Gohama Dialect: view article

Gohama Dialect (小浜方言, gohama puang-ngyang) is a dialect of Mikyoan spoken on Gohama Island and by few small communities on several other neighbouring islands. Gohama Dialect is influenced by Portuguese, Hokkien, and Taiwanese Mandarin. Gohama Dialect tends to be more phonologically complex than other dialects of Mikyoan.

Gohama Dialect is less commonly spoken today in comparison to several decades ago, however, today it is still commonly understood by most Mikyoans who live in Gohama. Most speakers of Gohama Dialect tend to be older, as younger generations tend to favour the Standard Mikyoan Dialect due to some negative associations surrounding Gohama Dialect.

Features

Phonology

Vowels

→ Vowels are more commonly nasalized before /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/, in which case some speakers might ommit the nasal stop entirely, ex. 항지 (漢字, Chinese Characters), [ˈhɐ̃(ŋ)d͡ʒi]
→ Vowels in closed syllables tend to become reduced:
⮡ /ä/ shifts to [ɐ], ex: 황 (灣, bay), [xwäŋ] → [(h)wɐ̃(ŋ)]
⮡ /e̞/ and /ɛ̈/ shift to [ə], ex: 챔템 (dragonfly, chiefly Central Mikyoan), [t͡ɕɛ̈m.te̞m] → [ˈt͡ʃə̃(m).tə̃(m)]
⮡ /ʌ/ shifts to [ɤ], ex: 성섕 (先生, teacher), [sʌŋ.ɕjɛ̈ŋ] → [ˈsɤ̃(ŋ).ʃə̃(ŋ)]
⮡ /i/ shifts to [ɪ], ex: 힌나 (花, flower), [çin.nä] → [ˈhɪ̃(n)nä]
⮡ /o̞/ shifts to [ʊ], ex: 톨붓 (tollbooth), [to̞ɭ.bɯ̞ᵝs] → [ˈtʊl.bɪ̈s]
⮡ /ɯ/ shifts to [ɪ̈], ex: 마퉁 (馬桶, toilet), [mä.tɯ̞ᵝŋ] → [ˈmä.tɪ̈̃(ŋ)]
→ /ɯ/ is closer to [ɨ], however for some speakers it might also be realized simply as [u], in which case its reduced form is merged with [ʊ]
→ When two vowels are separated into two syllables, a glottal stop is used to more clearly distinguish the two syllables, ex: 에어콘 (air conditioning), [eʌko̞n] → [eʔʌkʊ̃(n)]
⮡ The glottal stop might also be omitted in favor of a semivowel, more specifically /j/ following /i e̞ ɛ̈/ and /w/ following /o ɨ~u ʌ/. The glottal stop is usually retained following /a/

Consonants

→ The realization of [xw] tends to vary across Gohama's many neighborhoods and districts, but the most common realizations are:
⮡ [(h)w] in most of Southern and Southeastern Gohama
⮡ [v(w)] in some parts of Southeastern Gohama, in part due to influence from Gullu
⮡ [(h)ʍ] in most of Central and Northern Gullu
⮡ [xʷ] in some parts of Eastern Gohama (decreasing in usage, however, in favor of [(h)w] for most younger speakers
⮡ [h] in some geographically varied idiolects
→ /ɕ t͡ɕ d͡ʑ/ are most commonly shifted to [ʃ t͡ʃ d͡ʒ], however, this is slightly more common with older speakers
→ Coda /t̚/ and /k̚/ are usually swapped, causing /t̚/ [k̚] and /k̚/ [t̚], ex: 꿛 (月, month, moon), [ŋwot̚] → [wʊk̚], ex: 둭 (all, every), [dwok̚] → [dwʊt̚]
⮡ Increasingly, many speakers might merge both as a glottal stop, ex. 꿛 (月, month, moon), [ŋwot̚] → [wʊʔ], ex: 둭 (all, every), [dwok̚] → [dwʊʔ]
→ Some speakers, especially those in Southern Gohama, tend to omit syllable initial /ŋ/, ex. 껑 (中, among), [ŋʌŋ] → [ˈɤ̃(ŋ)]
→ /h/ is closer to [ç] before [ɨ], ex: 후 (頬, sun), [hɯ] → [çɨ], however, idiolects which preserve it as [u] continue to pronounce it as [ɸ]
→ /lj~ɾj/ is realized as [ʎ], ex: 류코아메리카 (Lyko-America), [ɾjɯko̞ ame̞ɾika] → [ˈʎɨko ameˈʎika]
→ Coda /l/ is shifted to [w], ex: 말 (bad, poorly, chiefly Gohama Dialect), [maɭ] → [mɐw]
→ Initial /n/ is merged with [l], ex: 놈파 (囝, baby), [no̞mpa] → [ˈlʊ̃(m)pa]
→ Intervocalic and final /s/ are realized as [h], ex: 잇터 서비수 (Easter Serivce), [istʌ sʌbisɯ] → [ˌi(h)tɤ ˌhʌˈbiçɯ]
→ /ɕ/ is realized as [ç] intervocalically, ex: 이시 (石, stone), [iɕi] → [iˈçi]

