Xiguan dialect

Xiguan
Native to	Mainland China
Region	Xiguan, Liwan District, Guangzhou, Guangdong
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Sinitic Chinese Yue Yuehai Cantonese Xiguan
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	None

The Xiguan dialect, or Sai Kwan dialect^[1][2][3] (Chinese: 西關話; Jyutping: sai1 gwaan1 waa2), is the prestige dialect^[4] of Cantonese originated from Xiguan (Sai Kwan), Guangzhou.

Speakers

People living in Xiguan have generally lost a Xiguan accent; what they are actually speaking with is the lazy pronunciation (Chinese: 懶音) of Xiguan Dialect.

Differences with downtown accent

Differences in the pronunciation of some characters

Xiguan Accent	Downtown Accent	English Translation
han3(瞓)覺 (Close to the ancient pronunciation of "睏")	fan3(瞓)覺	To sleep
ji1(依)家	ji4(而)家	Now
ji1(依)個	ni1(呢)個	This, these

Confusion of consonants n & l

Due to Xiguan's near geographical position to Nanhai, both accents spoken in Xiguan and Nanhai feature n-l merger, in which /n/ and /l/ are merged into /l/. However, the feature is less prominent in the Xiguan accent.

Consonant ng

Speakers of Xiguan Accents pronounce zero consonant (Chinese: 零聲母) as the consonant ng, for instance, "屋(uk7)" as "nguk7" and "壓(aat8)" as "ngaat8".

Vowels i & ei / ai

Speakers of Xiguan Accents pronounce vowels ei and ai as i. The phenomenon also lies in Nanhai Accents, such as:

The Character	Xiguan Accent	Downtown Accent	English Translation
使	si2	sai2	To make, to cause, to use
死	si2	sei2	To die
四	si3	sei3	Four
嘶	si1	sai1 (Owing to the Popularization of Mandarin (Chinese: 推廣普通話), an increasing number of people read si1 rather than sai1, influenced by Mandarin)	Neigh, hiss

Dental consonant

Additionally, speakers of Xiguan Accents enhance dental consonants (Chinese: 舌尖齒音). That is to say, downtown people pronounce "知", "雌" and "斯" as [tɕi], [tɕʰi] and [ɕi] (comparatively relaxed in the oral area, close to [tɕ], [tɕʰ] and [ɕ] in IPA; and yet Speakers of Xiguan Accents pronounce [tsi], [tsʰi] and [si] (The tip of tongue pushes up against upper teeth and blocks up air current. Tense in the oral area, similar to zh, ch and sh in Mandarin without rolling tongue). To be precise, dental consonants are similar to the consonants of 左", "初" and "所" (i.e., [ts], [tsʰ] and [s]) in Downtown Accents. In summary, speakers of Xiguan Accents pronounce [tɕ], [tɕʰ] and [ɕ] as [ts], [tsʰ] and [s]. A saying representing Xiguan Accents goes that Servant, take some money to buy some seadless kaki fruits (Chinese: 亞"四"，擰幾毫"紙"，去買啲水"柿").

Status

Relationship with downtown accents (especially Dongshan accents)

Xiguan lies to the west of Taiping Gate (Chinese: 太平門; pinyin: Tàipíng Mén; Jyutping: Taai3 Ping4 Mun4; lit. 'Peace and Security Gate'). Xiguan is the suburb of Guangzhou and it was administered by Nanhai County rather than Panyu County (covering former Yuexiu District and former Dongshan District). Therefore, it was not regarded as part of the capital of Guangdong Province. Therefore, Xiguan Dialect should be regarded as suburban accents, distinguished from Downtown Accent (Chinese: 城內音; Jyutping: Sing4 noi6 jam1), esp. Dongshan Accents (Chinese: 東山口音; Jyutping: Dung1 saan1 hau2 jam1). Notwithstanding, Xiguan lies close to the provincial capital, so the gap is narrow.

References

1. Leung, Wai Mun; Wu, Wing Li (December 2007). "On the Diachrony of the language phenomena in Hong Kong". Asian Social Science. 3 (12): 85–90. ISSN 1911-2017. The language used there was called 'Sai-Kwan-Wa' which was the Cantonese pronunciation of 'Sai-Kwan Dialect'
2. Leung, Wai-mun (2006). "On the synchrony and diachrony of sentence-final particles: the caseof wo in Cantonese". The University of Hong Kong. doi:10.5353/th_b3622358 (inactive November 1, 2024).
3. Bauer, Robert S.; Benedict, Paul K. (July 20, 2011). Modern Cantonese Phonology. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-082370-7.
4. Leung, Wai Mun; Wu, Wing Li (December 2007). "On the Diachrony of the language phenomena in Hong Kong". Asian Social Science. 3 (12): 85–90. ISSN 1911-2017.