Ningbo dialect - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ningbo dialect is a dialect of Wu, one of the subdivisions of Chinese spoken language. It is spoken in the city of Ningbo

Ningbo

Ningbo is a seaport city of northeastern Zhejiang province, Eastern China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,089,180 in the built up area made of 6 urban districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay,...

and Zhoushan

Zhoushan

Zhoushan or Zhoushan Archipelago New Area; formerly transliterated as Chusan, is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Zhejiang province of Eastern China. The only prefecture-level city of the People's Republic of China consisting solely of islands, it lies across the mouth of the Hangzhou Bay,...

and surrounding areas in Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

province.

Area

The Ningbo dialect is spoken in Ningbo

Ningbo

. The people of Ningbo learn Mandarin as a second language, the Ningbo dialect being their native language. During the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

, the people of Ningbo could understand a little Mandarin.

Intelligibility

Its native speakers generally understand Shanghainese

Shanghainese

Shanghainese , or the Shanghai language , is a dialect of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Shanghai and the surrounding region. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. Shanghainese, like other Wu dialects, is largely not mutually intelligible with other Chinese varieties...

, but not vice-versa. It is not at all mutually intelligible with Mandarin, China's official language.

Ningbo dialect is considered to be a Yongjiang dialect or Mingzhou dialect (as both terms are synonymous), and is closely related to the Taihu Wu dialects

Taihu Wu dialects

Taihu Wu dialects , or Northern Wu dialects , are a group of Wu dialects spoken over much of southern part of Jiangsu province, including Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, the southern part of Nantong, Jingjiang and Danyang; the municipality of Shanghai; and the northern part of Zhejiang province, including...

of Zhoushan

Zhoushan

.

A Christian missionary reported that the chief magistrate in Ningbo needed him as an interpreter when several gentlemen from Chusan (Zhoushan) came to visit Ningbo to make respects to him at his office.

Shanghainese, although marginally intelligible with Ningbo dialect, Ningbo dialect played a significant role in influencing what was formerly a dialect

Suzhou dialect

Suzhou dialect is a dialect of Wu, one of the subdivisions of Chinese spoken language. It is spoken in the city of Suzhou, in Jiangsu province of China, and is the traditional prestige dialect of Wu....

identical to that of Suzhou

Suzhou

Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part...

. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, as mass waves of migration to Shanghai from Jiangnan

Jiangnan

Jiangnan or Jiang Nan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of the Yangtze Delta...

were common at that time and shaped the Shanghai dialect as it is today.

Unlike other varieties of Taihu Wu Chinese, Ningbo dialect has been described as 「石骨鐵硬」, or as hard as stones, bones, and steel, as opposed to 「吳儂軟語」, or 'qualities of Wu speech' for Suzhou dialect.

Writing

Chinese character

Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...

s are used to write the Ningbo dialect. Romanization

Romanization

In linguistics, romanization or latinization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman script, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system . Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written...

of the Ningbo dialect was first developed by Protestant English and American Christian missionaries in the 19th century. Usage of this romanization system was mainly confined to translated bibles for use by native Ningbo people, or English-Ningbo dialect dictionaries, some of which also contained characters, for foreign missionaries to learn Ningbo dialect.

During the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

the development and usage of the Romanization of Ningbo dialect by English missionaries was heavily tied to spreading Protestant Christianity in the area. On this subject, the rev. W. A. Russell wrote from Ningpo as follows - "Lastly, I would mention the constant application there has been to me, during the past half-year, on the part of parents, for the admission of their children into my dayschool, which, if large enough to accommodate so many, might now number some hundreds, instead of lorty, whicb the smallness of the room necessarily confines it to. And this, notwithstanding the fact that half of the boys'time is exclusively devoted to the acquisition of religious truth, principally the commitment to memory of the holy scriptures in their own mother-tongue, through our alphabetic system for writing the Ningpo colloquial, and that the instruction that I myself give these boys is also almost exclusively confined to the same."

Chinese Characters

A large number of the sounds have no character to represent them. From this arises the difficulty of using the Chinese character in the preparation of books in the local dialect, and the consequent necessity of employing some other method. The Roman system is now largely used for this purpose, and thousands of books have been printed in this character, and are in daily use by the people.

Those syllables which cannot properly be represented by Chinese characters, may be subdivided into two classes :—

I. Those which have absolutely no character in the language to express them, as dza, fœ, gœn, ve.

II. Those syllables, which may be represented by a character, but their pronunciation has become corrupted, as kao for kyiao, kan for kyin, wœn for ngwœn.