Stress and Intonation

Gohama Dialect, similar to most other Central Mikyoan Dialects, retains the Tone from Medieval Mikyoan in some aspects. In Gohama Dialect, this is done through stress corresponding to pitch accent.

In multisyllabic words, the primary stress tends to fall on the first syllable, and secondary stress falls on the final syllable if the word contains three or more syllables. In this case, the primary stress correlates to a high pitch, and secondary stress correlates to a low-pitch. This system is a holdover from Medieval Mikyoan, which had a four-tone system.

Monosyllabic words have no stress. In questions and imperatives, the final syllable is stressed and the secondary stress falls on the first syllable of the inflected verb.

Examples: - 銀行메이行융要 - nginghaeng-mei ikuyung-il - “you need to go to the bank” [ˈɪ̃́(ŋ)hə̃(ŋ) mei̯ ˈikɨjɪ̈̃ŋˌɪw] - H-L-L L H-L-L-M - 銀行메이行융要얘？ - nginghaeng-mei ikuyung-ilyae? - “do you need to go to the bank?” [ˈɪ̃́(ŋ)hə̃(ŋ) mei̯ ˌikɨjɪ̈̃ŋɪwˈjɛ̈́] - H-L-L L M-L-L-H - 食베이말량 - tabemallyang - “you are eating” [ˈtabemɐ́wˌjɐŋ] - H-L-L-M - 食베이말량야？ - tabemallyangya? - “are you eating?” [ˌtabemɐwjɐŋˈjá] - M-L-L-L-H

Grammar

The grammar of the Gohama Dialect fits with other Central Mikyoan Dialects, for the most part, however in some areas it has innovated its grammar in ways that other Central Mikyoan Dialects have not.

Questions

Questions in Gohama Dialect are distinguished on whether the question is polar or not, a feature which dates back to Medieval Mikyoan but has since been lost in Standard Mikyoan

At the end of an interrogative statement, the speaker will either use ~얘, ~야, or ~여 to distinguish that the question is polar. ~얘 is used in a verb containing ㅔ/ㅐ/ㅣvowels in the stem, ~야 is used in a verb containing ㅏ in the stem, and ~여 is used in a verb containing ㅓ/ㅗ/ㅜ vowels in the stem. ~얘메일루, ~야메일루 and ~여메일루 can be used to ask a question politely.

At the end of an interrogatives statement, the speaker can also use ~내, ~나, or ~너 to distinguish that the question is not polar. ~내 is used in a verb containing ㅔ/ㅐ/ㅣvowels in the stem, ~나 is used in a verb containing ㅏ in the stem, and ~너 is used in a verb containing ㅓ/ㅗ/ㅜ vowels in the stem. ~내메일루, ~나메일루, and ~너메일루 can be used to ask a question politely.

Examples: - 銀行메이行융要얘？ - nginghaeng-mei ikuyung-ilyae? - “do you need to go to the bank?” [ˈɪ̃́(ŋ)hə̃(ŋ) mei̯ ˌìkɨjɪ̈̃ŋɪwˈjɛ́] - 誰화銀行메이行융要내？ - dallei-hua nginghaeng-mei ikuyung-ilyae? - “who needs to go to the bank?” [ˈdɐ́wei̯ (h)wa ˈɪ̃́(ŋ)ə̃ŋ mei̯ ˌìkɨjɪ̈̃(ŋ)ɪwˈnɛ́] - 學生가行양야？ - hokshing-ga iku-yangya? - "are they (the student) going?" [ˈhʊ́ʔʃɪ̃(ŋ) ŋa ˌìkɨjɐŋˈjá] - 學生가何處메이行양나？ - hokshing-ga doku-mei ikuyang'na? - "where are they (the student) going?" [ˈhʊ́ʔʃɪ̃(ŋ) ŋa ˈtó̞kɨ mei̯ ˌìkɨjɐŋˈná] - 食베이마싰아야？ - tabeimashitsaya? - "did you eat?" [ˌtàbei̯maʃɪt͡saˈjá] - 何훠食베이마싰아나？ - nin-huo tabeimashitsaya? - "what did you eat?" [lɪ̃(n) (h)wo ˌtàbei̯maʃɪt͡saˈná] - 막도品가齎헐령여？ - makdopum-ga putakhangheollyeongyeo? - "are you bringing McDonald's?" [ˈmɐ́ʔdoˌpɪ̈̃(m) ga ˌpɨ̀tɐk̚hɐ̃(ŋ)hɤwjɤ̃(ŋ)ˈjʌ́] - 막도品가何故齎헐령여？ - makdopum-ga nindei putakhangheollyeongyeo? - "why are you bringing McDonald's?" [ˈmɐ́ʔdoˌpɪ̈̃(m) ga ˈlɪ̃́(n)dei̯ ˌpɨ̀tɐk̚hɐ̃(ŋ)hɤwjɤ̃(ŋ)ˈjʌ́] - 服훠買取야？ - fuk'ku-huo gaimaya - "do you want to buy clothes?" [ˈɸɪ̈́k̚kɨ (h)wo ˌgàì̯maˈjá] - 도칠레服훠買取나？ - fuk'ku-huo gaimaya - "which clothes do you want to buy?" [ˈdót͡ʃɪwˌè ˈɸɪ̈́k̚kɯ (h)wo ˌgàì̯maˈná]

