Kunshan dialect
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kunshanese | |
|---|---|
| 崑山閒話 / 昆山闲话 khuen-sae ghae-gho | |
| Pronunciation | [kʰuən˥ sɛ˥˨ ɦɛ˩˧ ɦo˨˩] |
| Native to | China |
| Region | Kunshan county |
| Ethnicity | Wu Chinese-speaking people |
Sino-Tibetan
| |
| Chinese characters | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| ISO 639-6 | suji |
| Linguasphere | > 79-AAA-dbb > |
The Kunshan dialect, or Kunshanese, is the Chinese variety traditionally spoken in the county of Kunshan, Suzhou prefecture.[1][2] It is classified as a Northern Wu variety closely related to nearby Suzhounese and Shanghainese.[1][3] Like other Northern Wu varieties, it has a large phonemic vowel inventory and voiced initials as described in the Qieyun System.
As a Northern Wu variety, Kunshanese is mutually intelligible with other Northern Wu varieties, as well as Taizhounese,[4] but not with more distantly related lects such as Cantonese, Standard Mandarin, or even Wenzhounese, another Wu Chinese variety. Note that Kunshan Opera is not performed in Kunshanese, unlike that of nearby Shaoxing; Zhongzhouyun, a Mandarinic rime system, is used instead.