Writing for the Blind

In 1889, The Chinese times, Volume 3 had an article about the romanization of the Ningbo dialect for blind people. Missionaries who spoke Ningbo dialect ran a "Home for Indigent Old People", Most of the inmate in the facility were blind, and they were taught to recite prayers. An English missionary in 1874 taught a young blind man in a short time to read the colloquial of Ningpo written with the letters of Moon's system for the blind. At that time Ningpo had the Gospel of Like in two large columes of the Moon's system embossed. A Swiss missionary used to give out notices by placards over the city that at such a time he would give a feast and money to the blind people who came. He used a point system. the Moon's system

Moon type

The Moon System of Embossed Reading is a writing system for the blind, using embossed symbols mostly derived from the Roman alphabet...

employed was like the then recently brought out Mark in Moon's raised letter Romanized mandarin without tone marks. Mr. Hudson Taylor, who had to do with getting the embossed Luke

Gospel of Luke

The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...

in Ningpo fifteen years before, and the embossed Mark

Gospel of Mark

The Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...

in Mandarin did not think that tone marks were necessary. The well known and long used Ningpo Romanized vernacular has not now nor never has had any tone marks. Aspirates, however, are distinguished. When people sing hymms it is not likely that they pay attention to tones in their enunciation. They read the Romanized books, however, correctly, because of the well understood connection of tense. Tone marks were not used in the tangible point system used at Hankow.

Qing dynasty Education in Ningbo dialect

During the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

, western protestant missionaries were involved in education and developting romanization systems and literature in the city.

Literary Chinese and dialect usage in Girl's Schools in Ningbo

Veng Li, the Ningbo dialect's word for Wen li (Literary Chinese), was the primary medium of instruction and literature in Ningbo. In foreign Protestant Christian missionary schools, teaching was conducted with the Ningbo dialect being taught with the Latin alphabet, and then Veng Li in Chinese characters, learned by reading translations of scriptures. The girl students learned Veng Li by translating the veng li into Ningbo dialect. They were then able to read Veng Li and Mandarin periodicals.

The question as to whether girls should learn the Chinese Classics must of course be decided by each superintendent. 1 have never been able to teach them in my school from lack of time. As taught by Chinese pedagogues tho classics must take years to be mastered with any degree of intelligence, and few Foreign ladies are yet able to teach them themselves in a more expeditious or attractive manner. Where the Colloquial language has been reduced to writing in the Roman character, it is an invaluable help to women and girls, and should form the ground work of all instruction. Girls who can read fluently and write correctly in the Roman character will be far better prepared to grapple with the difiiculties of Chinese Veng-li. One illustration of this may not be out of place. My girls have long been in the habit of using a manuscript dictionary, by the aid of which they prepare one or two chapters of the Scriptures in Veng-li a day. They are expected to find out the meaning of the characters for themselves, and to be able to translate freely into the colloquial. Girls of twelve and thirteen can thus learn by themselves as in Foreign schools and the teacher is saved the endless individual explanations so constant in native seminaries. Another example of the advantages derived from the use of the Roman system is that of a girl who was only in the school half a year, and in that time learned to read the New Testament and write sufficiently even to keep up a correspondence with us after she left. This I fancy would have been impossible had the Chinese character been the only medium of instruction open to us. Where there is no Roman colloquial the difficulties must be greater, but the mandarin is so intelligible in most parts of the country that it will doubtless become the basis of education in many missions. That a knowledge of tho classics is not necessary to an intelligent use of the Chinese character has been satisfactorily proved by many girls educated in Miss Aldersey's school in Ningpo. They studied no native books at all, but they can read with greater or less readiness ordinary Chinese literature and the various Missionary periodicals issued in Veng-li and mandarin. Our great hindrance at present in education is the want of suitable classbooks, but if each of the missionaries now in the field would follow the example of one or two in the North and South, this hindrance would soon exist no longer. There can be little doubt that our hope for tho church of the future lies in the right training of the present rising generation, and while maintaining in all its integrity and fulness the mission of the church to evangelise tho world, and believing that preaching is the great means used bv God for bringing out of heathenism those whom He has chosen for His own, wo believe a mighty work has also to be dono by those who are obeying the Master's command "Feed my lambs," and that a harvest of joyful surprise awaits the plodding school teacher. "* They that bo teachers shall shine as the brightness of tho firmament."

Christian missionaries in Ningpo used Veng-li versions of the Gospels in order to teach Chinese able Christianity and convert them.