Negation

Gohama Dialect also has remnants of Medieval Mikyoan's Vowel Harmony in its negation, which has been lost in Standard Mikyoan, however, it is somewhat formal. Conjugation of Negative Verbs is done 3 ways, depending on if the vowel of the verb stem is a front, back, or central vowel.

~케이 following ㅔ/ㅐ/ㅣ stems (ex: 小 suel → 小케이 suekei)
~카이 following ㅏ stems (ex: 遣루 yallu → 遣카이 yakai)
~코이 following ㅓ/ㅗ/ㅜ stems (ex: 病물 yamul → 病무코이 yamukoi)

In more casual settings the standard ~나 ending is used

Examples: - 船가小 - fumei-ga suel - "the boat is small" [ˈɸɨ́mei̯ ga ʃwəw] - 船가小케이 [ˈɸɨ́mei̯ ga ˈʃwékei̯] - 方가遣 - mei-ga yal - "they do it", "they are doing it" [mei̯ ga jɐw] - 方가遣카이 - mei-ga yakai - "they don't do it", "they aren't doing it" [mei̯ ga ˈjákai̯] - 僕가病무 - boku-ga yamu - "I'm sick" [ˈbókɨ ga ˈjámɨ] - 僕가病무코이 - boku-ga yamukoi - "I'm not sick" [ˈbókɨ ga ˈjámɨˌkòì̯]

Imperative

Similar to other Central Mikyoan Dialects, the imperative is rarely ever used in Gohama Dialect. More common is that a request or suggestion takes the form of a passive verb in the future tense as a question, in order to convey a less direct meaning.

Examples: "Wash the dishes" - 皿훠洗우세 - salla-huo aollause [ˈsɐ́wa (h)wo ˌɐ̀ʊ̀waɪ̯̈ˈsé] - 皿훠洗울릐成얼가나？ - salla-huo aollaulu'i naleolgana? (literally "will the dishes be washed by you?") [ˈsɐ́wa (h)wo ˈɐ́ʊ́wɐɪ̈wˌɯ̀j lɐ̀wɤwgaˈná] "Try this coffee" - 珈琲훠飲무見 - keopi huo nommu meilse [ˈkʌ́pi (h)wo ˈlʊ̃́mmɨ mei̯lˈsé] - 珈琲훠飲무見릐成얼가나？- keopi huo nommu meillu'i naleolgana? (literally "will this coffee be attempted to be drank by you?") [ˈkʌ́pi (h)wo ˈlʊ̃́mmɨ ˈméí̯wˌɨ̀j lɐ̀wɤwgaˈná] - 저場메이見세！ - jeojong-mei meilse! [ˈd͡ʒʌ́d͡ʒʊ̃(ŋ) mei̯ méí̯lse] - 저場메이見릐成얼가나？- jeojong-mei meillu'i naleolgana? (literally "will that location be looked at by you?") [ˈd͡ʒʌ́d͡ʒʊ̃(ŋ) mei̯ méí̯wˌɨ̀j lɐ̀wɤwgaˈná

This grammatical form is shared with other Central Mikyoan Dialects (those of Gullu, Gohama, Taketomei, and Allagusugu), however, in Gohama, unlike in other Central Mikyoan Dialects, this form is productive in all levels of speech, whereas in other dialects it tends to only be productive in more formal speech, whereas the generic imperative is used in casual and informal speech. The only time when the imperative is used in Gohama is when the speaker is attempting to provoke or anger the listener, as the generic imperative is more taboo in Gohama than on other islands.

