Dialects 方言 | Learn Chinese with Yoyo Mo

Learn Chinese with Yoyo Mo

今天我们来聊聊方言

Jīntiān wǒmen lái liáoliáo fāngyán

Today we are going to talk about dialects

当你学会了日常的中文

Dāng nǐ xuéhuì le rìcháng de Zhōngwén

When you have learned everyday Chinese

你满怀期待来到中国

Nǐ mǎnhuái qīdài lái dào Zhōngguó

You come to China with full expectation

发现,听不懂

Fāxiàn Tīng bù dǒng

Only to find that you can't understand

有可能是因为他们说的是方言

Yǒu kěnéng shì yīnwèi tāmen shuō de shì fāngyán

It may be because they are speaking a dialect

而你只学了普通话

Ér nǐ zhǐ xué le pǔtōnghuà

But you only learned Mandarin

中国太大了

Zhōngguó tài dà le

China is too big

不同的省、市、地区有非常多不同的方言

Bùtóng de shěng, shì, dìqū yǒu fēicháng duō bùtóng de fāngyán

There are many different dialects in different provinces, cities and regions

它们的语法结构都差不多

Tāmen de yǔfǎ jiégòu dōu chàbuduō

Their grammatical structures are almost the same

而语音语调和特殊用词就很不一样

Ér yǔyīn yǔdiào hé tèshū yòngcí jiù hěn bù yīyàng

But their pronunciation, intonation and special vocabulary are quite different

所以统一普通话非常重要

Suǒyǐ tǒngyī pǔtōnghuà fēicháng zhòngyào

Therefore, unifying Mandarin is very important

不过现在大多数人都会说普通话

Búguò xiànzài dàduōshù rén dōu huì shuō pǔtōnghuà

However, most people can speak Mandarin now

在绝大多数的商业环境中

Zài juédàduōshù de shāngyè huánjìng zhōng

In most business environments

服务员也都是说普通话

Fúwùyuán yě dōu shì shuō pǔtōnghuà

Waiters also speak Mandarin

这也是因为一个城市里

Zhè yě shì yīnwèi yīgè chéngshì lǐ

This is also because in a city

有非常多来自外地的人

Yǒu fēicháng duō láizì wàidì de rén

There are many people from other places

我们目前生活在成都

Wǒmen mùqián shēnghuó zài Chéngdū

We currently live in Chengdu

但是我和我老公都不是成都人

Dànshì wǒ hé wǒ lǎogōng dōu bù shì Chéngdū rén

But neither my husband nor I are from Chengdu

我是重庆人

Wǒ shì Chóngqìng rén

I am from Chongqing

他是甘肃人

Tā shì Gānsù rén

He is from Gansu

重庆话和成都话基本一致

Chóngqìng huà hé Chéngdū huà jīběn yīzhì

Chongqing dialect and Chengdu dialect are basically the same

而甘肃话则完全不同

Ér Gānsù huà zé wánquán bùtóng.

While the Gansu dialect is completely different.

所以他能在这里工作生活

Suǒyǐ tā néng zài zhèlǐ gōngzuò shēnghuó

So it's true that he can work and live here

确实是不容易且很厉害的

Quèshí shì bù róngyì qiě hěn lìhai de

It is really not easy and quite impressive

北京话可能最接近于普通话

Běijīng huà kěnéng zuì jiējìn yú pǔtōnghuà

Beijing dialect may be the closest to Mandarin

但是北京话有太多的儿化音

Dànshì Běijīng huà yǒu tài duō de érhuàyīn

But Beijing dialect has too many retroflex endings (erhua)

就像英式英语说 car，而美式英语说 carJiù xiàng Yīngshì Yīngyǔ shuō car, ér Měishì Yīngyǔ shuō carJust like British English says "car", while American English says "car"

北京话的语速也很快

Běijīng huà de Yǔsù yě hěn kuài

The speaking speed of Beijing dialect is also very fast

而且有特殊的语音语调

Érqiě yǒu tèshū de yǔyīn yǔdiào

And it has a special pronunciation and intonation

我们在北京待过五年

Wǒmen zài Běijīng dāi guò wǔ nián

We lived in Beijing for five years

也留有一些北京口音

Yě liúyǒu yīxiē Běijīng kǒuyīn

And we still have a bit of Beijing accent

不同地区的方言确实会呈现出不同的人群性格

Bùtóng dìqū de fāngyán quèshí huì chéngxiàn chū bùtóng de rénqún xìnggé

Dialects from different regions do reflect the different personalities of the people there

比如北方人要粗犷一些

Bǐrú běifāng rén yào cūguǎng yīxiē

For example, people from northern China are more straightforward and bold

南方人要温柔一些

Nánfāng rén yào wēnróu yīxiē

While people from southern China are gentler

至少听起来是这样的

Zhìshǎo tīng qǐlái shì zhèyàng de

At least that's how it sounds