquial readings:

The First Opium War, also known as the First Anglo-Chinese War, was ended in 1842 with the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing, which forced the Qing government to open Fuzhou to all British traders and missionaries. Since then, quite a number of churches and Western-style schools have been established. Consequently, some English words came into the Fuzhou dialect, but without fixed written forms in Chinese characters. The most frequently used words are listed below:Chen Zeping: Loan Words in Fuzhou dialect, Fujian Normal University, 1994

• kŏk, {{IPA|[kʰouʔ˥]}}, noun, meaning "an article of dress", is from the word "coat";
• nă̤h, {{IPA|[neʔ˥]}}, noun, meaning "a meshwork barrier in tennis or badminton", is from the word "net";
• pèng, {{IPA|[pʰeiŋ˥˧]}}, noun, meaning "oil paint", is from the word "paint";
• pĕng-giāng, {{IPA|[pʰeiŋ˥˧ ŋjaŋ˧]}}, noun, meaning "a small sum of money", is from the word "penny";
• tă̤h, {{IPA|[tʰeʔ˥]}}, noun, meaning "money", is from the word "take";
• sò̤, {{IPA|[so˥˧]}}, verb, meaning "to shoot (a basket)", is from the word "shoot";
• ă-gì, {{IPA|[a˥ ki˥˧]}}, verb, meaning "to pause (usually a game)", is from the word "again".
• Mā-lăk-gă, {{IPA|[ma˨˩ laʔ˥ ka˥]}}, meaning "Southeastern Asian (esp. Singapore and Malaysia)", is from the word "Malacca".

{{Inline audio|section}}

Some common phrases in the Fuzhou dialect:

• Fuzhou dialect: {{lang|zh-tw|福州話}} Hók-ciŭ-uâ {{IPA|cdo|huʔ˨˩ tsiu˥˧ ua˨˦˨||Cdo fuzhou dialect.ogg}}
• Hello: {{lang|zh-tw|汝好}} Nṳ̄ hō̤ {{IPA|cdo|ny˧ ho˧||Cdo hello.ogg}}
• Good-bye: {{lang|zh-tw|再見}} Cái-giéng {{IPA|cdo|tsai˥˧ kjeŋ˨˩˧||Cdo goodbye.ogg}}
• Please: {{lang|zh-tw|請}} Chiāng {{IPA|cdo|tsʰjaŋ˧||Cdo please.ogg}}; {{lang|zh-tw|起動}} Kī-dâe̤ng {{IPA|cdo|kʰi˥ lɔyŋ˨˦˨||Cdo do me a favor.ogg}}
• Thank you: {{lang|zh-tw|謝謝}} Siâ-siâ {{IPA|cdo|sja˥˧ lja˨˦˨||Cdo thanks.ogg}}; {{lang|zh-tw|起動}} Kī-dâe̤ng {{IPA|cdo|kʰi˥ lɔyŋ˨˦˨|}}
• Sorry: {{lang|zh-tw|對不住}} Dó̤i-bók-cê̤ṳ {{IPA|cdo|tøy˨˩ puʔ˥ tsøy˨˦˨||Cdo sorry.ogg}}
• This: {{lang|zh-tw|嚽}} Cuòi {{IPA|cdo|tsui˥˧||Cdo this cuoi.ogg}}; {{lang|zh-tw|啫}} Ciā {{IPA|cdo|tsja˧||Cdo this cia.ogg}}; {{lang|zh-tw|茲}} Cī {{IPA|cdo|tsi˧||Cdo this ci.ogg}}
• That: {{lang|zh-tw|噲}} Huòi {{IPA|cdo|hui˥˧||Cdo that huoi.ogg}}; {{lang|zh-tw|嘻}} Hiā {{IPA|cdo|hja˧||Cdo that hia.ogg}}; 許 Hī {{IPA|cdo|hi˧||Cdo that hi.ogg}}
• How much?: {{lang|zh-tw|偌}} Nuâi {{IPA|cdo|nwai˨˦˨||Cdo how much.ogg}} (niŏh-uâi {{IPA|cdo|nwoʔ˨˩ wai˨˦˨|}})
• Yes: {{lang|zh-tw|正是}} Ciáng-sê {{IPA|cdo|tsjaŋ˥˧ nɛi˨˦˨||Cdo yes.ogg}}; {{lang|zh-tw|無綻}} Mò̤ dâng {{IPA|cdo|mo˨˩ laŋ˨˦˨||Cdo not wrong.ogg}}; {{lang|zh-tw|著}} Diŏh {{IPA|cdo|tɥoʔ˥||Cdo right.ogg}} (Duŏh {{IPA|cdo|twoʔ˥|}})
• No: {{lang|zh-tw|伓是}} Ng-sê {{IPA|cdo|ŋ˥˧ nɛi˨˦˨||Cdo no.ogg}}; {{lang|zh-tw|綻}} Dâng {{IPA|cdo|taŋ˨˦˨||Cdo wrong.ogg}}; {{lang|zh-tw|賣著}} Mâ̤ diŏh {{IPA|cdo|me˥ tɥoʔ˥||Cdo not right.ogg}} (Mâ̤ duŏh {{IPA|cdo|me˥ twoʔ˥|}})
• I don't understand: {{lang|zh-tw|我賣會意}} Nguāi mâ̤ huôi-é {{IPA|cdo|ŋwai˧ me˨˩ hui˥˧ ɛi˨˩˧||Cdo i dont understand.ogg}}
• What's his name?: {{lang|zh-tw|伊名什乇？|}} Ĭ miàng sié-nó̤h? {{IPA|cdo|i˥ mjaŋ˥˧ sje˨˩ nɔʔ˨˦||Cdo whats his name.ogg}}
• Where's the hotel?: {{lang|zh-tw|賓館洽底所？}} Bĭng-guāng găk diē-nē̤? {{IPA|cdo|piŋ˥˧ kwaŋ˧ kaʔ˥ tje˨˦ nø˧||Cdo where is the hotel.ogg}}
• How can I go to the school?: {{lang|zh-tw|去學校怎樣行？}} Kó̤ hăk-hâu cuōng-iông giàng? {{IPA|cdo|kʰo˥˧ haʔ˨˩ hau˨˦˨ tswoŋ˥ ɥoŋ˨˦˨ kjaŋ˥˧||Cdo how to go to school.ogg}}
• Do you speak the Fuzhou dialect?: {{lang|zh-tw|汝會講福州話賣？}} Nṳ̄ â̤ gōng Hók-ciŭ-uâ mâ̤? {{IPA|cdo|ny˧ e˥˧ kouŋ˧ huʔ˨˩ tsiu˥˧ wa˨˦˨ ma˨˦˨||Cdo can you speak fuzhou dialect.ogg}}
• Do you speak English?: {{lang|zh-tw|汝會講英語賣？}} Nṳ̄ â̤ gōng Ĭng-ngṳ̄ mâ̤? {{IPA|cdo|ny˧ e˥˧ kouŋ˧ iŋ˥˧ ŋy˧ ma˨˦˨||Cdo can you speak english.ogg}}

