Tianjin dialect

Tianjin dialect is a spoken in the urban area of Tianjin, China. It is comprehensible to Standard Mandarin speakers from nearby areas and most variation is in the individual tones.

Characteristics

Tianjin dialect is classified under Ji Lu Mandarin, a subdivision of also spoken in the provinces of Hebei and Shandong. Despite being very close to Beijing, Tianjin dialect sounds very different from Beijing dialect, which is the basis for Standard Mandarin , the standard Chinese spoken language.

The tones of Tianjin dialect correspond to those of Beijing as follows:



The differences are minor except for the first tone: Where it is high and level in Beijing, it is low and falling in Tianjin. All words with the first tone, including the name "Tianjin", are affected, giving the Tianjin dialect a downward and nasal feel to speakers of Standard Mandarin.

Tianjin dialect also includes four tone sandhi rules, which outnumbers Beijing Mandarin's one. Here they are:
#Tone 1 + Tone 1 → Tone 3-Tone 1: 天津 |tiān jīn| is pronounced /tǐnjīn/
#Tone 3 + Tone 3 → Tone 2-Tone 3: 水果 |shuǐ guǒ| is pronounced /shuíguǒ/
#Tone 4 + Tone 4 → Tone 1-Tone 4: 現在 |xiàn zài| is pronounced /xiānzài/
#Tone 4 + Tone 1 → Tone 2-Tone 1: 上班 |shàng bān| is pronounced /shángbān/

There are some other patterns that differentiate Tianjin dialect from Beijing dialect. One is the retention of the old ''ng-'' initial, which became null in Beijing, as ''n-'', as in 爱 , which is pronounced ''nài'' rather than ''ài''. Another difference is the pronunciation of 饿 as ''wò'' instead of ''è''.

Lastly, the Tianjin dialect lacks the retroflex consonants prevalent in Beijing, not unlike Taiwan Mandarin. Thus, ''zh'' becomes ''z'' , ''sh'' becomes ''s'' , ''ch'' becomes ''c'' , and ''r'' becomes ''y'' — that is, 人 is pronounced ''yěn'' instead of ''rén'', and 讓 is pronounced ''yàng'' instead of ''ràng''. However, the use of the ''-er'' diminutive is common in Tianjin dialect, as it is in Beijing.

Chinese speakers commonly stereotype the Tianjin dialect as aggressive- or confrontational-sounding. Nevertheless, the it is relatively easy for speakers of Standard Mandarin to understand. The newly educated elite tend to speak in Standard Mandarin while doing business but switch to Tianjin Dialect when talking to family or locals.