one more Huailaihua word

bēi. That’s what my mother in law just asked for. My quizzical look reminded her to speak either Putonghua or Yanqinghua, and she asked for a 笔/bǐ. I had a quick flip through a dictionary, and found no alternative pronunciations, so asked her, and she said, “就是咱们的河北口音” – that’s our [inclusive] Hebei accent. Hence the title labelling it Huailaihua – modern Hebei, after all, is made up of most of the late Qing and/or RoC Zhili, Chahar and Rehe, with Chahar (modern northwest Hebei, parts of Inner Mongolia and Beijing’s Yanqing County) being historically Mongolian (Chahar being the name of the Mongolian tribe that dominated the area) and Rehe (modern northeast Hebei and neighbouring regions of Beijing, Inner Mongolia and Liaoning) Manchu and before that Khitan (Jehol). As Mr Ji suggests in this comment, it would certainly seem that both geography (in Hebei, as in Beijing, the west and north are mountainous, the south and east plains) and ethnic mixing certainly seem to have had quite an impact on local accents and dialects. Given that, I think it fair to interpret my mother in law’s “Hebei accent” as meaning “Huailai accent”.

Update: My wife says Yanqingren also pronounce 笔 as bēi. I’m surprised, but then again, the Yanqingren I know don’t often use pens or pencils, at least, not when I’m around or not when they’re speaking Yanqinghua.

About the Author

wangbo

A Kiwi teaching English to oil workers in Beijing, studying Chinese in my spare time, married to a beautiful Beijing lass, consuming vast quantities of green tea (usually Xihu Longjing/西湖龙井, if that means anything to you), eating good food (except for when I cook), missing good Kiwi ale, breathing smog, generally living as best I can outside Godzone and having a good time of it.

2 thoughts on “one more Huailaihua word

  1. Ditto for Southern Shandong dialect, 笔 is always “bei” with the third tone.

    Oh man, wouldn’t it be nice to do a little bike field trip, riding through places, doing some 方言、民俗、艺术、美食的采风?

  2. Hmmm… same vowel, different tone. Curious.

    Considering the state of the G110 on the Hebei side of the border I think I’d prefer to drive. But yes, that would be fun. I’d add architecture to the list, as I’ve noticed subtle little differences in the precise layout of houses and courtyards in these villages, too. And I need to get me a proper recording device and submit a funding application, cos at the moment I’m limited to holidays.

    民俗 reminds me – this year we didn’t see the village Yangge troupe. Heard them, but they didn’t come down our end while we were there. Years ago we came across a Yangge convention in the square down by the township government.

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