{"id":630,"date":"2020-11-16T07:00:48","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T15:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/?p=630"},"modified":"2025-06-02T22:25:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T05:25:38","slug":"fangyan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/2020\/11\/16\/fangyan\/","title":{"rendered":"f\u0101ngy\u00e1n"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\t\t\tf\u0101ngy\u00e1n<\/span>\n(f\u0101ng\u00b7y\u00e1n\n{direction \u2192 [place]} \u00b7 speech \u2192<\/span> [topolect; dialect (common but misleading translation)]<\/span>\n\u65b9\u8a00)<\/span> \u2190 Tap\/click to show\/hide the \u201cflashcard\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n\n

The term \u201cf\u0101ngy\u00e1n<\/i><\/span>\n(f\u0101ng\u00b7y\u00e1n\n{direction \u2192 [place]} \u00b7 speech \u2192<\/span> [topolect; dialect (common but misleading translation)]<\/span>\n\u65b9\u8a00)<\/span>\u201d has been used in the Chinese-speaking world in various ways, but the literal meanings of the words that make it up indicate that it refers to the speech pattern of a place, even a place as small as a village. For reference, the \u201cf\u0101ng<\/i><\/span>\n(direction [\u2192 [side; party | place; region | method; way [\u2192 [prescription; recipe]] | power (math.)]] | {[is] square} [\u2192 [[is] upright; honest]] | [mw for square things<\/i>]<\/span>\n\u65b9)<\/span>\u201d in \u201cf\u0101ngy\u00e1n<\/i><\/span>\n(f\u0101ng\u00b7y\u00e1n\n{direction \u2192 [place]} \u00b7 speech \u2192<\/span> [topolect; dialect (common but misleading translation)]<\/span>\n\u65b9\u8a00)<\/span>\u201d is the \u201cf\u0101ng<\/i><\/span>\n(direction [\u2192 [side; party | place; region | method; way [\u2192 [prescription; recipe]] | power (math.)]] | {[is] square} [\u2192 [[is] upright; honest]] | [mw for square things<\/i>]<\/span>\n\u65b9)<\/span>\u201d in \u201cd\u00ecfang<\/i><\/span>\n(d\u00ec\u00b7fang\n{(section of) earth \u2192 [place]} \u00b7 {direction \u2192 [place]} \u2192<\/span> [place]<\/span>\n\u5730\u65b9)<\/span>\u201d, and the \u201cy\u00e1n<\/i><\/span>\n(speech; word; talk; language | say; talk; speak | character; syllable; word<\/span>\n\u8a00)<\/span>\u201d in \u201cf\u0101ngy\u00e1n<\/i><\/span>\n(f\u0101ng\u00b7y\u00e1n\n{direction \u2192 [place]} \u00b7 speech \u2192<\/span> [topolect; dialect (common but misleading translation)]<\/span>\n\u65b9\u8a00)<\/span>\u201d is the \u201cy\u00e1n<\/i><\/span>\n(speech; word; talk; language | say; talk; speak | character; syllable; word<\/span>\n\u8a00)<\/span>\u201d in \u201cy\u01d4y\u00e1n<\/i><\/span>\n(y\u01d4\u00b7y\u00e1n\nlanguage \u00b7 {(type of) speech}<\/span>\n\u8bed\u8a00\n\u8a9e\u8a00<\/span>)<\/span>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cF\u0101ngy\u00e1n<\/i><\/span>\n(F\u0101ng\u00b7y\u00e1n\n{direction \u2192 [place]} \u00b7 speech \u2192<\/span> [topolect; dialect (common but misleading translation)]<\/span>\n\u65b9\u8a00)<\/span>\u201d has customarily been translated into English as \u201cdialect\u201d, but this practice can be misleading and confusing, because while \u201cf\u0101ngy\u00e1n<\/i><\/span>\n(f\u0101ng\u00b7y\u00e1n\n{direction \u2192 [place]} \u00b7 speech \u2192<\/span> [topolect; dialect (common but misleading translation)]<\/span>\n\u65b9\u8a00)<\/span>\u201d and \u201cdialect\u201d can sometimes both be applied to a particular speech pattern, the two terms don\u2019t mean exactly the same thing.<\/p>\n

What is a Chinese \u201cDialect\u201d?<\/h4>\n

American sinologist<\/a> and University of Pennsylvania Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations<\/a> Victor H. Mair<\/a> wrote an extensive article on this subject, \u201cWhat Is a Chinese \u2018Dialect\/Topolect\u2019? Reflections on Some Key Sino-English Linguistic Terms\u201d, which can be found here (PDF)<\/a> and here (web page)<\/a> on his website Sino-Platonic Papers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It has been said that \u201ca language is a dialect with an army and navy<\/a>\u201d, but in his article Professor Mair gives us a more linguistically correct and useful way to distinguish between a language and a dialect:<\/p>\n

Regardless of the imprecision of lay usage, we should strive for a consistent means of distinguishing between language and dialect. Otherwise we might as well use the two terms interchangeably. That way lies chaos and the collapse of rational discourse. Mutual intelligibility<\/strong> [emphasis added] is normally accepted by most linguists as the only plausible criterion for making the distinction between language and dialect in the vast majority of cases. Put differently, no more suitable, workable device for distinguishing these two levels of speech has yet been proposed. If there are to be exceptions to the useful principle of mutual intelligibility, there should be compelling reasons for them. Above all, exceptions should not be made the rule.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What is mutual intelligibility<\/strong>? Simply put, in linguistics, two or more speech varieties are said to be mutually intelligible<\/a> if they are \u201cable to be understood by one another\u2019s speakers\u201d. For example, if one person only knows English, and another person only knows Spanish, they can\u2019t really understand each other if they try to talk to each other\u2014English and Spanish are not mutually intelligible, and are suitably recognized as being different languages, not just different dialects of \u201cEuropean\u201d.<\/p>\n

Similarly, if one person only knows Mandarin, and another person only knows Cantonese, they can\u2019t really understand each other if they try to talk to each other\u2014Mandarin and Cantonese are not mutually intelligible. So, while they may be \u201cf\u0101ngy\u00e1n<\/i><\/span>\n(f\u0101ng\u00b7y\u00e1n\n{direction \u2192<\/span> [place]}<\/span> \u00b7 {(patterns of) speech}<\/span>\n\u65b9\u8a00)<\/span>\u201d, linguistically, Mandarin and Cantonese should really be considered to be different languages<\/em>, not just different dialects of \u201cChinese\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMany of these so-called Chinese \u2018dialects\u2019 are in fact, different languages.\u201d
\u2014David Moser (@david__moser<\/a>), in his book _A Billion Voices: China\u2019s Search for a Common Language_ https:\/\/t.co\/Ld20t2JQ2W<\/a><\/p>\n

— Troubadour WW (@troubadourww) November 4, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n