Movement against Veng-li in favor of Vernacular

A movement in favor of using vernacular languages rather than Veng-li was headed by Reverend Y. K. Yen, the President of the Christian Vernacular Society of Shanghai.

The little pamphlet which gives an account of the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Christian Vernacular Society of Shanghai, with Secretary's Report, etc., is specially valuable in containing an address by the President, Rev. Y. K. Yen, on the outlook of the Christian Vernacular Society of Shanghai. In emphasizing the importance of the vernaculars Mr. Yen showed what history taught. "We learn that the great cause which changed the Latin to the vernaculars in Europe was the desire to save all men through an intelligent and heartfelt acceptance of the Christian truth. The vernaculars being living languages, and on that account perspicuous and full of feeling, were found to be the best channels for conveying this truth, and hence they rose into favor. A like condition of things (for our various vernaculars bear the same relation to the Veng li as the English, the French, the German, etc., to the Latin) and a like cause exist here. A like change must be made, and the force to make it must come from without.

"Another point deserves to be remembered. It is a fatality with our country that it has hit upon clumsy methods in the carrying out of most schemes. Our ideographic, non-phonetic and non-inflcctional language is one of the clumsy methods, one effect of which is, that a lad after four or 6ve years of schooling is hardly able to compose a letter, and that a man will glibly read an article in the Shun-pao and yet not understand its meaning.

"From careful observation it is found that there is only one in twenty who can rend Veng-li intelligently, and of women one in 10,000; and the ratio of those who read intelligently to those who read unintelligently is as one to five, that is to say, of every six people who read the characters only one knows the meaning. Bight around us, then, are men who read, bat who read mechanically; and as these same characters could be made to represent an every day living language and so to impart useful knowledge, the importance, nay, the necessity of the vernacular systems is at once seen."

Literature in Ningbo dialect

The dialect of Ningpo is a nearer approach to the Mandarin, than the more southern ones of Foochow, Amoy, &c. and differs from it less perhaps in the idiom than the pronunciation. A large number of missionaries hare made themselves familiar with this dialect, but very little has yet been published for the benefit of their compatriots. The following is the only work we know of bearing on this subject. An Anglo-Chinese Vocabulary of the Ningpo Dialect. By Rev. "W. T. Morrison. Formerly Missionary in Ningpo. Revised and Enlarged. Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press. 1876.

Books written in the dialect are not so rare; for although Ningpo has nothing like an adequate supply of Christian literature, yet if we except the Mandarin, Shanghae, and Foochow dialects, it has the largest colloquial literature in China. What has been written is almost entirely in the Roman character. The following are all that we have any knowledge of.

The Following books in Ningbo dialect were published by American Protestant missionaries in China, in the Roman alphabet.

Sing jah djün shü. "New Testament." Revs. W. A. Russell, "W. A. P. Martin, H. V. V. Rankin, &c. 8vo. 260 leaves. Ningpo 1850-1860. Roman character.

Di-li shü lin vœn-koh kwu-kying z-t'i yiu-tin kóng-tsing. "Geography." Rev. W. A. P. Martin. 4 books, pp. 185. Ningpo, 1852. Rom. char.

The first book was reprinted at Ningpo in 1859, in 52 pages, with two large folding plates.

Ih pe Tsiu. "A Cup of Wine." Rev. F. F. Gough. pp. 12. Ningpo, 1852. Rom. char.

Se-lah teng Hœn-nah. "Sarah and Hannah." Mrs. Russell, pp. 12. Ningpo, 1852. Rom. char.

Lu hyiao ts. "Frank Lucas." D. B. McCartee, M. D. pp. 9. Ningpo, 1852. Rom. char.

Di gyiu du. Ng da-tsiu di-du. Peng-koh, peng-sang, peng-fu, Sœn-foh di-du, ica-yitt, Sing-kying di-du, lin Di-li veng-teh. "Atlas and Geographical Catechism." Rev. W. A. P. Martin. Fol. pp. 10, and 10 large folding maps. Ningpo, 1853. Rom. char.

Turing too Yiat-su u-sen he. "Come to Jesus." Rev. W. A. Russell, pp. 126. Ningpo, 1853. Rom. char.

- This was reprinted at Shanghae, in 80 pages, in 1868. Rom. char.

Son-fah k'œ-tong. "Arithmetic." Rev. "W. A. P. Martin. 4to. pp. 63. Ningpo, 1854. Rom. char.

XXXX Li jing jih tsing. "The Pilgrim's Progress." Rev. R. H. Cobbold. 8vo. pp. 254. Ningpo, 1855. Rom. char.

