Shaozhou Tuhua


Shaozhou Tuhua, or simply Tuhua, is an unclassified Chinese variety spoken in the border region of the provinces Guangdong, Hunan and Guangxi. It is mutually unintelligible with Xiang, Cantonese, or Mandarin.
Xiangnan Tuhua is the language of nüshu, the "women's script" of Jiangyong County in Yongzhou, Hunan.

Classification

Some scholars consider it to be an extension of Ping Chinese in Guangxi. Others consider it to have a foundation in Song dynasty-era Middle Gan, mixed with Hakka, Cantonese, and Southwestern Mandarin. There is likely also significant non-Chinese influence such as Yao, and it may even have started out as Sinicized Yao.
Chen notes that Shaoguan Tuhua of Shibei 石陂 shares many similarities with Hakka of Qujiang District, due to intensive contact.

Dialects

Shaozhou Tuhua is also known as Yuebei Tuhua 粤北土话 "Northern Guangxi/Guangdong Tuhua" in Guangxi and Guangdong and as Xiangnan Tuhua 湘南土话 "Southern Hunanese Tuhua" or Hunan Tuhua in Hunan, and as 虱婆话 shīpó huà "Shipo dialect", 虱乸话 shīnǎ huà "Shina dialect", or 虱婆声 shīpó shēng "Shipo accent" in its own region. It is also known as Pingdi Yaohua, locally Piongtuojo, Piongtoajeu; "Yao" here might be a cultural designation, as only half of the one million speakers are classified as ethnic Yao.
Li & Zhuang cover the following dialects of Shaoguan Tuhua.
  1. Dacun 大村, Qujiang District
  2. Xiangyang 向阳, Wujiang District
  3. Shibei 石陂, Zhenjiang District
  4. Zhoutian 周田, Renhua County
  5. Shitang 石塘, Renhua County
  6. Guitou 桂头, Ruyuan County
Zhang Shuangqing covers 5 dialects of Lianzhou Tuhua.
  1. Xingzi 星子 dialect: 120,000 speakers in Xingzi 星子, Qingjiang 清江, Shantang 山塘, Tanling 潭岭, Dalubian 大路边 townships, and parts of Mabu 麻步 and Yao'an 瑶安 townships
  2. Bao'an 保安 dialect: 30,000 speakers in Bao'an Township 保安镇, and parts of Longping Township 龙坪镇
  3. Lianzhou 连州 dialect : 40,000 speakers in Lianzhou Township 连州镇 and Fucheng Township 附城镇
  4. Xi'an 西岸 dialect : 30,000 speakers in Xi'an Township 西岸镇
  5. Fengyang 丰阳 dialect : 50,000 speakers in 丰阳镇, and parts of Zhugang 朱岗, Dongpo 东陂, and Yao'an 瑶安 townships

    Distribution

Tuhua is retreating before Cantonese and Hakka and is found in rural dialect islands in the northern Guangdong counties of Lechang, Renhua, Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County, Qujiang, Nanxiong, Zhenjiang, Wujiang, and Lianzhou and Liannan Yao Autonomous County in Qingyuan prefecture-level city. In Hunan it is found in the southeast, throughout most of Yongzhou prefecture and the western half of Chenzhou prefecture.