#我来唠家常#
"In your hometown, what to read this"
"Really entrained"
Wu language, the most populous unofficial language in the world.
Nearly 100 million people now speak the Wu language, and the Wu language area spans Shanghai, Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu, southern Anhui, northeastern Jiangxi, and northern Fujian. The Wu language area is also divided into different districts, among which the Wu language speaker population in Taihu Lake reaches 65% of the total Wu language speaking population.
▲ The map refers to the "Atlas of Chinese Chinese Languages 2nd Edition Chinese Dialect Volume" compiled by the Institute of Linguistics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Strangely, it is listed as a critically endangered language by the International Organization for Language and Culture (ILCO).
However, in non-Wu speaking areas, compared with Cantonese dialects and Hunan dialects, Wu dialects do seem to be less often heard in life. Where have all these 100 million people gone? Why are there nearly 100 million people who speak Wu language? Obviously, so many people still say that Wu language is really going to disappear?
▲ Wenzhou not only has tanneries, but also Wenzhou dialect in the streets. Diagram / Diagram Worm Creative
Wu language, historical development
Historically, when the Jiangnan region was not yet developed, the ancestor of the Wu language was the minority language of the Dongtai system.
By the Spring and Autumn Period, the Kingdom of Wu and the Kingdom of Yue arose in the land of Wu. In "Wu Yue Chunqiu Fucha Neibiography", it is mentioned that "and Wu and Yue, homonyms, the upper and the stars, and the lower are the same reason", which shows that at that time, the concept of dialect had actually been initially formed.
"Lü's Spring and Autumn Zhihua" recorded that "Wu Wangfu sent the general to cut down Qi, and Zixu said: No." Fu Qizhi and Wu Ye, the customs are different, the language is not comprehensible, I can't get the land, and the people can't make it. "In order to expand the country's territory, some people in the Wuyue area have learned the languages of other countries. Later, with the expansion of the Chu state to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Chu language also influenced the shaping of the Wu language to a certain extent.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, the central government was established. The central government has set up garrisons in various places, and the influence of the Central Plains culture on various places has deepened, and the use of the Chinese language in the Central Plains has expanded throughout the country, which has greatly affected the Wu language.
▲ The area where official dialect is spoken now may have been a Wu language area before. Diagram / Diagram Worm Creative
During the Han Dynasty, Wu had become a distinct language from Central Plains Chinese (Huaxia).
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the three powers were established, and the Wu language continued to advance to Fujian and Guangdong, which also had a certain impact on the formation of the Min language. At the same time, Kure was also introduced to Japan, which is one of the reasons why some Japanese pronunciations are very similar to Kure.
After the "Yongjia Rebellion", the Xiongnu captured Luoyang, which also triggered the first wave of northerners to move south. After the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Eastern Jin Dynasty established its capital in Jianye (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu), which also introduced a large number of northern official dialects to Nanjing, assimilating the Nanjing accent. This also led to a further reduction in the area of the Wu language, and only a small area of Nanjing today still retains the Wu language.
The "Anshi Rebellion" and the "Jingkang Rebellion" were also the climax of the southward migration of the northerners. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin people invaded the south, and the Song dynasty crossed south, bringing Kyoto from Bianliang (now Kaifeng, Henan) to Lin'an (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang). Therefore, the Hangzhou dialect has a large number of official dialect characteristics, the most obvious of which is the "child-shaped sound" of the warped tongue.
By the time of the Song and Yuan dynasties, the Wu language had already laid the scale of the modern Wu language, which was not far from the modern Wu language. However, compared with the scale of the Wu language in the Spring and Autumn Period, this scale has actually been greatly reduced.
▲ Northerners will definitely be very kind when they hear "children's sound" on the streets of Hangzhou. Diagram / Diagram Worm Creative
Wu language, cultural contribution
If you are observant, you can always see Wu Yu in literary works or some forms of artistic expression.
For example, in the 25th episode, after Sister Feng brought tea to Sister Lin, she didn't forget to joke with her: "Since you have eaten our family's tea, why don't you give our family a daughter-in-law?" The word "eat" is a typical Wu vocabulary. In the Wu language, anyone who accepts a certain substance with his mouth can be called "eating", and there are not necessarily actions such as chewing and swallowing, such as "drinking" is said to be "eating wine", "drinking tea" is said to be "eating tea", and "smoking" is said to be "eating tobacco".
