Tangshan dialect

Tangshan dialect is a Mandarin dialect spoken and used in the administrative region of Tangshan, Hebei Province. It belongs to the Ji-Lu Mandarin dialect group of the Bao-Tang subgroup. Like the Tianjin dialect, it is largely comprehensible to Standard Mandarin speakers, but its greatest deviation from other Mandarin varieties lies in the different tone values and the way tones affect each other.

Tangshan dialect has 23 initial consonants, one more than Standard Mandarin: /ŋ/. The difference from Standard Mandarin is:^[1]

1. Open vowels with zero initials are preceded by the initial /n/ or /ŋ/, as in "安、熬、爱".
2. Some alveolar consonants /ʦ, ʦʰ, s/ are pronounced as retroflex consonants /ʈʂ, ʈʂʰ, ʂ/, as in "暂、租、扫、测".
3. The aspiration of initials differs from that in Standard Mandarin. Tangshan dialect uses aspirated initials but Standard Mandarin uses unaspirated ones, such as "堤、撞、庇", while Tangshan dialect uses unaspirated initials but Standard Mandarin uses aspirated ones, such as "炽、券、比".
4. Fricatives and affricates have different pronunciations. For example, "朽" /ʨʰi̯oʊ̯/ and "摔" /ʈʂu̯aɪ̯/.

Finals are largely the same as in Standard Mandarin, with the following differences:^[1]

1. The /o/ following /p, pʰ, m, f/ is pronounced /ɤ/ in Tangshan dialect, as in “播”, “婆”, “模”, “佛”. /ʊŋ/ is sometimes pronounced /əŋ/, as in “农”, “粽”.
2. Some words have the initial /u/ lost. For example, “滦” /lan/, “润” /ʐən/, “暖” /nan/.
3. Some Dangjiang-acquired initials that are pronounced /y̯œ/ in Standard Mandarin are pronounced /i̯ɑʊ̯/, as in “约”, “觉”, “学”, “略”.
4. Other variant pronunciations: “叔” /ʂoʊ̯/, “起” /ʨʰi̯ɛ/, “谜” /meɪ̯/.

It has 4 tones, as shown below compared to Mandarin:^[2]

Tone	Level tone		Rising tone	Falling tone
	Yin tone	Yang tone
Tangshan dialect	˦˦ (44)	˦˩ (41)	˨˩˧ (213)	˥˩ (51)
Standard Mandarin	˥ (55)	˧˥ (35)	˨˩˦ (214)

Tangshan dialect is characterized by its "melodic" tone variations, with frequent changes in pitch within sentences or phrases, especially at the end. Except for declarative sentences, the second-to-last syllable is often lengthened and its pitch raised, while the final syllable's pitch is falling-rising. These tonal characteristics are important factors in creating the distinctive sound of Tangshan dialect.

1. Qian Zengyi, ed. *A Study of Mandarin Dialects*. Jinan: Qilu Publishing House. Chapter 4: Hebei-Shandong Mandarin, written by Zhang Shuzheng and Liu Shuxue. November 2010.
2. Guo Ailing. "Phonetic Differences Between Tangshan Dialect and Standard Mandarin". *Journal of Linguistics*. No. 7, 2010.
3. Liu Xinyu. "A Study of Suffixes in Tangshan Dialect". Master's Thesis, Hebei Normal University. 2007.
4. An Shuyi and Ruan Chang. "Several Verb Suffixes in Tangshan Dialect". *Journal of Tangshan Higher Vocational College*. No. 1, 2000.
5. Liu Di. "The '着' in Tangshan Dialect". *Journal of Tangshan Teachers College*. No. 4, 2004.