- This was reprinted at Shanghae, in 149 pages, in 1864.

Spelling Book in the Ningpo colloquial dialect. Rev. R. H. Cobbold. pp. 16. Ningpo.

Ah tia t'i ng-ts són-tsiang. "Dialogue between Henry and his father. " Mrs. Russell, pp. 12. Ningpo. Rom. char.

- This was reprinted at Shanghae, in 20 leaves, in 1856. Rom. char.

Hymn Book. Rev. S. N. D. Martin, pp, 32. Ningpo, 1855. Rom. char.

Jih tsih yuih le. "Line upon Line." Rev. R. H. Cobbold. 2 vols. pp. 272, 158. Ningpo, 1856, 1857. Rom. char.

- This was reprinted at Shanghae, in 536 pages, in 1868. Rom. char.

Siao-yiang tseo ts'ó-lu. "The Lost Lamb." Mrs. Jones, pp. 12. Ningpo, 1857. Rom. char.

- This was republished in 18 pages, at Shanghae, in 1875. Rom. char.

Sing-s. "Selection of Psalms." Rev. W. A. P. Martin, pp. 72. Ningpo, 1857. Rom. char.

Tsœn-me s. "Hymn Book. " pp. 122. Ningpo, 1857.

宁波土話X學 Nying-po t'u-wó ts'u-'óh. "Primer of the Ningpo colloquial Dialect." Rev. H. V. V. Rankin, pp. 92. Ningpo, 1857. Rom. char.

- This was reprinted at Shanghae, in 79 pages, in 1863, 1868, and 1871.

Kong ka jih nyi kyün. "Twelve Sermons." Rev. "W. A. Russell, pp. x, 263. Ningpo, 1858. Rom. char.

- This was reprinted in 150 pages, at London, in 1875. Bom. char.

XXXX Sing-sœn yiœ-ko. "Zion's Melodies." Rev. E. B. Inslee. pp. x, 80. Ningpo, 1858. Chinese and Roman characters.

Hyüing iu yüing veng. "Old Testament History in .verse." Rev. S. N. D. Martin, pp. 126. Ningpo, 1858.

Yin-meo hyuing-ts. "The Mother at Home." Rev. F. F. Gough. pp. 103. Ningpo, 1858. Rom. char.

T'in lu ts nen. "Guide to Heaven." Rev. J. L. Nevius. Ningpo. Rom. char.

- A third edition of this in 84 pages, was printed at Shanghae, in 1868. Bom. char.

Foh-ing tsœn di. "Synopsis Gospel Harmony." Rev. H. V. V. Rankin, pp. 6. Ningpo. Rom. char.

Iu dong ts'u hyiao. "Peep of Day." Mrs. Nevius. pp. 155. Ningpo, 1859. Rom. char.

Ts'ong shü kyi. "Genesis." Rev. H. V. V. Rankin, pp. 89. Ningpo. Rom. char.

Foh-ing dao-li ling-kying veng-teh. "The Assembly's Shorter Catechism." Rev. W. A. P. Martin, pp. 22. Ningpo, 1859. Rom. char.

- This was reprinted at Shanghae, in 38 pages, in 1870. Bom. char.

C'ih yiái gyih kyi. "Exodus." Rev. H. V. V. Rankin, pp. 72. Ningpo. Rom. char.

Catechism. Rev. F. F. Gough. Ningpo. Rom. char.

- This is a translation of a short catechism by the Eev. J. Brown of Haddington.

Tsœn-me s. "Hymn Book." Rev. H. V. V. Rankin, pp. 155. Ningpo. 1860. Rom. char.

Cong tao-kao veng teng si-li, vœn-tsœn, lin kong-we só ding-go ih-ts'ih co-veng. Wa-yiu Da-bih-go s-p'in teng bih-yiang s-dz, ko-fu, keh-sing. "Book of Common Prayer." Revs. G. E. Moule, W. A. Russell and F. F. Gough. pp. iv, 163. Ningpo, 1860. Rom. char.

Tsœn-me s. "Hymn Book." Revs. S. N. D. Martin and H. V. V. Rankin. 4to pp.156. Shanghae, 1863.

XXX文 Cong tao-kao veng. "Book of Common Prayer." Revs. G.E. Moule, W.A. Russell, and F.F. Gough. 8vo. 97 leaves. Ningpo, 1864.

- This is a version in the Chinese character–with extension–of the Roman character edition above noted.