▲ Design/Q year
In Lu Xun's creations, Wu Yu is a frequent visitor. For example, there is a sentence in "The True Story of Ah Q" that is, "Mrs. Zhao has a round in his belly, and he feels that it will not be bad for him." The "round in the belly" here can be solved as a "thought in the head", but the "round" in Wu also carries the emotion of emphasizing the speed of thinking, which also highlights the shrewdness and cunning of Mrs. Zhao.
▲ Design/Q year
If the local dialect is applied to literary works, it will help to shape the characters vividly, make them fuller, and some of the expressions will be more vivid. No wonder someone said, "If the characters in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" were interpreted in their own dialects, what an interesting and vivid scene would it be."
▲ Design/Q year
Not only in literary creation, the Wu language has added luster to the works, but also in the translation of foreign works, many famous Wu translators have also brought in a lot of Wu vocabulary.
Yang Jiang's translation of "Don Quixote" used "deflated three", "thief skin and bones", and "explain clearly", and Zhu Qingying's translation of "Jane Eyre" used "unclear", "not very good", "milk child" are all expressed in Wu language.
In addition to literary works, the Wu language is also well-known for its many other forms of artistic expression.
In the movie "The Thirteen Hairpins of Jinling", the scene of several Jiangnan women wearing cheongsam, holding the pipa, singing "Qin Huaijing" to the screen is really unforgettable. If this Suzhou Pingtan did not have the gentle addition of Wu Nong's soft words, it would not be so "crispy" into the hearts of the people.
▲ Just ask who is not excited!! picture/network
Yue Opera, as the only non-official drama among the five major dramas, is sung in Wu language, and the most famous classic excerpt "Liang Zhu: Eighteen Phases" has become a model of love that people praise.
In addition to Pingtan and Yue Opera, there are many art forms that use the Wu dialect as the carrier, such as Kunqu Opera, Wu Ge, Yongju Opera, Tan Gong, etc.
▲ The classic Yue Opera "Liang Zhu: Eighteen Phases". Diagram / Diagram Worm Creative
However, the literary works and art forms mixed with the Wu language also brought some problems.
Hu Shi praised "The Legend of Flowers on the Sea" as "the first masterpiece of Wu language literature", I am afraid that few people have heard of it, the reason is as Sun Jiazhen said, "It is difficult for people to read it in the guest province, so that the excellent pen and ink are not popular in the times". In order to expand its influence, Zhang Ailing also specially translated and annotated it, but it also had little effect.
Some people also reacted to Fu Lei's translation of Christopher, and some of the grammar and vocabulary were unreadable.
In order to increase the audience, Yue Opera has also absorbed some Zhongzhou rhymes and official dialects, and will choose some more understandable Wu languages to sing, for example, "Sister Lin Fell from the Sky" can be understood even by people in non-Wu speaking areas.
▲ Innovate the art form, allowing tourists to listen to the "water commentary" while visiting the Gusu Garden. Diagram / Diagram Worm Creative
Wu language, special in expression
As a "tenth-level scholar" in the local Wu dialect, I was stumped by a soul question, "Do you know how to say 'good night' in Wu language?", which directly translates "night night" ("night" and "night" in Wu language are not distinguished), but it seems that I don't say this; "sleepy sue went, Ming Dynasty will meet" means "go to sleep, see you tomorrow"; "sleepy good tell" is also the meaning of "sleep well", and it seems that it cannot be completely said to mean "good night".
So I asked him for the answer, and he said, "I don't know!" (white eyes)
There is also a joke about the Wu language: a person from his province asked the person from the Wu language area, "How do you say fish, crabs, and shrimp in Wu language", and the person replied "Um, ha, huh", and the person from his province said very regretfully, "What a young man, but unfortunately he is a dumb man." ”
▲ Design/Q year
It can be seen that there are certain differences between Wu and Mandarin in terms of expression and pronunciation, and even some daily expressions are difficult to translate literally, and they need to "turn around" slightly.
Interestingly, another major peculiarity in the use of the Wu language is that the word has multiple meanings, and even one word represents completely opposite meanings.
The most typical representative is "Nong". "Nong" is an ancient Baiyue word, the meaning of a single word is "person", in the ancient Wu language there are three nong, which means my "I Nong", which means your "Ernong", and his "Qu Nong".
