Ningde dialect
In-game article clicks load inline without leaving the challenge.
The Ningde dialect (Eastern Min: 寧德話) is a dialect of Eastern Min Chinese spoken in urban areas of Ningde, China, which is a prefecture-level city in the northeastern coast of Fujian province.
Phonology
The Ningde dialect has 15 initials, 78 rimes and 7 tones.
Initials
p, pʰ, m, t, tʰ, n, l, ts, tsʰ, s, k, kʰ, ŋ, x, ʔ
Rimes
10 monophthongs: a, ɛ, œ, ø, ɔ, o, i, u, y
18 compound vowels: ai, ei, ɔi, oi, øy, au, ɛu, eu, ou, ia, ie, iu, iɐu, ua, uo, ui, uai, uoi
15 nasal rimes: aŋ, ɛŋ, eŋ, œŋ, øŋ, ɔŋ, oŋ, iŋ, uŋ, yŋ, iaŋ, iɛŋ, uaŋ, uoŋ, yøŋ
26 checked rimes: aʔ, ɛʔ, œʔ, øʔ, ɔʔ, iʔ, iaʔ, iɛʔ, uaʔ, uoʔ, yøʔ, ak̚, ɛk̚, ek̚, œk̚, øk̚, ɔk̚, ok̚, ik̚, uk̚, yk̚, iak̚, iɛk̚, uak̚, uok̚, yøk̚
These 6 nasal rimes tend to merge into nasal rimes ending with coda -ŋ, and will disappear in future: am, ɛm, em, im, iɛm, ɔn
These 5 checked rimes tend to merge into nasal rimes ending with coda -k̚, and will disappear in future: ap̚, ɛp̚, ep̚, ip̚, iɛp̚
Tones
| No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Tone name | dark level 陰平 | light level 陽平 | rising 上聲 | dark departing 陰去 | light departing 陽去 | dark entering 陰入 | light entering 陽入 |
| Tone contour | ˦ (44) | ˨ (22) | ˦˨ (42) | ˧˥ (35) | ˧˧˨ (332) | ˨ (2) | ˥ (5) |
Initial assimilation
The two-syllable initial assimilation rules are shown in the table below:
| Coda of the Former Syllable | Initial Assimilation |
|---|---|
| Null coda | The initial of the latter syllable may change: /p/, /pʰ/ change to null initial or /β/; /t/, /tʰ/ and /s/ change to /l/; /ts/ and /tsʰ/ change to null initial or /ʒ/; /k/, /kʰ/ and /x/ change to null initial; /m/, /n/, /l/, /ŋ/ and null initial remain unchanged. |
| Nasal coda | The initial of the latter syllable may change: /p/ and /pʰ/ change to /m/; /t/, /tʰ/ and /s/ change to /n/; /ts/ and /tsʰ/ change to /ʒ/ or /m/; /k/, /kʰ/, /x/ and null initial change to /ŋ/ or /m/; /m/, /n/, /l/ and /ŋ/ remain unchanged. |
| checked coda | The former syllable lost its checked coda at first; then, the initial assimilation of latter syllable follow the law above. |
| checked coda /-p̚/ | The Initial of latter syllable change to /p/ while the former syllable lost its checked coda /-p̚/ |
Tone sandhi
The Ningde dialect has extremely extensive tone sandhi rules: in an utterance, only the last syllable pronounced is not affected by the rules. The two-syllable tonal sandhi rules are shown in the table below (the columns give the first syllable's original citation tone, while the rows give the citation tone of the second syllable):
| dark level 44 | light level 22 | rising 42 | dark departing 35 | light departing 332 | dark entering 2 | light entering 5 | |
| dark level 44 | 44 | 21 | 44 | 21 | 44 | 21 | |
| light level 22 | remain unchanged | ||||||
| rising 42 | 55 | ||||||
| dark departing 35 | 55 | ||||||
| light departing 332 | 44 | 21 | 44 | 21 | 44 | 21 | |
| dark entering 2 | 55 | ||||||
| light entering 5 | 44 | 21 | 44 | 21 | 44 | 21 |
Notes
- Compilation Commission of Chorography of Ningde City 宁德市地方志编纂委员会 (1995). . Vol. 31. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. ISBN 7-101-01543-3.