Kong-ka. "Sermons on the Gospel." Rev. A. E. Moule. 2 vols pp. 160. Ningpo, 1866. Rom. char.

These volumes contain 14 sermons, which were first published separately as tracts; and the entire book was reprinted at Shanghae in 1873.

Liang t'ah-go siao nying. Kwu-œ-ts p'ong djoh beng-yiu. "The Lighthouse-keeper's Daughter," &c., Mrs. A. E. Moule. 12mo. pp.24. London, 1866. Rom. char.

Yü-be vœn-ts'œn zi-dzo-ts' ah zi. "Preparation for the Holy Communion." Mrs. A. E. Moule. 8vo. pp. 38. Ningpo, 1866. Rom. char.

Ah-lah kyiu-cü Yiœ-su kyi-toh-go-sing-iah shü. "New testament." Revs. F. F. Gough and J. H. Taylor. 8vo. pp. 394. London, 1868. Rom. char.

Nying-po t'u wo tsœn me s. "Ningpo Hymn Book." 3rd edition. Revs. S. N. D. Martin and H. V. V. Rankin. 8vo. pp. 156. Shanghae, 1868. Rom. char.

Gyüong-nying iah-seh. "Poor Joseph." G. Crombie. 24mo. 9 leaves. Hangchow, 1868. Rom. char.

Siao Hyin-li teng gyi-go ti-'o nying Bu-zi. "Henry and his Bearer." Mrs. McCartee. 8vo. pp. 36. Shanghae, 1868. Rom. char.

Lu Hyiao-ts. Vu-ts sön tsiang. Ih-pe tsin. Se-lah teng Hœn-nah. "Frank Lucas. Dialogue between a Father and Son. A cup of Wine. and Sarah and Hannah." D.B. McCartee, M.D., Mrs. Russell, and Rev. F.F. Gough. 16mo. pp. 48. Shanghae, 1869. Rom. char.

Yi-sœ-üó. "Book of Isaiah" Rev. E.C. Lord, D.D. 12mo. pp. 190. Shanghae, 1870. Rom. char.

Gyiu-yi tsiao shü.—Ts'ong-shü kyi. "Genesis." C'ih yiœ-gyih kyi. "Exodus." Rev. H. V. V. Rankin. 4to. pp. 164. Shanghae, 1871. Rom. char.

Yiœ-su kyiao veng-teh. "Christian Catechism." Miss Laurence. 12mo. pp. 25. Shanghae, 1872. Rom. char.

Ts'u 'óh di-li veng-teh. "Catechism of the Elements of Geography." Rev. J. A. Leyenberger. 8vo. pp. 130. Shanghae, 1873. Rom. char.

Nying-po kyiao-we só yüong-go t'u-wó tsœn-me s. "Ningpo Hymn Book." Revs. S. N. D. Martin and H. V. V. Rankin. 8vo. pp. 274. Shanghae, 1874. Rom. char.

讚美詩 Tsœn me s. "Hymn Book." Revs. J. A. Leyenberger and J. Butler. 8v0. pp. 482. Shanghae, 1874.

Ah-la kyiu-cü Yiœ-su kyi-toh-go sing iah shü. "The New Testament." Rev. E. C. Lord, D.D. 8vo. pp. 412. Shanghae, 1874. Rom. char.

Jih-tsih yüih le pu-tsoh. "Lines left out." Miss Laurence. 8vo. pp. 200. Shanghai, 1875. Rom. char.

Di-li veng-teh. "Catechism of Geography." Rev. F. F. Gough. 8vo. pp. 112. Shanghai, 1875. Rom. char.

The Power of Prayer. Rev. J. Butler. 8.vo. pp. 70. Shanghai, 1875. Rom. char.

Di-li Shü—Elementary Geography (Romanised)
Ts'u ôh Di-li Veng-teh.—Elementary Geography (Romanised)

"The Book of a thousand tongues: being some account of the translation and publication of all or part of the Holy Scriptures into more than a thousand languages and dialects with over 1100 examples from the text", by Eric McCoy North, includes an example of part of the Bible translated into Ningbo dialect with latin alphabet, alongside other Chinese dialects.

External Links and Further Reading

(Original from Harvard University)(Original from the New York Public Library)(Original from Harvard University)(BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Area

Intelligibility

Writing

Chinese Characters

Writing for the Blind

Qing dynasty Education in Ningbo dialect

Literary Chinese and dialect usage in Girl's Schools in Ningbo

Movement against Veng-li in favor of Vernacular

Literature in Ningbo dialect

See also

External Links and Further Reading