Vocabulary

Taiwanese Loanwords

Due to Taiwanese migration to Gohama during the 1970s and the early 2000s, Gohama Dialect has absorbed many words of Taiwanese origin.
Most Taiwanese Mandarin Loanwords in Gohama dialect are calques, however, some loanwords are directly loaned from Taiwanese Mandarin.

Examples: - 小姐 - shutsa - "miss; ma'am" [ʃɨt͡sa] - 窩心 - woshim - "a warm feeling" [woʃɪ̃(m)] - 番茄 - puang'gya - "tomato" [pwɐ̃(ŋ)gja] - 腳踏車 - gyakteopcha - "bicycle" [gjɐʔtɤp̚t͡ʃa] - 幼稚園 - yujihuang - “elementary school” [ˈjɨ́d͡ʒiˌ(h)wɐ̃(ŋ)] - 鳳梨 - byungli - "pineapple" [ˈbjɪ̈̃́(ŋ)ʎi] - 計程車 - geijingcha - "taxi; uber/lyft ride" [ˈgei̯d͡ʒɪ̃(ŋ)ˌt͡ʃà] - 便當 - bingdang - "lunch box; boxed lunch; bento" [ˈbɪ̃́(ŋ)dɐ̃(ŋ)] - 加護病房 - gahuobyaengbuong - "intensive care unit (ICU); intensive treatment unit (ITU)" [ˈgá(h)wobjə̃(ŋ)ˌbwʊ̃̀(ŋ)] - 資料庫 - tsileukuo - "database" [ˈt͡síleɨ̯ˌkwò] - 麻餈 - mashu - "mochi" [ˈmáʃɨ]

Portuguese Loanwords

Due to a history of contact and trade with Portugal and its colonies in the past, Gohama Dialect has absorbed some Portuguese loanwords, however most have been replaced in recent decades due to more influence from other nations and islands in Mikyo, which has caused the Portuguese influence on Gohama Culture and Language to become less prevalent.

Many contemporary loanwords from Portuguese in Gohama Dialect are colloquial, religious, and/or borrowed phrases:

Examples: - 파두레 - padure - "father, priest" (usually used as an honorific or title), from padre [ˈpádɨˌɾè] - 카피탕 - kapitang - "captain", from capitão [ˈkápiˌtɐ̃̀ŋ] - 쿠릿토 - kuristo - "Christ", from Christo [ˈkɨ́ʎisˌtò] - 쿠릿탕 - kuristang - "christian", from christão [ˈkɨ́ʎisˌtɐ̃̀(ŋ)] - 팡 - pang - "bread" (used especially in religious contexts), from pão [pɐ̃(ŋ)] - 제주 - jeju - "Jesus", from Jesu [ˈd͡ʒéd͡ʒɨ] - 사방 - sabang - "soap", from sabão [ˈsábɐ̃(ŋ)] - 카파 - kapa - "raincoat", from capa [ˈkápa] - 보로 - boro - "cake; pastry", from bolo [ˈbóɾo] - 이루망 - irumang - "missionary", from irmão [ˈíɾɨˌmɐ̃̀(ŋ)]

Social Perception

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the use of Gohama Dialect was often stigmatized, due to its association with being overly westernized (particularly in reference to Christianity being the dominant religion in the area and with Portuguese culture and language having a significant impact upon the island). During the 19th century, however, due to a greater push towards westernization in Mikyo, and especially during the 20th and 21st centuries, this association had been almost completely eroded, as the rest of Mikyo's counties and islands had been more thoroughly westernized and urbanized, which lead to less negative perceptions of European and American influence on language and culture.

Currently, Gohama Dialect is not directly stigmatized or discriminated against, however, its use is declining among younger and Non-Asian Mikyoan residents of Gohama, due to a more general push within these groups to meet the standards of the wider Mikyoan society, specifically in reference to their way of speaking. This push is not exclusive to Gohama, as it persists in some aspects in other areas of Mikyo, however, it is most prevalent and well known in Gohama, due to the severity it has taken in the county. Most younger residents of Gohama can understand the local dialect but prefer to speak in Standard Mikyoan, or in a way which is based on the Standard Dialect but preserves some characteristics of the local Gohama Dialect, usually in regards to phonology.

While most overt negative stereotypes and associations with the Gohama Dialect are gone, among younger Gohama residents, they might view the dialect as sounding 'uneducated' or as sounding 'backwards', due to the earlier mentioned push towards fitting the standards and expectations of the wider Mikyoan society, rather than having each island being vastly different or speaking in a way which is not mutually intelligible with all Mikyoans, particularly ones who do not speak a Central Mikyoan Dialect. ✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article

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