▲ Design/Q year
In "Jade Chapter: The Ministry of People", it is called "Nong, and the Wu people call me also", and there is a sentence in the Daiyu Funeral Flower Bridge in "Dream of Red Mansions" "You will die today and Nong will be buried, and you don't know when Nong will be mourned", in which "Nong" is obviously the meaning of "I".
In "The Legend of the West Chamber", "The slave and you have always had a heavy affection for the master and maid, why did you come to Qu Nong tonight" and the "Nong" in the Shanghai opera "Bird Fighting", "Nong don't go, Nong is watching the house in the house", should be explained by "you".
▲ In the classic Shanghai opera "Thunderstorm", "Nong" also appears frequently. Diagram / Diagram Worm Creative
Today, each region also retains a different meaning of "nong". In Shanghainese, "Ernong" is retained, and Suzhou, Jinhua and other places retain "I Nong", but in some places, such as Ningbo, some people still say three kinds of "Nong".
Another peculiarity of Wu language expression is reflected in adjectives, which are divided into four levels compared to the "more" and "most" levels in Mandarin.
Taking the primary level "new" as an example, the ABB type often indicates the weakened level "new cluster"; The BBA type is used as an enhanced "cluster of new", and if you want to use the highest level, it is often expanded into a phrase, for example, "split melons and spicy new".
▲ Choose the appropriate degree of adjectives according to different situations. Cartography / Wudui
Some special grammars in the Wu language are also not negligible.
For example, in Mandarin, "Mom gave me food" becomes "Mom gives me food" in Wu language, "I can't beat him" becomes "I can't beat him", and "Hurry up and eat" is changed to "Eat quickly" in the adverbial postposition.
▲ Eat fast, eat fast, don't gossip. Diagram / Diagram Worm Creative
Wu language, the status quo in use
As a person who has been speaking Wu since childhood, I was actually a little shocked when I saw that "Wu language is endangered", because among my peers in my hometown, it seems that most people still speak Wu language, so why is it endangered?
According to the survey of Wu language districts, 78% of people believe that they can use Wu language for daily communication, of which 31% consider themselves proficient in Wu language, while under the age of 28, only 20% consider themselves proficient.
▲ Do you want to express yourself fluently and accurately? Cartography / Wudui
In the 2016 Wu language survey in Shanghai, 86.8% of local students were able to communicate with them in Shanghainese, and 28.1% thought they were accurate and fluent. This seems to be a good statistic, compared with the fact that in 2005, 94.6% of students used Shanghainese to communicate, and 54.3% thought that they were fluent and accurate in Shanghainese.
▲ From 2005 to 2016, "Shanghainese" is gradually disappearing. Cartography / Wudui
Suzhou is facing a similar situation. In 2007, 30% of people under the age of 14 could not speak Suzhou or could not speak Suzhou. By 2012, 39.2% of children could not speak Suzhou at all, and the number of children had increased significantly.
▲ In the past five years, the proportion of people who can speak "Suzhou dialect" has dropped by nearly 10%. Cartography / Wudui
Hangzhou is also an area that is greatly affected by the official dialect, but the proportion of parents who can speak the local dialect in Hangzhou is as high as 90.7%, but the proportion of the next generation who can speak Hangzhou dialect is almost cut off, only 48.5%.
From the above data, it is not difficult to conclude that the population of Wu language is seriously aging.
▲ Suzhou held a nursery rhyme competition for children of the hundred people, so that the younger generation can have more contact with Wu language. Diagram / Diagram Worm Creative
The survey also found that adults mostly use Wu to communicate, but in order for the next generation to learn Mandarin faster, two-thirds of parents choose to use Mandarin to communicate with children.
It is no wonder that language planner Fishman points out that "endangered languages are called endangered because they lack informal intergenerational transmission and informal support for everyday life, not because they are no longer taught in schools".
In addition to the fact that fewer and fewer locals can speak Wu language, due to the increase in the migrant population, many life scenes do not need to use Wu language.
In 2012, the number of migrants in Suzhou exceeded the registered population, in Ningbo more than 40% of the permanent population, and in Shanghai, the proportion of migrants exceeded 70%.