File:Foochow Bible in Characters.gif

Most words of the Fuzhou dialect stem from Old Chinese and can therefore be written in Chinese characters. Many books published during the Qing dynasty had been written in this traditional way, such as the famous Mǐndū Biéjì ({{lang|zh-tw|閩都別記}}, Foochow Romanized: Mìng-dŭ Biék-gé). However, Chinese characters as the writing system for the Fuzhou dialect can have many shortcomings.

First, a great number of words are unique to the Fuzhou dialect, so that they can only be written in informal ways. For instance, the word "mâ̤", a negative word, has no common form. Some write it as "{{lang|zh-tw|賣}}" or "{{lang|zh-tw|袂}}", both of which share with it an identical pronunciation but have an irrelevant meaning; and others prefer to use a newly created character, {{Linktext|𣍐|lang=zh}}, combining "{{lang|zh|勿}}" and "{{lang|zh|會}}", but this character is not included in most fonts.

Second, the Fuzhou dialect has been excluded from the educational system for many decades. As a result, many if not all take for granted that the Fuzhou dialect does not have a formal writing system and when they have to write it, they tend to employ characters with a similar Mandarin Chinese enunciation. For example, "{{lang|zh-tw|會使}} (â̤ sāi)", meaning "okay", are frequently written as "{{lang|zh-tw|阿塞}}" because they are uttered almost in the same way.

File:Foochow Bible.gif in Foochow Romanized, published by British and Foreign Bible Society in 1908.]]

