Pu-Xian Min


Puxian, also known as Pu-Xian Chinese, Puxian Min, Xinghua or Hinghwa, is a Sinitic language that forms a branch of Min Chinese.
Puxian is spoken mostly in Fujian province, particularly in Putian city and Xianyou County, parts of Fuzhou, and parts of Quanzhou. It is also widely used as the mother tongue in Wuqiu Township, Kinmen County, Fujian Province, Republic of China. More than 2000 people in Shacheng, Fuding in northern Fujian also speak Puxian. There are minor differences between the dialects of Putian and Xianyou.
Overseas populations of Puxian speakers exist in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Speakers of Puxian are also known as Henghua, Hinghua, or Xinghua.

History

Before the year 979 AD, the Puxian region was part of Quanzhou county and people there spoke a form of Southern Min. due to its origin in the past.
In 979 AD, during the Song Dynasty, the region was administratively separated from Quanzhou and the Chinese spoken there developed separately from the rest of Southern Min. Due to its proximity with Fuzhou, it absorbed some elements of Eastern Min, but its basic linguistic characteristic i.e. grammar and most vocabulary is based on Quanzhou dialect.
Puxian Min has 62% cognates with Quanzhou dialect and only 39% cognates with Fuzhou dialect.

Characteristics

Differences with Southern Min dialects

Puxian differs from most Southern Min varieties in several ways:
Puxian has 15 consonants, including the zero onset, the same as most other Min varieties. Puxian is distinctive for having a lateral fricative instead of the in other Min varieties, similar to Taishanese.
Puxian has 53 finals and 6 phonemic tones.

Initials

Puxian Min has 53 finals
VowelDiphthongNasalGlottal
no glide 鴉 拗 王 壓
no glide 奥 用 屋
no glide 科 烏 温 熨
no glide 裔 愛 煙 黑
no glide 改 換 郁
no glide 伓
/-i-/ 衣 油 引 益
/-i-/ 夜 要 鹽 葉
/-u-/ 夫 位 黄 -
/-u-/ 画 ɔi/ 歪 碗 活
/-y-/ 余 恩 役
/-y-/ 安 羊 藥

IPAãẽɛ̃ĩỹɒ̃iãyãuãaĩaũuĩiũ
Romanizationaⁿa̤ⁿa̤ⁿe̤ⁿo̤ⁿiaⁿio̤ⁿuaⁿoiⁿa̤uⁿ
Romanized IPAãẽø̃ɒ̃iãyɒ̃uãoĩɛũ

Chinese character爭 還 段 三 鼎 張 看 飯 贏
Xianyoutsãhĩtỹsɒ̃tiãtiũkʰuãpuĩyɒ̃
Putiantsahitøsɒtiatiaukʰuapuaiyɒ

Tone

Register

Assimilation

新婦房　ɬiŋ pu paŋ　→　ɬiŋ mu βaŋ
青草 tsʰɔŋ tsʰau　→　tsʰɔŋ nau

Comparison between Putian Min and Quanzhou Min Nan

Sentence-final particles

Hing-hua̍ báⁿ-uā-ci̍ is the Romanization system for Puxian Min. It has 23 letters:.
The Romanization only needs five tone marks for seven tones:
IPAPuxian Min Fuzhou
pʰpp
tʰtt
kʰkk
pbb
tdd
kgg
tsʰchch
tscc

Tone陰平 Ing-báⁿ陰上 Ing-siō̤ng陰去 Ing-kṳ̍陰入 Ing-ci̍h陽平 Ió̤ng-báⁿ陽去 Ió̤ng-kṳ̍陽入 Ió̤ng-ci̍h
Báⁿ-uā-ci̍aâa̍aháāa̍h
Pe̍h-ōe-jīaáàahâāa̍h