▲ The bustling Spring Festival crowd at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station. Diagram / Diagram Worm Creative
"Zhou Yu and Lu Xun have been lonely for a long time, and the thousand-year-old northern guest mocks Wu Yu. ”
At the same time, the foreign population in the Wu-speaking area does not seem to have much interest in mastering the Wu language. Taking Ningbo as an example, only 11.3% of the non-Wu speaking population can speak Ningbo fluently, more than half of them think they can understand it, and 26.8% strongly oppose mastering the local dialect and try to maintain their own regional dialect.
▲ If you want to play cards and play mahjong with "Old Ningbo", then Ningbo dialect must be learned. Diagram / Diagram Worm Creative
Wu language, the dilemma of inheritance
For example, the popularity of Cantonese, Hong Kong movies, TVB and Cantonese songs have contributed to the popularity of Chongqing dialect, and the popularity of Chongqing dialect is also due to Chongqing dialect movies and songs.
▲ Gai added the dialect of his hometown to the song. Figure/Network
So I listened to a Wu rap that came out before, and the words described in one word are "confused", and I boast that I can understand Wu language in most areas, except for Taihu Pian Wu who can basically understand it. As soon as Wu Yu from other areas came out, the OS in my heart was, "What is this? Obviously, I can roughly understand what Wenzhou people are saying! Why can't I hear it at all when I get to the song? I can understand 20% of what I say more!"
This is also the response to the sentence "Ten miles of different sounds in the Wu language area". In addition to the impact of the immigration, the Wu language area is also located in many hilly areas, which makes it difficult for each region to communicate, and also leads to the fact that each region will have its own special terms.
▲ The Wu language area is hilly. Diagram / Diagram Worm Creative
Therefore, in fact, "Wu Nong soft language" does not refer to all Wu language areas, but to some extent specifically refers to Suzhou dialect. Compared with the self-deprecating "stone bones and iron hard" Ningbo dialect, it is no wonder that there is a saying that "I would rather listen to the quarrels of Suzhou people than listen to the speeches of Ningbo people".
Most of the Wu-speaking areas are decentralized development, and compared with Cantonese, which was determined to take Guangzhou as the standard earlier, Wu is afraid that it is in an embarrassing situation of "no one is convinced by whom", so it is inconvenient to carry out unified communication.
▲ In this Suzhou alley, how many people still speak Wu language. Diagram / Diagram Worm Creative
Secondly, there is an objective reason that Wu language is indeed relatively complex, taking Suzhou dialect as an example, there are 27 initials, 49 finals, and single word tones. Whereas Mandarin only has 23 initials and 24 finals.
There was a topic before, which was to discuss the Hong Kong-Taiwan dialect and the Northeast dialect, who will be led away by whom. And Wu Yu does not have this trouble, and will definitely be led away by the Hong Kong and Taiwan dialect or Northeast dialect. Because the other person can't understand you at all (smile).
▲ A typical case of Hong Kong-Taiwan dialect and Northeast dialect. Figure/Network
Finally, the scope of application of the Wu language is extremely limited, not only is Mandarin mandatory in schools, but also must be used in many formal occasions, and many customs, crafts and cultures gradually fade out of life, new things are constantly being produced, and many concepts can only be expressed in Mandarin or English.
In other words, the instrumentality of the Wu language has gradually disappeared and become impractical, but the humanistic nature that exists with it must also be gradually extinguished?
▲ Not only the Wu language area, but also many regions are vigorously promoting Mandarin, and various local dialects have gradually become "impractical". Diagram / Diagram Worm Creative
"When I left home and went back, my hometown voice has not changed, and my sideburns have declined. When the children don't know each other, they smile and ask where the guests are from. ”
As a well-known person in the Wu language area, the "hometown sound" mentioned by He Zhizhang in "Returning to the Hometown Puppet Book II: Part I" is the Wu language during the Tang Dynasty. On him, the local sound should be one of the few marks left by his hometown.
Here, there is an unfounded conjecture that in addition to the child's innocence, the word "laugh" in the child's "laughing question" may also carry some emotions of "why is this person a little awkward in saying Wu language".
Mr. Wang Meng mentioned in "For the Great Revival of Chinese Character Culture":
"Wu Nong's soft language, Sanqin's high tone, Sichuan's rigidity one after another, and Cantonese's sonorous self-satisfaction,...... The same is our wealth. ”
So, is your native accent still there?