{{Main|Foochow Romanized}}

Foochow Romanized, also known as Bàng-uâ-cê ({{lang|zh-tw|平話字}}, BUC for short) or Hók-ciŭ-uâ Lò̤-mā-cê ({{lang|zh-tw|福州話羅馬字}}), is a romanized orthography for the Fuzhou dialect adopted in the middle of 19th century by American and English missionaries. It had varied at different times, and became standardized several decades later. Foochow Romanized was mainly used inside of church circles, and was taught in some mission schools in Fuzhou.{{Cite web |url=http://www.fjsdfz.org/html/news/2004b/20041123fzwb.htm |title=福州女校三鼎甲 |access-date=2008-04-08 |language=zh |archive-date=2007-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929000208/http://www.fjsdfz.org/html/news/2004b/20041123fzwb.htm |url-status=dead }}

{{Expand section|date=June 2008}}

{{Main|Mǐnqiāng Kuàizì}}

Mǐnqiāng Kuàizì ({{lang|zh-tw|閩腔快字}}, Foochow Romanized: Mìng-kiŏng Kuái-cê), literally meaning "Fujian Colloquial Fast Characters", is a Qieyin System ({{lang|zh-tw|切音系統}}) for Fuzhou dialect designed by Chinese scholar and calligrapher Li Jiesan ({{lang|zh-tw|力捷三}}) in 1896.

{{Expand section|date=June 2008}}

Below is Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights written in the Fuzhou dialect, using both Foochow Romanized (left) and Chinese characters (center).

{{IPA|[tě.ěiʔ.téu]

[sū.jū.nø̂ŋ.séiŋ.kjǎ.lî.tsěu.sěi.tsø̌y.jú.kî,]

[pěiŋ.tsʰjá.tjóʔ.tsóuŋ.ŋjêŋ.kǎøŋ.kwôŋ.líʔ.sjǒŋ.ěiʔ.lúʔ.pîŋ.tēiŋ]

[í.kǎuʔ.nø̂ŋ.ǒu.lī.sèiŋ.kǎøŋ.ljôŋ.síŋ,]

[pěiŋ.tsʰjá.èiŋ.kāi.ī.hjáŋ.tjě.kwáŋ.hjě.kî.tsíŋ.lî.hǒu.sjóŋ.tòi.tài]}}

{{Main|Min Opera|Fuzhou Pinghua}}

{{Expand section|date=June 2008}}

• Fuzhou
• Fuzhou people
• Eastern Min
• Varieties of Chinese
• Fuqing dialect
• Chinatown, Brooklyn
• Chinatown, Flushing
• Chinatown, Manhattan
• Manhattan's Little Fuzhou

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{wikisource|The Chinese Language Spoken at Fuh Chau}}

{{wikisource|Dictionary of the Foochow Dialect}}

• {{cite journal

| first = M.C. | last = White | author-link = Moses Clark White

| title = The Chinese Language Spoken at Fuh Chau

| journal = The Methodist Review | volume = 38 | year = 1856 | pages = 352–381

| url = https://archive.org/stream/methodistreview08unkngoog#page/n358/mode/1up

}}

• {{cite book

| first1 = R.S. | last1 = Maclay | author-link1 = Robert Samuel Maclay

| first2 = C.C. | last2 = Baldwin | author-link2 = Caleb Cook Baldwin

| title = An alphabetic dictionary of the Chinese language in the Foochow dialect

| location = Foochow | publisher = Methodist Episcopal Mission Press | year = 1870

| url = https://archive.org/details/alphabeticdictio00macl

}}

• {{cite book

| first = C.C. | last = Baldwin

| title = A manual of the Foochow dialect

| location = Foochow | publisher = Methodist Episcopal Mission Press | year = 1871

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wvpDAAAAYAAJ

}}

• {{cite book

| first1 = R.S. | last1 = Maclay | first2 = C.C. | last2 = Baldwin

| first3 = S.H. | last3 = Leger

| title = Dictionary of the Foochow dialect

| location = Shanghai | publisher = Presbyterian Mission Press | year = 1929

}}

• {{cite book

|surname = Chen

|given = Leo

|title = Foochow-English, English-Foochow glossary

|location = San Francisco, CA

|publisher = Asian Language Publication

|year = 1969

|url = http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED010341.pdf

}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

• {{cite book

| surname1 = Chen | given1 = Leo

| surname2 = Norman | given2 = Jerry | author-link2 = Jerry Norman (sinologist)

| title = An Introduction to the Foochow Dialect

| publisher = San Francisco State College | year = 1965

}}

• {{cite book

| surname = Chen | given = Zeping 陈泽平

| title = Fúzhōu fāngyán yánjiū | script-title =zh:福州方言研究

| trans-title = Studies of the Fuzhou dialect

| location = Fuzhou | publisher = Fujian People's Publishing House | year = 1998

| isbn = 978-7-211-03080-4

}}

• {{cite book

| surname = Chen | given = Zeping 陈泽平 | author-mask = 2

| title = Shíjiǔ shìjì yǐlái de Fúzhōu fāngyán - Chuánjiào shì Fúzhōu tǔ bái wénxiàn zhī yǔyán xué yánjiū

