Northern Wu phonology

Much like other Sinitic languages, Northern Wu languages almost universally have an initial-final-tone syllable structure. The final can be further split into the glide, nucleus and coda. For the most part, contemporary Northern Wu languages only permit nasals and the glottal stop (/ʔ/) in coda position,^[6] though there is evidence to suggest that this was not the case in some historical varieties.^[7] There are plentiful initials in Northern Wu,^[8] more than many other Sinitic languages such as Cantonese or Changshanese, partially due to the preservation of voiced initials, which will be explained in more detail in other sections.

Much like other Wu languages, Northern Wu languages tend to preserve historical voiced initials,^[9] which is a feature only found in several other lects along the Yangtze River, such as Old Xiang.^[10]

Northern Wu languages' initials are generally similar. The following is a table of all the commonly-found Northern Wu phonemic initials, with their common urban realizations, Wugniu romanization, and example syllables.^{[5][11][12][13][14][15]}

Some varieties in Suzhou and Jiaxing have retroflex initials,^[16][17] much like some Mandarin varieties. Compare the following examples.^[5]

Northern Wu, much like other Wu varieties, preserves voicing in its initials.^[9] The exact mechanism in which this is realized is discussed below.

Again, much like other Wu languages,^[2] Northern Wu preserves the Middle Chinese ri initial (日母) as a nasal. Compare the following, where ⟨gn⟩ is used to notate /ɲ/:^[5]

Note that 日 here is pronounced in the colloquial pronunciations rather than literary ones.

Many Northern Wu varieties have sibilants that undergo palatalization (尖團合流 [zh]).^[18] This process is becoming more common among younger speakers.^[16][19]

The voiced initials in Northern Wu languages are realised with breathy voice.^[20] This functions much like a phonemic depressor and lowers the pitch of the realization.^[6] Some linguists, such as Y. R. Chao, transcribe these phones not as voiced consonants, but as voiceless consonants followed by /ɦ/ or /ʢ/.^[8][21] More recently, potentially due to Standard Mandarin influence, the younger generation has merged the pronunciation of the unaspirated voiceless series with the (breathy) voiced series.^[22] However, the functional load of the breathy voice is already relatively low, due to the fact that tonal distribution lends to disambiguation between historically voiced and voiceless syllables. This breathy voice is at times known as "murmur".^[23][24]

Some speakers, particularly in Shanghai, may constrict their throats when pronouncing voiceless (unaspirated) initials to further disambiguate breathy and modal initials.^[25] This construction may result in the pronunciation of an implosive.

In various suburban Shanghainese varieties, the unaspirated voiceless series is realised as implosives.^{[26][27][28][29]} This feature appears to also have been in urban (Puxi) Shanghainese, though it is lost today.^[30]

The glottal fricatives /h/ and /ɦ/ are phonotactically part of a plosive series with /ʔ/. Spectral analyses have found that these three phones show three-way differences parallel to stops.^[31] Younger speakers also tend to merge /ɦ/ with /ʔ/, not /h/, as would be expected if it were phonotatically a fricative.^[32] As the /ʔ/ has been analyzed as a null initial in the past,^[33] it could be said that Northern Wu languages have a three-way null initial contrast.

Finals vary significantly more than initials in Northern Wu languages. As such, only noteworthy phonological and diachronic features will be discussed. For detailed analyses of individual lects, refer to their specific pages.

A feature found in many Wu languages, including Northern Wu, is the raising of the historical ma (麻) rimes.^[34] They are typically realised as /o/, though some lects such as Shanghainese or Wuxinese may raise it even higher and having it merge with /u/.^[35] The exact sets of words that undergo raising varies from lect to lect, though in general, the southern two branches (Linshao and Yongjiang) have more raising than northern ones.^[5][36]

Notice how the two localities in Zhejiang, Tonglu and Ningbo, both pronounce the word 家 with a raised vowel, whereas those in Jiangsu and Shanghai do not. Northern varieties tend to retain the /a/ value after velars, whereas Linshao and Yongjiang do not.^[37]

Northern Wu lects along the Grand Canal tend to front the Qieyun Middle Chinese 侯 rime (ie. Wugniu eu).^[38] Y. R. Chao suggested that this is due to influence from Hangzhounese.^[39] Chao raises the example of 歐洲後頭的狗 "the dog behind Europe", pronounced as [sic] [eitsei ɦeidei kə' kei], taken from his native Changzhounese. Compare Standard Mandarin Ōuzhōu hòutóu de gǒu.^[39]

The Northern Wu languages exhibit interesting behaviour regarding Qieyun Middle Chinese shan (山) and xian (咸) rimes (ie. Wugniu ae). Some varieties lose the nasal coda completely, whereas others retain it. Some also leave some sporadic nasalization.^[40] They typically also have abnormally raised, rounded, or fronted vowels and more complex distribution when compared to other lects, thus resulting in noticeable differences. This behaviour is also exhibited in Hangzhounese.^[41]

Several Northern Wu varieties have a very large number of contrastive high vowels.^[43][44] This contrast is typically realised in the form of rounding or frication.^[43][45][46] This frication can be notated as a lowering or raising of the vowel or as a glide insertion. Typically, frication in non-apical vowels happens to contrast terms with historical nasal codas.^[5][47]

Codas in Northern Wu are relatively simple compared to other Sinitic languages. In most modern Northern Wu varieties, only a single nasal phoneme and a checked coda (typically transcribed /ʔ/) are permitted in coda position.

Northern Wu languages typically only have one final nasal phoneme.^{[2][5][18][48]} This is typically realised as [n], [ŋ], [ȵ] or a nasalization of the nucleus vowel, typically in free variation.^[49]

Aside from nasals, Northern Wu languages typically only permit /ʔ/ in coda position,^[50] though some modern varieties and historical texts still preserve /k/.^[7][51] This is different to other coastal Southern Chinese languages, as they typically do not merge all checked codas into one category.^[2] It is also noteworthy that the coda is often realised as a shortening of the vowel rather than an actual [ʔ],^[52][53] which contrasts with Oujiang varieties, which typically lengthen checked syllables.^[54] Compare the following syllables.^[5]