| trans-title = Fuzhou dialect since the 19th century – Missionary literature on the Fuzhou dialect

| script-title =zh:十九世纪以来的福州方言——传教士福州土白文献之语言学研究

| location = Fuzhou | publisher = Fujian People's Publishing House | year = 2010

| isbn = 978-7-211-06054-2

}}

• {{cite journal

| surname = Dai | given = Ligang 戴黎刚

| journal = Fangyan | volume = 3 | year = 2010

| url = http://www.cqvip.com/qk/81953x/201003/35426159.html

| title = Fúzhōuhuà shēngmǔ lèi huà lìwài de yuányīn | script-title =zh:福州话声母类化例外的原因

}}

• {{cite book

| title = Fuzhou tonal acoustics and tonology

| given = Cathryn | surname = Donohue

| publisher = LINCOM Europa | year = 2013 | isbn = 978-3-86288-522-0

}}

• {{cite book

| editor-surname1 = Feng | editor-given1 = Aizhen 冯爱珍

| editor-surname2 = Li | editor-given2 = Rong | editor-link2 = Li Rong (linguist)

| title = Fúzhōu fāngyán cídiǎn | script-title =zh:福州方言词典 | trans-title = Fuzhou dialect dictionary

| publisher = Jiangsu Educational Press

| year = 1998 | isbn = 7-5343-3421-7

}}

• {{cite book

| editor-surname = Li

| editor-given = Rulong 李如龙

| script-title = zh:福州话声母类化的制约条件

| publisher = Xiamen University (Philosophy and Social Sciences)

| year = 2000

| url = http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFD2000-XMDS200001017.htm

| access-date = 2015-02-06

| archive-date = 2019-11-09

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191109104517/http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFD2000-XMDS200001017.htm

| url-status = dead

}}

• {{cite book

| editor-surname1 = Li | editor-given1 = Rulong 李如龙

| editor-surname2 = Liang | editor-given2 = Yuzhang 梁玉璋

| title = Fúzhōu fāngyán cídiǎn | script-title =zh:福州方言词典

| trans-title = Fuzhou dialect dictionary

| location = Fuzhou | publisher = Fujian People's Publishing House | year = 1994 | isbn = 7-211-02354-6

}}

• {{cite book | surname = Li | given = Zhuqing | title = Fuzhou-English Dictionary | publisher = Dunwoody Press | year = 1997 | isbn = 978-1-881265-52-8 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/fuzhouenglishdic00lizh }}
• {{cite book

| surname = Li | given = Zhuqing | author-mask = 2

| title = Fuzhou Phonology and Grammar

| publisher = Dunwoody Press | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-1-881265-93-1

}}

• {{cite journal

| surname = Liang | given = Yuzhang 梁玉璋

| title = Fúzhōu fāngyán de 'qiè jiǎo cí' | script-title =zh:福州方言的"切脚词"

| journal = Fangyan | volume = 1 | year = 1982 | pages = 37–46

| url = http://www.cqvip.com/qk/81953x/198201/1002780542.html

}}

{{wiktionary|Appendix:Min Dong Swadesh list}}

{{interwiki|code=cdo}}

{{Commons category|Fuzhou dialect}}

• [http://www.matsudialect.org/language/ Fuzhou Dialect Textbook]: Elementary school textbook in Matsu.
• [http://www.glossika.com/en/dict/phon/fuzhou.htm Fuzhou dialect phonology], by James Campbell.
• [http://w6.wfjh.tpc.edu.tw/country/FIVE_LANG/5L/M/fz/A.html Five Languages Translator]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100601040726/http://www.gnudoyng.net/fuzhou_dialect/resources.php Fuzhou Dialect Resources]
• [http://globalrecordings.net/research/dialect/113 Eastern Min Chinese (Speech variety #113)]: Globalrecordings.net. Eastern Min Chinese (Speech variety #113)
• [http://www.language-archives.org/language/cdo OLAC resources in and about the Eastern Min Chinese language]: OLAC. OLAC resources in and about the Eastern Min Chinese language

{{Sino-Tibetan languages}}

{{Min Chinese}}

{{Languages of Taiwan}}

{{Chinese language}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuzhou Dialect}}

Category:Eastern Min

Category:City colloquials

Category:Culture in Fujian

Category:Languages of China